What are the facilities for doctors and dentists from Ukraine?
The enacted legislation of 12 March 2022 on assistance to citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of the country provides special facilities for doctors and dentists from Ukraine.
Facilities for doctors and dentists only apply to:
- Ukrainian citizens,
- those who obtained their qualifications as a doctor or dentist outside the territory of the Member States of the European Union (i.e. in Ukraine, but also in other countries outside the EU).
Doctors and dentists who are third-country nationals and have fled Ukraine will therefore not be able to benefit from this measure.
Citizens of Ukraine with qualifications as a doctor or dentist obtained outside the EU will be able, as of 24 February 2022, for a period of 18 months (irrespective of the duration of the state of epidemic risk or epidemic state), to obtain a permit to practice as a doctor or dentist and be granted a conditional entitlement to practice in Poland.
A citizen of Ukraine will be able to obtain a permit to practise as a doctor or dentist if:
- has full legal capacity;
- his/her state of health permits him/her to pursue the profession of doctor or dentist;
- demonstrates impeccable ethical behaviour and
- holds a diploma in medicine or dentistry from a country other than a Member State of the European Union, attesting at least five years of study. During a declared state of emergency or a state of epidemic, these documents do not need to be legalised or authorised.
In order to obtain a permit to practice as a doctor or dentist in Poland, a citizen of Ukraine meeting the above conditions will have to submit an appropriate application to the Minister of Health.
The granted permission to practice the profession allows to work only in a medical entity. After undertaking such work, a citizen of Ukraine will be obliged to inform the Minister of Health about this fact within 7 days.
Furthermore, a citizen of Ukraine who holds a licence to practise as a doctor or dentist and a conditional permission to practise these professions in connection with the declaration of a state of epidemic risk or a state of epidemics will be allowed to work outside a medical entity intended to provide health services to patients suffering from COVID-19, even after the state of epidemic risk and the state of epidemics has been resolved.
The Act also introduces separate work regulations for doctors and dentists in postgraduate training and nurses.
Detailed information on facilities and procedures for medical staff can be found at https://www.gov.pl/web/zdrowie/jestes-lekarzem-lub-lekarzem-dentysta
Legal basis:
Ustawa z dnia 12 marca 2022 r. o pomocy obywatelom Ukrainy w związku z konfliktem zbrojnym na terytorium tego państwa (Dz. U. z 2022 r. poz. 583) / Law of 12 March 2022 on Assistance to Citizens of Ukraine in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of the State (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 583)Ustawa z dnia 5 grudnia 1996 r. o zawodach lekarza i lekarza dentysty, art. 7 ust. 2a, 9-14, 17-22 (t.j. Dz. U. z 2021 r. poz. 790 z późn. zm.) / Act of 5 December 1996 on Professions of Physician and Dentist, Art. 7(2a), 9-14, 17-22 (consolidated text, Journal of Laws of 2021, item 790, as amended), available here: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU19970280152/U/D19970152Lj.pdf