Emigrating as a Doctor to Austria: Medical Register, Foundation Training and Salary 2026

Why Austria is an obvious choice for doctors from Germany

For doctors from Germany, Austria is not an exotic destination but a well-established labour market. The Austrian Medical Chamber's data show that around 18 percent of practising doctors did not hold Austrian citizenship at the time of their first registration. By far the largest group comes from Germany, followed by Italy and Hungary. Anyone arriving from Germany is therefore entering a system that has been dealing with German qualifications for decades.

The scale of the movement can also be read from the other side: according to the German Medical Association's workforce statistics as at 31 December 2025, a total of 2,234 doctors left Germany in 2025, 1,236 of them German citizens. Measured against the profession as a whole this is a small but highly visible group – and the German-speaking countries are its most important destination.

The appeal rarely rests on a single argument. It is the combination of a language that requires no examination, recognition that is mapped out in European law, a training route with clear time markers, and a health system that recruits very actively in particular regions.

Entry in the medical register is the real key

In Austria the right to practise does not depend on a certificate like the German medical licence but on a register entry. Anyone wanting to work as a doctor must be entered in the medical register. The Austrian Medical Chamber is responsible; registration takes place through the state medical chamber of the province in which the work will begin. Without this entry no medical service may be provided – not even in training.

The requirements follow from the 1998 Medical Practitioners Act. According to the federal business service portal, the relevant provisions are above all Sections 4, 5, 5a, 13b, 27, 28 and 262 of that Act. Alongside the professional qualification, the general requirements for practising are demanded: legal capacity, trustworthiness, health fitness and sufficient knowledge of German. The supporting documents – criminal record certificate, Certificate of Good Standing, medical certificate of health fitness – may be no more than three months old when the application is made.

Recognition in principle: what the EU directive prescribes

For a medical qualification obtained in Germany, automatic recognition applies under Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC. That means equivalency is not assessed in substance but presumed in principle, provided the qualification is listed in the annex to the directive and a certificate of conformity from the country of origin is available. The Austrian Medical Chamber has up to three months for automatic recognition and up to four months for non-automatic recognition. Only in the non-automatic procedure can a substantive assessment with an aptitude test or adaptation period arise; the 2025 published rates for that range between 290.03 euros and 1,883.71 euros.

Non-EU qualifications and nostrification

Anyone who completed their degree outside the European Economic Area has, according to the Austrian Medical Chamber, two routes. Either the qualification has already been recognised in an EEA state and the person has lawfully worked there as a doctor for three years – in which case acquired rights apply. Or the qualification is nostrified at one of the Austrian medical universities, that is, treated as equivalent to a domestic degree. The second route is considerably more laborious. For graduates of an EU university – in Bulgaria, Hungary or Croatia, say – the question does not arise: their qualification falls under the same directive as a German one.

Language: the non-hurdle for German-speaking applicants

The Medical Practitioners Act requires "sufficient knowledge of the German language". A standardised examination like the German specialist language test is not an issue for people with German-language schooling and higher education. This is precisely the biggest practical difference from all other emigration destinations: in Switzerland, proof of language at B2 level in an official language has been compulsory since 1 January 2018 and is recorded in the register of medical professions. In the Netherlands the BIG register expressly requires level B2+ for academic health professions such as doctors, that is, above B2 and below C1, tested in reading, listening, speaking and writing. In Norway, acquiring Norwegian is in practice an additional step for authorisation.

Anyone moving from Germany to Austria therefore saves the most time-expensive item of any medical emigration: the year that elsewhere goes on language courses and language examinations. Professionally a small learning curve remains – Austrian reporting language, drug names, the terminology of the social insurance system – but no formal hurdle.

From qualification to independent practice

In Austria the route to independent practice of medicine runs through the ius practicandi, the entitlement to practise on your own responsibility. It is not acquired on graduating but on completing postgraduate training. Until then you work as a doctor in training under supervision – a status corresponding to the German junior doctor but more narrowly defined in law.

At the start comes foundation training under the 2015 medical training regulations. It conveys basic clinical competence and requires at least one rotation each in a surgical and a conservative specialty. On 1 August 2026 its minimum duration was shortened from nine to six months; the National Council passed the amendment on 7 July 2026. The step was justified among other things by an overlap of around 50 percent in content between the clinical practical year and foundation training. In parallel, the option of crediting clinical practical year time towards foundation training ceased on 1 June 2026.

After that the route divides. Anyone wanting to become a general practitioner then completes at least 27 months in subjects relevant to general practice plus a compulsory teaching practice, which since June 2022 has lasted nine months. Anyone aiming for a specialty goes through basic specialty training and focused specialty training; the total duration depends on the specialty. Each route ends with an examination, then registration as a general practitioner or as a specialist – and with it the ius practicandi.

What the shorter foundation training means for those arriving

For doctors from Germany wanting to move, the shortening is above all a question of timing. Foundation training is the bottleneck at which waiting times in Austria have traditionally arisen, because the number of approved training posts is limited. A cycle that occupies six rather than nine months increases throughput per training post by half on the arithmetic. For applicants arriving from abroad without a place secured through an in-house clinical practical year, that noticeably improves the starting position. We have covered the substance of the reform separately.

Pay: the comparison with Germany is closer than expected

Austrian doctors' salaries are not negotiated uniformly nationwide but by province and provider. The specialist outlet nextdoc compiled starting salaries in the first year of training from the collective agreements as at 2 July 2026. The range is considerable.

By comparison: in Germany the basic pay in pay group I step 1 of the doctors' collective agreement for municipal hospitals is, according to the Marburger Bund pay table from 1 June 2026, 5,722.05 euros gross a month, and 6,046.42 euros in step 2; for specialists in pay group II step 1 it is 7,552.19 euros. In nominal basic pay, then, Germany is ahead.

The calculation is only complete once three Austrian particularities are added. First, salaries in Austria are usually paid fourteen times a year, so holiday and Christmas pay are a fixed component and receive favourable tax treatment. Second, allowances and duties weigh heavily; according to the nextdoc survey they can add up to 70 percent to basic pay at university hospitals. Third, some providers pay for duties very transparently: since 1 February 2024 the Vienna Health Association has stated 29.44 euros gross per night duty hour and 18.50 euros gross per Sunday and public holiday hour, plus a continuing education budget of 1,000 euros and ten training days a year.

On balance: anyone looking only at basic pay will find more in Germany. Anyone who sets off duty burden, payment rhythm, cost of living and speed of progression will, depending on province and specialty, land close together.

Working time: the hospital working time act sets tighter limits than daily life suggests

Working time in Austrian hospitals is governed by the Hospital Working Time Act. According to the labour inspectorate, without extended duties an upper limit of 13 hours a day applies, an average of 48 hours a week over 17 weeks and a maximum of 60 hours in any single week. Where extended duties are permitted by works agreement, a duty may last up to 25 hours, a single week may reach 72 hours, and with the written consent of the person concerned the average may be raised to up to 52 hours a week until 30 June 2028. Uninterrupted rest is at least eleven hours.

In practice this means: the opt-out in Austria is a time-limited arrangement with a statutory end date, not a permanent state of affairs. Anyone looking for duties will find them; anyone who does not want them can rely on a clear legal position.

Regional need: the shortage is not a shortage of people

Austria has more doctors than ever. As at 31 December 2025 the Austrian Medical Chamber counted 53,353 members, of whom 10,256 were in training, 13,081 were general practitioners and 29,917 were specialists. The share of women passed 50.4 percent for the first time. The density of doctors is 5.64 per 1,000 inhabitants – the third highest figure internationally. Statistics Austria reported 52,005 practising doctors and 257 hospitals as at 31 December 2024 on the basis of the chamber data.

The interesting figures sit alongside. The density of doctors ranges from 4.68 per 1,000 inhabitants in Upper Austria to 7.33 in Vienna. 32.7 percent of the profession is over 55; 18,346 doctors will reach the age of 65 within ten years, implying an annual replacement need of around 1,836 people. Medical Chamber President Johannes Steinhart summed up the position: "There is therefore no shortage of doctors as such, but a marked shortage in the public system."

For newcomers that is good news with an address. Recruitment is happening less in the densely served urban areas than in the rural provinces and the public hospitals – that is, where training posts are most likely to be free anyway. Anyone willing to begin foundation training outside Vienna negotiates from a considerably stronger position.

Which route is quickest in an individual case depends on the qualification, the preferred specialty and the timing. We are happy to look at that together – booking a free consultation commits you to nothing.

International comparison: Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands

Austria is not the only destination of European medical mobility. Three frequently chosen alternatives differ above all in one respect: language.

Three observations from the comparison:

• The formal recognition period is almost identical in all four countries, because it is set by Directive 2005/36/EC. The difference arises not in the office but in the language course.
• Norway takes new entrants through LIS1, an 18-month compulsory phase of twelve months in hospital and six months in municipal service. According to the Helsedirektoratet the number of these posts grew from 950 in 2019 to 1,218 in 2025; applications are made twice a year.
• The Netherlands pays in the first training year on a 36-hour basis, which raises the hourly rate on the arithmetic compared with a 40-hour week.

Anyone examining Switzerland as a destination will find the recognition and salary question already covered in detail on our site; the system differs considerably from the Austrian register model.

This article reflects the legal position as at 14 August 2026 and does not replace legal or tax advice in an individual case.