From Germany to Switzerland: with a German nursing qualification, an Approbation or as an MFA

Which German qualification leads to which procedure

Switzerland applies EU Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications through the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. How closely the competent Swiss body examines your qualification depends above all on whether it is listed in Annex V of this Directive. If it is, it is recognised automatically, without a comparison with a Swiss programme. For German qualifications in nursing, medicine and medical practice work, this is how it looks:

For recognition by the SRK as a nurse, midwife or healthcare assistant (FaGe) and by MEBEKO as a doctor, TakeCare submits the application, manages the entire process and covers the costs of recognition. If you trained in geriatric nursing (Altenpflege), we clarify with you which procedure applies to you and what TakeCare takes on. If you are an MFA, we check with you whether you need recognition for your job at all.

Nursing: SRK recognition with a German qualification

According to the SRK, recognition of a foreign diploma is a legal requirement in regulated professions, and nursing is one of them. The SRK carries out this task on behalf of the Swiss Confederation. This is how the procedure works:

1. 1PreCheck: this mandatory, free first step takes place online. Once all documents have been submitted, the result is available within four weeks at most, according to the SRK; in our experience, often within ten days of applying.
2. 2Application: after a positive PreCheck, the SRK sends you the application documents and tells you the costs. The complete file goes to the SRK by post, together with the signed application form.
3. 3Decision: the procedure starts once your file is complete and the invoice has been paid. From then on, the SRK makes a first decision within four months at most; if compensation measures are needed, it takes longer.
4. 4Register entry: after recognition, you are entered in the Register of Health Professions (GesReg) and automatically receive a GLN (Global Location Number).

For nurses, TakeCare submits the application, manages the procedure and covers the costs of recognition; in our experience, the whole process takes around three months. If you trained in geriatric nursing (Altenpflege), we clarify with you which procedure applies to you and what TakeCare takes on.

The SRK sends the full list of documents with the application form. It includes certificates from authorities. First, proof of your current professional status (Certificate of Current Professional Status or Letter of Good Standing) from the authority of the country in which you last worked, so from Germany if you worked there; it may be no more than three months old when you submit it and is not yet needed for the PreCheck. If your diploma was never registered, for example because you never worked in the profession in the country where you trained, it is replaced by a Certificate of Non-Registration and an extract from the criminal record that is no more than three months old. Second, for the EU-harmonised procedure, the EU certificate from the authority of the country where you trained, confirming that your qualification complies with the Directive. According to the SRK, certifications and translations must be in German, French, Italian or English, and translations must come from recognised translators. The SRK does not accept apostilles as certification.

According to the SRK, whether and for how long you may work without recognition while the procedure is under way is decided by the cantonal health department or the cantonal medical officer's service. There is no uniform rule for the whole of Switzerland.

In the ordinary procedure, the SRK compares your qualification with the Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann HF or the Bachelor of Science in Nursing FH. If there are substantial differences, it requires compensation measures: an adaptation period, an adaptation period with additional training, or an aptitude test with a written and an oral part. According to the SRK, you have two years to complete them. During the adaptation period, you work in your profession, possibly in your Swiss job, supervised by a professional of the same field from your department whom the SRK has approved. According to the SRK, the providers of the compensation measures invoice them directly. If the level or duration of the training does not match, the SRK can also recognise a qualification at a lower, vocational level under the Health Professions Recognition Ordinance (GesBAV); in that case, there is no entry in the Register of Health Professions.

Once recognised, your qualification has the same effect in Switzerland as the corresponding Swiss qualification, and recognition is valid for your entire working life. You may use the Swiss professional title, such as Pflegefachfrau (registered nurse), or your German title with the country stated, but not the titles HF or FH. The SRK recommends that employers hire recognised professionals on the same terms, including pay, as those trained in Switzerland; this is not a statutory pay rule.

According to the FOPH, you only need a cantonal licence to practise (Berufsausübungsbewilligung) if you work on your own professional responsibility: self-employed, in a senior position or without supervision by a professional of the same profession. Cantonal rules may apply in addition. The canton of Zurich, for example, requires German at level B2 or higher for the licence and only accepts foreign qualifications recognised by the SRK.

Doctors with a German diploma: recognition by MEBEKO

For medical diplomas from EU/EFTA states, recognition is a simplified procedure: if the training meets the EU minimum requirements, MEBEKO recognises the diploma automatically. If your training differs from Swiss training in duration or scope, no additional conditions may be imposed. The recognised diploma has the same effect as a Swiss federal diploma.

Direct recognition requires three things together: you or your spouse hold the citizenship of Switzerland or an EU/EFTA state, your diploma bears the designation given in Directive 2005/36/EC, and it was issued by the body named there. For a German diploma, the following also applies:

• You submit the certificate of the state medical examination (Zeugnis über die Ärztliche Prüfung), not the Approbationsurkunde.
• A certificate of conformity with the Directive is not needed for German diplomas, unless you only have a provisional confirmation of your diploma.
• Diplomas from the former GDR (East Germany) are recognised on the basis of acquired rights if they are legally equivalent to a current German diploma and you prove at least three years of actual, lawful professional practice in Switzerland or the EU/EFTA within the last five years.
• MEBEKO requires certified copies and does not return any documents. Certifications may be made by notaries, diplomatic missions, municipal, city and district administrations, courts and the issuing body. Certifications by parish offices, welfare organisations, health insurers, hospitals, banks, the post office, translators or yourself are not accepted.
• MEBEKO only accepts applications on paper, by post, not by email; it sends the decision by registered post.
• Your specialist title (Facharzttitel) is recognised by MEBEKO's Postgraduate Training section (Ressort Weiterbildung) in a separate application with its own decision; the documents can be submitted together with the diploma application. Only the titles on additional form 1.1 are recognised, and this list is exhaustive. A recognised title does not guarantee the same billing options under Swiss compulsory health insurance as in Germany.

MEBEKO processes applications in the order in which they are received; this cannot be expedited. MEBEKO currently states up to six months for the diploma and up to five months for the specialist title, in each case from the acknowledgement of receipt; according to MEBEKO, these figures are not binding. In our experience, the whole recognition process takes around three months. Once the fee has been paid, you receive the decision, are entered in the Medical Professions Register (MedReg) and receive a GLN.

For your planning, this means: without an entry in the MedReg, you may not work as a doctor in Switzerland, and before hiring you, your employer checks that you are registered and have the necessary language skills. If you work on your own professional responsibility, for example as a specialist in a practice, you also need a licence from the canton. For resident doctors (Assistenzärztinnen and Assistenzärzte) working under supervision, the cantons have different rules: Bern exempts them from the licensing requirement; Zurich does not require a licence in hospitals, but in a practice the employing doctor needs a resident licence (Assistenzbewilligung); and in Ticino every medical activity requires a licence.

If you studied in Germany but neither you nor your spouse holds the citizenship of Switzerland or an EU/EFTA state, MEBEKO cannot recognise your diploma; subject to conditions, it can only register it. With a registered diploma, you can begin Swiss postgraduate training, but you cannot complete it.

MFA: recognition only if you take X-rays

On the official recognition portal of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI, SBFI in German), “Medizinische Fachangestellte” is stored as a search term under the Swiss profession of Medizinische Praxisassistentin or Medizinischer Praxisassistent (MPA, medical practice assistant). SERI is also the body responsible for recognising foreign qualifications as an MPA, not the SRK and not MEBEKO. On the portal, a single question decides: will you be taking X-rays?

• Without X-rays, the work is not regulated. You do not need recognition and can apply directly. You can still apply for recognition voluntarily. However, the professional association FMH (Swiss Medical Association), one of the bodies behind MPA training, states without making this distinction that foreign MPAs need recognition from SERI.
• With X-rays, you need recognition from SERI. According to the FOPH, you can also obtain the authorisation for low-dose X-ray imaging in the same procedure, the same one an MPA with the Swiss federal VET diploma (MPA EFZ) holds: chest and extremities, under the direction of a doctor with expertise in radiation protection. Fluoroscopy, CT and mammography are not included.

There is no shortcut through the agreement between Switzerland and Germany of 10 February 2021. Its list of equivalent vocational qualifications (as of 31 December 2025) does match the Zahnmedizinische Fachangestellte (dental assistant) with the Dentalassistentin EFZ, but it does not match the MFA with the MPA EFZ. Both programmes take three years, but SERI has not published any statement on their equivalence. If you need recognition, it therefore goes through SERI's regular procedure.

SERI charges CHF 550 for recognition, not including any compensation measures, and in its entry for the MPA states up to four months from the complete file. However, it points out that it cannot always meet these processing times, and it currently reports an unusually high number of applications and considerable delays. SERI only requires proof of language skills in some cases. We check with you whether you need recognition for your job.

According to the canton of Zurich, you can be employed there as an MPA in a doctor's practice without a cantonal licence; the practice must ensure that your training matches your duties.

Commute or move: G, L or B permit

As a national of Germany or another EU/EFTA state, you are covered by the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. You do not need a separate work permit: the residence permit also serves as your work permit, and if you meet the requirements, you have a legal right to it. Permits are issued by the cantons. Which one you receive depends on where you live and how long your employment contract runs.

Border zones no longer apply to EU/EFTA nationals. You may live anywhere in the EU/EFTA and work anywhere in Switzerland; the only condition regarding your place of residence is that you return there at least once a week.

If you are a cross-border commuter, your employer is named on your G permit. If you change jobs, you notify the authority at your place of work before you start the new job. Who submits the application varies from canton to canton; in the canton of Zurich, for example, the G permit can be applied for through EasyGov, the online portal for businesses. Commuting makes no difference to recognition: as a nurse or doctor, you need it even as a cross-border commuter.

If you move, it is generally up to you, according to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), to register with your new municipality of residence and apply for the permit, within 14 days of arrival and before starting work. For this, you need a valid passport or identity card and your employer's written confirmation of employment stating the duration of the contract and your workload as a percentage of full-time. You may start work as soon as the cantonal authority has received your application; you do not have to wait for the permit card. L, B and C permits are valid throughout Switzerland; moving to another canton does not require a new permit, but it does require registration at your new place of residence within 14 days. These residence permits do not replace a licence to practise.

German nationals receive the C settlement permit (Niederlassungsbewilligung C) under the Settlement Agreement after five years of regular and uninterrupted residence, provided they are integrated and can prove knowledge of the national language spoken where they live at level A2 or higher orally and A1 or higher in writing. Spouses and children under 18 living in the same household are also entitled to it, regardless of their nationality. Short-term stays on an L permit generally do not count towards these five years; if you later receive a B permit, however, the SEM may take earlier stays as an employee into account.

You may stay in Switzerland for up to three months without a permit to look for work; there is no social assistance for jobseekers from the EU/EFTA.

Cross-border commuters living in Germany: tax, health insurance, AHV

If you live in Germany as a cross-border commuter, Switzerland caps its withholding tax at 4.5 percent of your gross salary, provided you give your employer the certificate of residence (form Gre-1) from your German tax office (Finanzamt). This amount is credited against your German tax. If, for work reasons, you do not return to your place of residence on more than 60 working days in a calendar year, you lose cross-border commuter status, and Switzerland can tax your salary in full. If you work shifts, it is worth keeping count of these days.

You must have health insurance from your first working day. According to the FOPH, with EU citizenship and residence in Germany you have a right of choice: you can take out insurance in Germany instead of Switzerland. To do so, you submit an application for exemption to the competent authority of the canton where you work within three months of starting your job; a tacit choice is not legally valid. Without an exemption, you take out Swiss health insurance within the same three months.

In principle, you are covered by Swiss social security, even if you live in Germany: anyone who works here is insured under AHV/IV/EO (old-age and survivors' insurance, disability insurance and income compensation), and thanks to EU coordination, in only one country. Contributions total 10.6 percent of salary; your employer deducts your share of 5.3 percent from your salary and pays the same share itself. Your employer insures you against occupational accidents and, if you work for them at least eight hours a week, also against non-occupational accidents.

Language: Standard German in the law, Swiss German in everyday life

Where Swiss laws require language skills, they mean an official language: German, French or Italian, not a dialect. We have not found any rule requiring Swiss German, either at federal level or in the cantons of Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Vaud and Ticino, and the recognised language certificates all test the standard language.

Everyday life is different. According to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Swiss German is the most widely spoken language in Switzerland and is spoken in all areas of life; written communication is in Standard German, because Swiss German is not a written language. According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), 83 percent of people in employment in German-speaking Switzerland usually speak Swiss German at work, 43 percent Standard German and 21 percent English (2020). Of the population aged 15 and over in German-speaking Switzerland, 85.3 percent regularly speak Swiss German (FSO, 2024).

As a doctor, under the Medical Professions Act you need the language skills that your work requires; the FOPH equates this with level B2. If you actually completed your medical studies in German, you can use them as proof, because what counts is the language in which you studied, not the language of the certificate. If German is your main language, you submit a self-declaration for the entry that you have written, dated and signed yourself; in case of doubt, MEBEKO may request further proof. The language entry in the MedReg costs CHF 50 to 100 per language. Employers and cantons may require a higher level or recent proof.

For your own admission to bill Swiss compulsory health insurance, the Health Insurance Act also requires a language examination taken in Switzerland. You are exempt if you obtained your recognised foreign diploma in the official language of the region in which you work: with a German diploma obtained in German, that means in German-speaking Switzerland. According to the FOPH, doctors employed in the outpatient sector of a hospital do not need their own admission, because the hospital does the billing.

In nursing, the SRK requires knowledge of a national language at level B2 for recognition and lists these certificates for German: Goethe-Zertifikat B2, telc Deutsch B2, TestDaF levels 3 to 5 and ÖSD Zertifikat B2. The SRK does not say explicitly whether you have to submit one of them if you trained in Germany; we clarify this in the procedure. For a cantonal licence, cantonal law applies: Zurich requires German at level B2 or higher; Bern does not require proof of language skills if German or French is your main language and you completed your training in one of these languages.

Arriving: the first weeks after your move

If you move to Switzerland, a number of obligations with deadlines come on top of the permit. TakeCare supports you with finding a flat, with insurance and with dealing with the authorities.

• Register with the municipality: within 14 days of arrival and before starting work, with your passport or identity card and the confirmation of employment. In the city of Zurich, for example, you need an in-person appointment for this and can only register once you have actually moved in.
• Take out health insurance: within three months of moving here. If you do so in time, cover applies retroactively from the date you moved, and you also pay premiums from then. If you are late, cover only starts when you join, and if the delay is inexcusable, a premium surcharge of 30 to 50 percent applies, for twice the length of the delay and for five years at most. Every person is insured individually, and for basic insurance every insurer must accept you without reservation. For adults, the deductible (Franchise) is between CHF 300 and CHF 2,500; after that, you pay 10 percent of the costs yourself, up to CHF 700 a year.
• Family in Germany: according to the FOPH, family members who are not in employment and stay in Germany can be insured in Germany or in Switzerland. The cantonal authority grants exemption from compulsory Swiss insurance on application.
• Suspend accident cover: if you work at least eight hours a week for the same employer, you are also insured against non-occupational accidents through them. You can then have the accident cover in your health insurance suspended on request, which lowers the premium; this does not happen automatically.
• Withholding tax: with an L or B permit, your employer deducts withholding tax from your salary; it covers federal, cantonal and municipal tax, and each canton sets the rates. If your gross earned income is CHF 120,000 a year or more, a subsequent ordinary assessment with a tax return is mandatory; you can apply for one voluntarily by 31 March of the following year, for example to deduct contributions to pillar 3a (private pension savings).
• Find a flat: landlords often ask for an extract from the debt collection register (Betreibungsregisterauszug). It shows debt collection proceedings from the last five years, only covers the debt collection district in which you order it, and costs CHF 17, or CHF 18 with delivery. The rental deposit is at most three months' rent and is held in a rental deposit account in your name. Fees connected with applying for a flat, such as for reserving it, are not permitted.
• Open a bank account: each bank decides for itself which permits it accepts. At PostFinance, for example, you can apply for an account in person if you live in Switzerland, with your passport or identity card and your foreign national's permit card (Ausländerausweis).
• Exchange your driving licence: you may drive with your German driving licence for twelve months. After that, you exchange it for a Swiss driving licence, without a driving test but with an eye test; the fee is set by the canton.
• Import your household effects: household items that you have used yourself for at least six months can be imported duty-free within two years of moving your residence.

What TakeCare does for you

• Recognition by the SRK for nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants (FaGe) and by MEBEKO for doctors: we submit the application, manage the entire process and cover the costs of recognition. For nursing assistants, we submit the application for the “Gleichwertigkeit Pflegehelfende SRK” (SRK equivalence for nursing assistants) for you and cover the costs; this is not recognition but a separate procedure.
• Timeframe: for nurses and doctors, in our experience, the whole recognition process takes around three months. According to the SRK, the PreCheck result is available within four weeks at most; in our experience, often within ten days of applying.
• Geriatric nursing (Altenpflege), paediatric nursing (Kinderkrankenpflege): the SRK has not published how it classifies your qualification. We clarify with you which procedure applies to you and what TakeCare takes on.
• MFA: we check with you whether you need SERI recognition for your job.
• Arriving: we support you with finding a flat, with insurance and with dealing with the authorities.
• Placement: we place candidates in jobs in German-speaking Switzerland, French-speaking Switzerland (Romandie) and Ticino.
• Free of charge: all our services are free for jobseekers (Art. 9 of the Swiss Recruitment Act, AVG).

What we cannot speed up: the assessment itself. According to the SRK, it does not process applications submitted through a representative any faster or with priority, and MEBEKO processes applications in the order in which they are received. Where we submit the application, we take the work and the costs of recognition off your hands, and for nursing assistants those of the equivalence application; the processing time remains that of the assessing body.