The issue of employment of foreign specialists is increasingly facing Ukrainian hospitals. In order for a foreign doctor to legally work in Ukraine, the doctor and his employer must go through a series of procedures.
Step one:
- Required documents for employment.
First of all, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of recognition of a diploma of higher medical education in Ukraine. This procedure is not required if the doctor graduated from a higher educational institution in the countries of the former USSR before 1992.
In other cases, you should apply to the Ministry of Education of Ukraine by submitting a relevant application, notarized copies of the diploma and its annexes. Education documents must be previously legalized – as a general rule (apostille). The type of legalization depends on the country where the doctor was educated, for some countries it is not mandatory, but it speeds up the process of diploma recognition in Ukraine (for example, for diplomas obtained in the Republic of Belarus).
To receive a certificate of recognition of a diploma, a foreign doctor does not have to be in Ukraine, it can be done remotely or through a representative in Ukraine.
The certificate of recognition of the diploma is one of the documents required to obtain admission to medical practice from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The procedure for admission to medical and pharmaceutical activity in Ukraine of citizens who have undergone medical or pharmaceutical training in educational institutions of foreign countries provides that the decision to grant rights to professional activity is made upon application by a doctor or upon the request of a medical institution, to which certified persons are added in the established manner copies of the following documents:
- a document on the recognition in Ukraine of a foreign educational document;
- a document about education;
- doctor’s certificate;
- a document on the level of qualification (certificate of advanced training and availability of a category by profession);
- a document confirming work experience in a specialty;
- an identity document.
Based on the submitted documents, the Ministry of Health determines what additional conditions a doctor must fulfill in order to be able to practice in Ukraine. These can be internships, advanced training courses, and internships. After fulfilling the specified additional conditions, the doctor receives a Ukrainian doctor’s certificate and can work.
In the process of obtaining admission from the Ministry of Health, it is important to pay attention to the ratio of medical specialties in Ukraine and abroad. For example, some specialties may not be divided into “adult” and “children”, some may not be available in Ukraine. These features may affect the number of conditions required to obtain a certificate in the desired specialty.
Step two:
- obtaining a work permit.
For its part, the medical institution as an employer must obtain a permit from the employment center to employ a foreign specialist. Such permits are issued by regional employment centers on the basis of the hospital’s application, which is accompanied by a photo of the doctor, a notarized translation of the passport and the employment contract (contract) with the doctor.
An interesting point is that the employment center does not require confirmation of the qualifications of the person whom the employer plans to employ as a doctor. The main condition for obtaining such a permit is the payment of wages to a foreigner in the amount of at least 10 minimum wages.
Obtaining a work permit also does not require the presence of a foreigner. Moreover, the employer can obtain an employment permit in advance so that the foreign specialist can immediately obtain a work visa in the country of citizenship to enter Ukraine (which will be needed in the future to obtain a residence permit, except for some countries).
Employment permit terms.
An employment permit is issued for a period of one year, but may be extended an unlimited number of times.
Residence permit based on employment.
After arriving in Ukraine, a foreign doctor can obtain a residence permit based on employment. For this, in addition to the foreigner’s documents (passport and its notarized translation, insurance policy), an employment permit and an obligation from the employer to notify the employment service and the migration service of the early termination of the employment contract with the foreigner will be required. A residence permit is issued for the duration of the employment permit and can be extended multiple times. Within 30 days from the day of receiving a residence permit, a foreigner must register his place of residence.
Cancellation of the employment permit.
If the doctor decides to change the place of work, after the dismissal, the work and residence permit will be canceled. The doctor must leave the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, you should take care in advance of a new work permit and compliance with all requirements of migration legislation.