Only 38% of non-EU doctors qualify to work in the Netherlands

Over 6.000 doctors and nurses from outside the EU have come to the Netherlands over the past eight years, but most never get to work in their profession. With the  Dutch healthcare system understaffed, why is it so hard to get hired? 

Doctors with foreign qualifications face hurdles

According to the Ministry of Health’s implementing agency, the Centraal Informatiepunt Beroepen Gezondheidszorg (CIBG), only about 20 percent of non-EU nurses obtain the qualifications they need to work in the Netherlands. For dentists, it is only over a third, and for other doctors, around 38 percent. 

To work in the Netherlands, international doctors must first pass a language test, then wait one and a half to two years for a place to take the professional content test (beroepsinhoudelijke toets or BI). The exam assesses whether their knowledge and skills meet Dutch medical standards.

"The process for international doctors is tough and takes a long time," Paul Herfs, board advisor to the Association of Foreign-Qualified Doctors (Vereniging voor Buitenlands Gediplomeerde Artsen or VBGA), told Trouw.

Costs are also rising: doctors currently have to pay a fee of 1.700 euros to take the BI test, but the Ministry of Health has announced fees will rise to 5.300 euros in 2027 and 7.100 euros in 2028. Dentists pay 1.500 euros, and nurses 450 euros. 

D66 MP Marc Vervuurt wants to turn the fee into a loan, an idea the majority of the House of Representatives supports. Vervuurt says that if healthcare professionals pass the test, they can start working in healthcare soon after and repay the amount.

Instead of a loan, Minister of Long-Term Care Mirjam Sterk (Christian Democratic Appeal) suggests that a prospective employer could pay the fee. It is not yet clear how this would work for doctors who do not have a job lined up. Sterk also plans to increase the annual number of doctors eligible to take the BI test to 120 in 2027 and 2028, up from 72. 

Long waits and a work ban in the Netherlands

Passing both tests does not mean international doctors can start straight away. They usually also have to work for several months under a Dutch doctor's supervision before they can register as a doctor. “The process for international doctors is tough and takes a long time,” Herfs confirmed.

During this period, international medical professionals face the issue of being unable to practise, risk losing their benefits, and may suffer psychological distress. Additionally, their Dutch language skills risk deteriorating.

For now, the path into Dutch healthcare as an international doctor remains long and costly, even with sector shortages. Whether extra BI test places and a possible change in how the fee is paid will make it easier to get hired remains to be seen.