What confirms the right to independent medical practice?

The right is confirmed by a state certificate issued on the basis of a diploma from a state-accredited higher medical institution and certification completed in the prescribed manner. The certificate defines the specialty in which the physician may work independently.

How is a foreign diploma treated in Georgia?

A certificate from a country on the ministry’s first list is recognised without an examination, while a postgraduate course completed in a country on the second list requires passing the state certification examination. Compliance with immigration requirements is a necessary condition in that case.

Which documents does an applicant submit?

An application of the prescribed form, a copy of the diploma, a certificate of professional training, a recommendation, an examination certificate, an employment document if one exists, and a description of the work performed over the last 2 years. For foreign qualifications the set changes according to the applicable list.

What should you know about refusal and annulment?

A refusal must be reasoned in writing and may be appealed in court. The certificate becomes void upon the holder’s death, upon a written request, or where a forged document was used, and its transfer to another person is prohibited.

Medical Licensing in Tbilisi, Georgia

The Right to Independent Medical Practice and Its Foundations

In Georgia, starting independent medical practice is possible only after the conditions established by law have been met. Under the current rules, the right to carry out independent medical practice belongs to a citizen of Georgia or of a foreign state, or to a stateless person, who has graduated from a higher medical educational institution in Georgia holding state accreditation and who has received, in the manner prescribed by law, the state certificate confirming the right to independent medical practice. A document of higher medical education is therefore not sufficient on its own: the decisive instrument is the state certificate.

This right belongs to the physician only in the specialty or specialties indicated in the state certificate, apart from exceptions established by law — the boundary beyond which independent practice becomes unlawful. The law also prohibits holding this right for a person from whom a court has revoked it on the basis of the Georgian law on the fight against crimes directed against sexual freedom and inviolability.

Recognition of Qualifications Obtained Abroad

For physicians educated abroad the law provides two distinct tracks. An applicant who holds a state document confirming the right to independent medical practice issued by a country included in the list determined by the ministry receives the state certificate in the same specialty without sitting a state certification examination. An applicant who completed a postgraduate professional training course in a country covered by the other list receives the certificate upon passing that examination, after satisfying the requirements of Georgian immigration legislation. Both lists are determined by the ministry, so their current version must be checked before an application is submitted.

Certification and the Status of the State Certificate

Certification, as defined by the law, covers the assessment of the level of professional knowledge and of the practical skills of medical personnel. To obtain the right to independent medical practice, certification is required in every medical specialty included in the list determined by the ministry. The state certificate issued as a result is a state document confirming the right to independent medical practice, and it also defines the medical specialty; it is mandatory only for independent practice. The certificate is a document of strict accounting, bearing a series, a number and other marks of protection, and its transfer to another person is prohibited.

The certificate becomes void by decision of the issuing authority in three cases: upon the death of the holder or upon a court declaring the holder dead; on the basis of the holder’s written request; and where it is discovered that a forged document was used as the basis for the decision to grant the certificate.

Medical Licensing