Dentists Immigration to Austria 2026 | Requirements, Recognition & Residence Permit

Dentists who wish to obtain residency in Austria as a dentist have similar conditions to some other professional groups, such as doctors, nurses, accountants, lawyers, etc. Therefore, dentists must align their education with the educational and language standards of Austria and undergo the so-called nostrification. Dental degree recognition in Austria has steps that we will mention with details in this article. This process is separate from the residence permit application process that applicants go through, and we will also examine the residency status of dentists. MIE, with its years of experience in consulting to dentists and doctors, has been able to assist many dentists in recognition of their degree and obtaining foreign legal residencies.

Topics reviewed in this article:

Overview of Dentists Immigration to Austria

Austria Dentist Immigration Requirements

Required Documents for Dentistry in Austria

Dentists immigration to Austria and their Exams

Dental degree recognition in Austria and Residency Process

Job Opportunities of Dentistry in Austria

Dentists immigration to Austria and their Salary

Benefits and challenges of Dentists immigration to Austria

Overview of Dentists Immigration to Austria

In order to recognize the qualifications of foreign dentists in Austria, an application for nostrification must first be submitted to one of the Austrian state dental universities (in Vienna, Graz or Innsbruck) along with required documents. This process must be proceed because foreign dentists have received their educational degree in a different language and with the standards of a education system of another country. Therefore, it is necessary that an academic center in Austria can carry out the adaptation of these standards and inform the applicant if there is anything to be done to meet the adaptation of the educational requirements. Although there are differences in this process for people who have studied in the European Union or have EU citizenship compared to those who apply from other countries. Applicants must be able to adapt their preparation and training courses to the Austrian education and language system by completing additional credits.

The first step of Austria dentist immigration requirements is that an applicant must have a high level of German language proficiency, which allows her/him to complete the recognition and adaptation courses in German and to communicate verbally with patients and other colleagues in the Austrian healthcare system without any problems in the future. Passing the courses alone is not enough and ultimately, applicants must be able to prove their competence to start a dental practice in Austria through an exam or exams. After passing the exams, dentists will apply for a license to the Austrian Dental Chamber and will receive their license after registering with this chamber. If foreign dentists do not have Austrian or European residency, they must also apply for residency after recognition through the Austrian embassy in their country.

Austria Dentist Immigration Requirements

As mentioned above, dentists must undergo the nostrification process to work and live in Austria. To complete nursing degree recognition in Austria, foreign dentists must meet certain requirements. First, they must be citizens of a country (with valid passport) and have a university degree in dentistry. Therefore, people who have received their degrees in related fields such as dental radiography do not have the same path as dentists and can mostly work and reside in Austria without the need for nostrification.

Second, dentists must not have a criminal record in their country of origin, which is proven by a certificate of no criminal record from the police or judiciary. In most countries, the applicant must first have an official German translation legalized at the Austrian embassy in the country of origin to present this document. The next requirement is that in addition to a criminal record, foreign dentists must prove that they have not committed any professional or dental offenses in their country of origin. This is shown with a document called Good Standing. Dentists who have studied dentistry in Switzerland and other EU countries can apply for automatic recognition in accordance with Directive 2005/36/EC. However, those who have obtained a dental degree from another country must first apply through the Austrian state medical universities in one of the three cities of Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck and prove the requirements to the university.

Another important requirement is knowledge of German at level C1. A foreign dentist in Austria must have reached this level of German and have passed an official language test to be eligible to apply for recognition. This is important because the dentist is in direct verbal contact with patients. Therefore, if he/she does not have sufficient command of the native language, even the professional skills and knowledge are questioned.

Required Documents for Dentistry in Austria

Dentists must prepare documents for the recognition process. These documents include identity documents, professional documents, and educational documents:

Dentists immigration to Austria and their Exams

After foreign dentists have completed the necessary units and courses to meet Austrian educational standards in German, they must prove their competence through exams. There are two types of exams for them in this regard. One is the German language exam and the other is the professional exam for nostrification. The first language exam is the official test that is also held in other countries and does not require presence in Austria. It is necessary to have an official German language certificate at level C1 to start the application. Another language exam must also be passed by the applicant, which is the German dental language test. This exam is held by the Austrian Academy of Physicians and measures the terminology and vocabulary of dentistry in German (Fachsprachprüfung). This exam covers both oral and writing skills.

Professional or academic exams are directly related to nostrification and are held by the medical university. One of these exams is the Stichproben-Test or Random Test, which is mandatory and the applicant can only take it once. After this test, the applicant must take supplementary tests, depending on the scores obtained in the random test and the credits recognized by the university.

Dental degree recognition in Austria and Residency Process

Recognition is not the end of the foreign dentist’s work and they must apply for a residence permit in order to be allowed to stay in Austria. This application is ultimately reviewed and decided by the MA35, but can initially be submitted to the Austrian embassy in the applicant’s country of origin. The type of residence that dentists would usually apply after recognition, is red-white-red (RWR). In addition to nostrification, the dentist must have received a job offer from an employer in Austria. The residence permit obtained is valid for one to two years, depending on the job offer. After 5 years of extended residence and active presence in Austria, the applicant can apply for permanent residence. This path can even lead to receiving an Austrian passport. The documents required for applying for residence are listed below:

Job Opportunities of Dentistry in Austria

Provided that the applicant has passed the nostrification, he/she can receive a job offer. Dentists in Austria work either in public and private hospitals, or dental clinics, or independently in their own dental practice. Job opportunities are generally higher in public hospitals, although salaries are usually higher in private clinics. Similarly, job opportunities in private centers are lower and receiving a job offer from them usually requires a stronger network.

If foreign doctors want to work independently and only in their own practice, they must first obtain a license for practice and register. Then, by issuing a job offer or a declaration of employment, a dentist is introduced to work in Austria. This method is less popular with foreigners, as it requires residency in advance, and after gaining experience and collecting clients in this country, dentists would be establish their own practice office.

Dentists immigration to Austria and their Salary

The amount of income depends on many factors and not all dentists earn the same amount in Austria. The amount of income depends on work experience, additional specialties, city and employer. Obviously, a newly-arrived dentist will earn less than a dentist-surgeon with several years of experience:

Benefits and challenges of Dentists immigration to Austria

Although dentistry in Austria has its advantages, the negative points should not be ignored. However, the advantages and disadvantages depend a lot on the applicant’s own circumstances, and other factors such as the city and the employer are also influential. Below are some of them:

Advantages:

• Working in an advanced medical system
• High wages
• Social and welfare facilities enhanced by the government
• Efficient economic and legal infrastructure
• Benefits from modern and up-to-date dental equipment
• More suitable economic situation for ordinary people to visit the dentist
• Austrian residence permit for family
• Permission to travel to Schengen countries

Challenges:

• Forcing to learn German at a high level, which is very difficult and time-consuming
• Forcing to pass various tests and additional courses and units
• Working in an environment with a different culture and language
• Difficulty to receive a job offer
• High living costs
• Forcing to be present continuously for a long time in order to obtain permanent residence

Concluding remarks

In order to work and reside in Austria, dentists must submit their academic qualifications to a medical university so that the authorities can determine to what extent the applicant’s education and professional work are in line with the educational standards of Austria. In this way, applicants must take supplementary courses and additional units if the university requires them. Proficiency in German at level C1 is essential for dentists, and both an official language certificate and specialized dental language tests must be obtained. In addition to the language tests, professional and supplementary tests are held for applicants, and if their qualifications are recognized, their certificates are recognized. After this step, applicants can follow the residence application process and apply for red-white-red card upon receiving a job offer. After receiving a one- or two-year residence permit and extending it up to 5 years, foreign dentists will be able to apply for permanent residence. MIE, as a leading company in foreign residence consulting, has helped many dentists obtain legal residencies over many years, and consulting with our experienced consultants in this field could be very useful to dentists.