Introduction – German State Grant for Doctors and Dentists
Pursuing postgraduate medicine or dentistry in Germany can be an enriching experience for aspiring medical and dental professionals. The main aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the Grant available to foreign-educated healthcare professionals, especially medical doctors and dentists. We will explore the details of the Grant available, eligibility, the application process, and benefits, empowering aspiring healthcare professionals to make informed decisions about funding their postgraduate studies.
Types of Grants available for qualified medical doctors and dentists to pursue PG in Germany!
The German state Grant we refer to here is exclusively for foreign-educated doctors and dentists interested in getting licensed in Germany and practising in German hospitals independently.
Eligibility Criteria for the Grant meant for foreign doctors and dentist
Foreign-educated doctors and dentists can qualify for this Grant provided they processed their qualification with the state office/board of medicine or dentistry and received a ‘DEFICIT’/Assessment letter. The letter generally informs the applicant to come and sit a Knowledge test and pass eventually to consider for a medical or dentistry license allowing them to practice their profession in German hospitals independently.
What is the Grant for, how much, and what does it cover?
The Grant is to help qualified foreign doctors and dentists cover the cost of their preparatory programme offered in Germany, which mainly covers the cost of language learning from an intermediate level to a proficiency level, including medical German. Medical German helps the foreign doctor/dentist to prepare for FSP, sit and pass to qualify for a provisional license.
How much is the Grant? What money must I have to pay for the preparatory programme?
For example, the programme’s cost, starting with the basic to a proficiency level, including medical language, costs approximately 12,000.EUR.
As mentioned above, the Grant will cover the intermediate to proficiency level, approximately 8000.EUR, i.e.,; 12,000-8,000=4000.
Thus the cost of the programme comes down to just 4000.EUR, which covers your A1-B1 level German language learning directly from a Germany-based institution.
A1-A2 levels online in your home country and B1 in person in Germany!
What costs are not covered by the German State Grant for Doctors and Dentists?
To begin with, the programme provider could be authorised to apply for recognition of professional qualifications on your behalf. While getting ready for it, all your qualifications need to be translated into German by a German state-approved translator in Germany, and that costs approximately 700-1000.EUR. The translator will start working on the translation only after they receive the payment for the translation cost.
FAQ
Do all the foreign-educated doctors and Dentists qualify for the German State Grant For Doctors and Dentists?
All those who get a Deficit letter from a German state medical board will qualify for the Grant. Being the deficit letter, the main criteria to qualify for the Grant, foreign-educated doctors and dentists licensed in their home country or country of residence to practice their profession are the best preferred.
What will happen with the recently graduated doctors and dentists who are yet to pass the FMGE and attend an internship?
The freshers have two options;
- Process their applications with a German state medical/dental board while they are in India while attending the German language courses offered by the preparatory school directly from Germany. Once the Deficit letter is received, they can apply for a visa, arrive in Germany, and continue learning the language, followed by a German medical programme.
- Applying for the programme by providing all the qualifications and documents they have at present.
Start learning German online until the admission letter and supporting visa documents arrive, and lodge your application to the German consulate. Generally, the consulates ask for at least an A2 test passed certificate while accepting visa applications from doctors and dentists.
Once in Germany, process the assessment application with the concerned medical/dental council while attending the language and medical courses to prepare for the FSP test.
Since the main objective is met, a German state Grant for doctors and Dentists (approximately 7770. EUR) for a recently graduated doctor should be a minor matter!
