Hungary – Evidence of qualifications

This page is to explain what evidence of qualifications doctors who qualified in Hungary need to supply to support their registration application.

Below is information about

Medical regulatory authority

Office of Health Authorization and Administrative Procedures
Ministry of Health
H- 1054 Budapest
Akademia u.3
Hungary
Tel: +36 1 475 5835
Fax: +36 1 269 3794

Full registration

You will need to hold an Általános orvos oklevél (doctor medicinae universae, abbr -dr.med.univ) (General medical doctor's diploma) issued by the universities.

If you qualified before 1 September 1986 you will need to hold a letter from the Hungarian Ministry of Health or the registration authority of the EEA Member State or Switzerland where you are now working, which confirms that you have effectively and lawfully been engaged in actual medical practice for at least three consecutive years during the last five years (as required by Article 23.1 of the Directive 2005/36/EC).

Specialist register

To hold specialist registration you must also hold full registration.

Your specialty must be listed in Annex V of the Directive 2005/36/EC by the country that awarded it and have a corresponding entry for the United Kingdom.

If you want to apply for specialist registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and specialist registration at the same time.

You will need to hold a szakorvosi bizonyítvány (specialist certificate) awarded by the Nemzeti Vizsgabizottság (National Board of Examination). Before 28 August 2004 this was awarded by the Hungarian Ministry of Health.

If your Hungarian specialist certificate listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC was awarded before 1 March 1993 (or for the following disciplines: Community Medicine 1 March 2004, Geriatrics 1 January 2002, and Orthopaedics 1 January 2000) or if you began your training leading to the award of that certificate before those dates , you will need to hold:

A letter from the Hungarian Ministry of Health confirming that the training leading to the award of your specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

A letter from the Hungarian Ministry of Health confirming that your specialist medical qualification has exactly the same legal validity in Hungary as that of a specialist medical qualification awarded in compliance with Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

If your specialist training does not meet those standards you will need to hold a letter from the Hungarian Ministry of Health, or medical regulatory authority of the country where you are now working, confirming that you have been practising in the specialty in which your specialist certificate was awarded for the period required by Article 23.1 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If the title of your Hungarian specialist certificate is not described above or the specialty in which it is awarded is not the same as that specialty listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC you will also need to hold a letter from the Hungarian Ministry of Health confirming that your training leading to the award of the specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC and that the specialty is treated in law by Hungary as a certificate of medical specialisation in the relevant speciality as set out in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the specialist register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) to be assessed via the Article 14 equivalence route. Doctors applying via the Article 14 route will be required to demonstrate that their specialist qualifications, knowledge and experience gained are equivalent to that of a doctor completing a UK specialist training programme in your specialty. For further guidance, including application forms and a list of frequently answered questions, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB cannot accept CVs/resumes in isolation.

GP register

To hold GP registration you must also hold full registration.

If you want to apply for GP registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and GP registration at the same time.

You will need to hold either:

A háziorvostan szakorvosi bizonyítvány or általános orvostan szakorvosi bizonyítvány awarded by the Nemzeti Vizsgabizottság (National Board of Examination), previously called the Egészségügyi Felsofokú Szakirányú Szakképzési és Továbbképzési Bizottság', (Committee of Specialist Training & Continuing Education in Health). If the certificate does not clearly state that your training for general medical practice meets the standards laid down in Article 28 of Directive 2005/36/EC you will need to hold a letter from the Committee of Specialist Training & Continuing Education in Health which confirms that your training meets those standards.

OR

A certificate of acquired rights for general medical practice awarded by the Nemzeti Vizsgabizottság (National Board of Examination) , previously called the Egészségügyi Felsofokú Szakirányú Szakképzési és Továbbképzési Bizottság', (Committee of Specialist Training & Continuing Education in Health). This certificate must clearly state that it was issued in accordance with Article 30(1) of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the GP register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to PMETB via the Article 11 equivalence route. Doctors who apply using this method will have their training, qualifications and experience compared against the standard required for doctors completing a UK General Practice training programme. Successful applicants will be given a statement confirming their eligibility for entry to the GP Register and hence eligible to work as a GP in the UK. For further information and to request an Article 11 application pack, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB is unable to accept CVs/resumes in isolation and cannot process applications that are not made through the correct channels.