Practising in Kosovo: Chamber licensing exams and the route for foreign professionals

Medical and health education in Kosovo

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Prishtina trains doctors, with dentistry and nursing in the same university's health faculties. Pharmacy is taught at the University of Prishtina, and several private colleges offer health programmes, including nursing and physiotherapy. Medicine is a six-year degree. Check the accreditation status of any private provider with the Kosovo Accreditation Agency before you enrol.

Teaching is in Albanian, and in Serbian in the parallel institutions that serve the Serbian-language community. Graduation leads to an internship and then the Chamber's licensing exam. The Chamber issues the licence that allows independent practice.

Recognition of Kosovo qualifications outside the country depends on each destination's rules. Some states recognise Kosovo diplomas and some assess them case by case. Graduates who plan to work abroad should check the destination regulator before choosing a route. Typical exams include Germany's Approbation process, PLAB or another GMC route in the UK, the AMC process in Australia, and Gulf regulator exams after Dataflow verification.

A small system with a Chamber exam and a foreign-licensing law

Kosovo has two separate stories. For locally trained graduates, the Chamber of the profession runs a licensing exam after the internship. For foreign professionals, a different body, the Board for Licensing of Health Professionals, applies Administrative Instruction GRK 10/2023. That instruction does not impose a standard exam. It looks at the training and sets supplementary requirements where the programme differs.

The result is that the exam on this page matters most to graduates of Kosovo schools and to foreign graduates who are asked to take a supplementary test. If you are in the second group, ask the Board what is required instead of preparing for a generic exam.

Who needs the licensing exam

Local graduates in all six professions sit the Chamber exam after the internship. Foreign graduates are assessed by the Board. The Board may require a supplementary exam, a period of practice or a training module, depending on how the foreign training compares with the Kosovo standard.

Doctors: Chamber of Doctors licensing exam

1. Graduate. Complete the medical degree.
2. Complete the internship. Follow the structure set by the Ministry of Health.
3. Apply to the Chamber. Register for the licensing exam.
4. Sit the exam. A written format is reported; confirm it with the Chamber.
5. Receive the licence. The Chamber issues the licence to practise.

Other professions

The Chamber of Nurses (Oda e Infermierëve), the Chamber of Pharmacists (Oda e Farmacistëve), the Chamber of Dentists (Oda e Stomatologëve) and the Chamber of Physiotherapists (Oda e Fizioterapistëve) are the licensing bodies reported for their professions. The format is reported as a written licensing exam, and it remains unverified. Contact your Chamber for the syllabus.

Foreign professionals under GRK 10/2023

The instruction sets out how foreign health professionals are licensed. Documents must be translated into an official language, and a nostrification fee of 150 euros has been reported. The Board does not require a general exam, but it may ask for a supplementary one if the training differs. The practical advice is to submit a full file, with a detailed curriculum, and to ask what gap the Board sees.

Exams in Kosovo at a glance

International students and diaspora graduates

Many Kosovo families have members working in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Scandinavia, and a good share of students come back from study abroad. Whether you studied in Prishtina, Tirana, Zagreb, Istanbul or Germany, the question is the same: which body licenses you where you want to work? A graduate with a foreign degree who returns to Kosovo goes through the Board under the instruction, not through the local Chamber exam. A graduate of a Kosovo school who goes abroad goes through the destination's route and presents the Kosovo diploma and licence as supporting documents.

Because the rules differ between destinations, keep a folder with certified copies of the diploma, transcript, internship record, licence and certificate of good standing from the Chamber. Ask for these before you leave, since asking from abroad is slower.

Questions to put to the Chamber

• Is the licensing exam written, oral or both, and is it multiple choice?
• Which subjects does it cover, and where is the programme published?
• How often is it held, and what is the fee?
• How many attempts are allowed, and what is the waiting time between them?
• Is the exam offered in Albanian only, or also in Serbian?

Write the questions down, send them by email, and keep the replies. A written answer from the Chamber is worth more than any summary on a website, including this one.

Language and recognition routes

Albanian and Serbian are the official languages for documents. Foreign credentials are translated into one of them. Kosovo is not an EU member, so Directive 2005/36/EC does not apply, and the Board assesses each case. For Kosovo graduates working abroad, recognition depends on the destination.

Preparing when the blueprint is unclear

Use your faculty curriculum as the base and revise by system: cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, surgery and psychiatry. Add law and ethics, which licensing exams in the region usually include. When the Chamber confirms the format, adjust. If the exam is multiple choice, practise timed question sets in English and Albanian so that terminology is secure in both.

Last reviewed October 2026