A Romanian medical degree in the EU: recognised, yes — but read the caveat

⏱️ Reading time: 15 minutes · Verified 31 July 2026

Yes, your Romanian degree will be recognised across the European Union. That isn’t an opinion, it’s Article 21 of Directive 2005/36/EC, and no member state has the right to refuse it.

Now the sentence most sites forget to add: recognition of the degree does not mean automatic access to a specialty. That is exactly where families get the plan wrong, and discover the caveat at the end of six years rather than at the start.

This article separates the two. What is an enforceable right, what remains a competition, and what that changes concretely for your career plan.

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⚖️ What the directive actually says

The text your right rests on

Directive 2005/36/EC of 7 September 2005 organises the recognition of professional qualifications between member states. For medicine, its Article 21 establishes a regime of automatic recognition: any qualification listed in Annex V, point 5.1.1 is binding on all 27.

The Romanian Doctor-Medic is on that list. So this is not a case-by-case judgement, nor an administrative favour.

Every member state is legally bound to recognise your Romanian degree as equivalent to its own medical degree. That’s a right, not a favour.

In France, the order of 13 July 2009 confirms this in domestic law. Concretely, a medical council cannot:

• require you to retake all or part of the domestic curriculum;
• refuse your registration on the ground that the degree is foreign;
• demand an adaptation period or an aptitude test for recognition of the basic degree.

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🚧 Degree recognised ≠ specialty training secured

Here is the point that decides your career, and which we have never seen explained frankly anywhere else.

What you have as of right: your degree is recognised, you can register with the medical council, and you can practise general medicine.

What you don’t: access to a specialty. To become a cardiologist, surgeon or paediatrician in France, you must sit the EDN — the same competitive examination, under the same conditions, as the 9,000 French final-year students. No quota reserved for EU graduates, no bonus points. Every member state runs an equivalent filter.

Romanian degree (6 yrs) → national competition → Ranking → Specialty choice → Training (3-5 yrs) → Specialist

That path is longer than a home student’s, who moves straight through. It is taken every year by EU graduates, and it works. But it has to be prepared for — not in year six, in year five.

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🇫🇷 Going home to practise, step by step

1. Obtain the degree

Six years, the thesis defence (licență), and the title of Doctor-Medic. Nothing specific here.

2. Get it translated

Automatic recognition or not, the administration will require a sworn translation of the degree and transcripts. Two options: a translator sworn before the Romanian Ministry of Justice, or a translator accredited by a court in your own country. Allow €50 to €150 depending on volume. Our guide to translations and apostilles covers the procedure and the traps.

3. Register with the medical council

Registration with the regional medical council where you intend to practise is compulsory. You will need:

• the council’s registration form;
• a certified copy of the degree and its sworn translation;
• proof of identity and of the nationality of a member state;
• evidence of language competence — the council can check your level.

The council has three months to decide; in practice, allow two to four months with a complete file. The precise sequence, interview included, is in our guide to registering with the medical council.

4. The specialty competition, if you’re aiming for one

France’s Épreuves Dématérialisées Nationales replaced the previous system in 2023. The current format:

• multiple-choice papers in October of year six, or after graduation for foreign-trained doctors;
• oral examinations the following spring;
• 13 rankings by specialty group, rather than a single national ranking;
• up to 80 preferences (specialty + city) through an allocation algorithm.

Three pieces of advice drawn from what we see work:

Prepare during your final Romanian year, not after. These exams test structured clinical reasoning in the domestic style, in a multiple-choice and OSCE format that bears no resemblance to Romanian orals. Graduates who succeed devote 6 to 12 months to it.

Look at the specialty map before choosing. General practice, psychiatry, geriatrics and public health remain more accessible from a mid-table ranking. That isn’t a consolation prize — they’re specialties under strain, which means solid careers.

Keep a written plan B. Practise as a GP, sit the competition again next year, or switch to the Romanian rezidențiat. Deciding that under pressure in July is the best way to decide badly.

For reference: around 8,000 specialty training posts were open in France for 2025–2026 across all specialties. The 2026–2027 figures were not published at the time of writing — check the Centre National de Gestion.

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🌍 Practising elsewhere in the EU

Your degree doesn’t open one country. Here’s the picture.

Belgium — Automatic recognition. Registration with the federal public health service, then approval from the medical workforce planning commission. Note: a quota applies to setting up in certain areas.

Switzerland — Recognised, but outside the directive: Switzerland is not an EU member. Bilateral agreements apply instead, and your training must meet the requirements of the Medical Professions Act. Conditions vary by canton.

Luxembourg — Automatic recognition, registration with the Collège médical. Luxembourgish isn’t required; French and German, in practice, are.

We cover these three in a dedicated Belgium–Switzerland–Luxembourg guide.

Italy — Automatic recognition, registration with the Ordine dei Medici. Specialisation goes through the Scuola di Specializzazione.

Germany — Automatic recognition. The licence to practise (Approbation) is obtained from the Landesärztekammer of the relevant state. Medical German at B2–C1 is required, without exception.

United Kingdom — Since Brexit, the directive no longer applies. The General Medical Council assesses case by case and may require the PLAB or the UKMLA. Allow 12 to 18 months of procedures. If the UK is your goal, this is no longer the shortest path.

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🔄 Specialising in Romania instead

More and more international graduates stay on for the rezidențiat. That isn’t resignation — sometimes it’s the most rational calculation.

How it works

A single national competition, multiple choice, in Romanian, usually in November. A national ranking, like the older systems. Three to six years depending on the specialty. And a salary during training, in the order of €800 to €1,200 net a month — modest, but enough to live on in Romania.

Why it can be the right call

After six years there, you have working medical Romanian: the language barrier that cost you so much in year three becomes an asset. You sit one competition instead of two. Surgical specialties are proportionally more accessible than in Western Europe. And the cost of living stays low while you’re finally earning.

Why it might not be

Pay is roughly half what a trainee earns in France (€1,800–2,500). Recognition of your specialist title depends on that specialty appearing in Annex V.1 — check before choosing your specialty, not after. And if your horizon is a career back home, you’ll arrive without knowing the health system you’re going to work in.

Our advice: don’t settle this before year six. Prepare for both competitions in parallel and decide with your results in hand, not with your year-four intentions.

The costed comparison of the two routes — duration, salary, recognition — is in Specialising after Romania.

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❓ The awkward questions

“Is it genuinely recognised, or is that a sales pitch?” Genuinely recognised. Directive 2005/36/EC is a binding text transposed into national law. Hundreds of doctors who qualified in Romania practise across Western Europe today, and you can verify it in the medical councils’ public registers.

“What if I want a surgical specialty?” Same rules as everyone else: the national competition, and a good enough ranking. Your only advantage over a home student is that you already hold your medical degree.

“Do I have to redo a year at home?” No. Not one hour of teaching. If you sit the specialty competition, though, you’ll do your 3 to 5 years of training like any other trainee.

“Do I need a diploma equivalence certificate?” Not to have your Romanian degree recognised at home. Equivalence works the other way round: it’s about getting your school-leaving qualification recognised in Romania at the point of admission, which some universities require. Our equivalence guide explains when the step is genuinely necessary.

“What about overseas territories?” French overseas departments are French and European territory: the directive applies identically. Registration goes through the departmental council. Since many of these territories are medical deserts, setting up there will in fact be easier.

“What if the directive changes?” It was amended in 2013 and again in 2024 without ever touching the principle of automatic recognition for medical degrees. Abandoning it would require the agreement of all 27. And above all: an amendment would not be retroactive. A degree obtained under the current regime stays valid.

“Can I do locum work?” Yes, once registered. It’s the most common way in: it lets you sample several ways of practising before committing.

“And setting up in private practice?” Yes, with no restriction linked to where the degree came from. The terms for contracting with the national health insurer are the same for everyone.

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The essentials in seven lines

What to do with this information

If you’re going to Romania, degree recognition shouldn’t worry you any more: it’s settled. Put your energy into the one variable still open — your ranking, at home or in Romania.

Concretely, that means deciding early between the domestic competition and the rezidențiat, and preparing accordingly from year five. Our comparison of the two routes is the right starting point. If you’re not there yet and are weighing the plan as a whole, go back to the complete 2026 guide.

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🛡️ If you’d rather not do it alone

The recognition procedures aren’t difficult: they’re long, sequential, and unforgiving on detail. We check every document before it goes out, handle the sworn translations and the apostille, file the application at the registry, and follow it through to confirmation.

See how we handle an application →