College of Veterinary Physicians*

During the temporary or occasional provision of veterinary medical services on the territory of Romania, veterinarians established in Member States are subject to the provisions of conduct of a professional, regulatory or administrative nature, provided by the legislation in force, directly and specifically related to professional qualifications, which regulate the definition of the profession, the use of the official qualification title in the veterinary profession, serious professional misconduct that directly and specifically affects the protection and safety of consumers, as well as the disciplinary provisions provided by law for Romanian citizen veterinarians, members of the College of Veterinarians of Romania.

By temporary veterinary medical activity is meant veterinary medical activity carried out for a limited period of time.

By occasional veterinary medical activity is meant veterinary/teaching medical activity carried out on a certain occasion (for example: workshops, interventions and/or therapeutic/diagnostic procedures that are intended to be shared with Romanian veterinarians, including voluntary activities).

The granting of the right to exercise the profession of veterinarian temporarily/occasionally, is carried out automatically, starting from the date of receipt of the declaration, in copy or original, as the case may be, at the secretariat of the Executive Bureau of the College of Veterinarians, as provided in Annex no.1 to this Decision.

Veterinary doctors who are citizens of a member state, established in one of the member states, are exempted from the obligation to register with the College of Veterinarians and from paying the membership feein consequence of sending the Declaration for registration in the Register of veterinarians.

Veterinarians from member states, during the temporary/occasional provision of veterinary medical services on the territory of Romania, will be automatically registered for record keeping in the register maintained by the College of Veterinarians for this purpose, simultaneously with the registration of the Declaration.

If, during the temporary/occasional provision of services in Romania, the providers violate the provisions of professional, regulatory or administrative conduct, stipulated by the legislation in force, directly and specifically related to professional qualifications, which regulate the definition of the profession, the use of the official qualification title in the veterinary profession, serious professional misconduct that directly and specifically affects the protection and safety of consumers, and/or the disciplinary provisions provided by law for Romanian citizen veterinarians, members of the College of Veterinarians of Romania, thus requiring disciplinary measures resulting in the temporary or permanent prohibition of the exercise of the veterinary profession, the College of Veterinarians informs the member state in which those concerned are established through the alert mechanism, in situations where the conditions for transmitting alerts are met.

The veterinary medical unit in which the veterinarian will provide services of a temporary/occasional nature on the territory of Romania is obliged to notify the Executive Bureau of the National Council of the College of Veterinarians and the county branch it belongs to, within 24 hours from the start of this activity, regarding the following information: the provider’s name and surname and the period during which they will provide the veterinary medical services (according to the model in Annex no. 3).

The provisions of this procedure apply to veterinarians who are citizens of member states, holders of an official qualification title obtained in a member state, veterinarians who are citizens of member states, the spouse of a Romanian citizen, as well as the direct descendants and ascendants who are dependents of a Romanian citizen, regardless of their citizenship, citizens of third states who are beneficiaries of permanent resident status in Romania, according to the legal provisions in force, beneficiaries of resident status granted by one of the member states, in accordance with the provisions of Council Directive 2003/109/EC concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents, published in the Official Journal of the European Union L 016 of January 23, 2004.

The official qualification title of veterinarian is held by the graduate with a diploma, certificate, or other similar document issued by veterinary higher education institutions recognized by the member states.

The phrase "member states" means European Union member states, another state belonging to the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, as defined in Decision no. 79/2008 for the amendment and completion of Government Decision no. 860/2004 regarding the recognition of the qualification of veterinarian and regulation of certain aspects regarding the practice of the veterinary profession.

The phrase "third states" means states other than the member states and those territories of the member states of the European Union to which Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications does not apply.

The College of Veterinarians, as the competent authority for the veterinary profession, recognizes official qualification titles by issuing the Decision for recognition of professional qualification.

The recognition of official qualification titles allows access to Romania, following enrollment in one of the branches of the College of Veterinarians and obtaining the certificate of free practice in the same profession for which the applicant is qualified in the state of origin, as well as the exercise of professional activities on Romanian territory under the conditions provided by law for Romanian citizens holding official professional qualification titles in the veterinary profession issued by the competent Romanian authorities.

Veterinarians who are to practice the profession for an indefinite period on the territory of Romania have the same rights and obligations regarding its practice as veterinarians who are members of the College of Veterinarians and must know the Romanian language, know and comply with the provisions of the legislation in force regarding the organization and exercise of the veterinary profession, the administrative norms in the sanitary-veterinary field, the Statute of the veterinarian, the Code of veterinary medical deontology, as well as the regulations of the College of Veterinarians.

After obtaining the Decision for recognition of professional qualification, in order to practice as a veterinarian on the territory of Romania, veterinarians are required to register with the College of Veterinarians.

If the applicant wishes to practice in private veterinary medical practice, they must also obtain the certificate of free practice, in compliance with legal provisions.

To obtain the certificate of free practice, the applicant must obligatorily prove that they possess Romanian language skills.

This procedure provides the method for recognizing the title of specialist veterinarian, in order to ensure a regulated framework for verifying the documents submitted by veterinarians holding such an official title and for issuing the decision of recognition of this title.

The College of Veterinary Surgeons, as the competent authority for the veterinary profession, recognizes the title of specialist veterinarian obtained after graduating from a European College in the relevant field.

This procedure sets out the method for recognizing professional qualification for the practice of the veterinary profession in Romania, in order to ensure a regulated framework for the verification and evaluation of documents submitted by veterinarians who are foreign citizens, for the issuance of decisions recognizing professional qualifications, for record-keeping and monitoring of issued documents. The provisions of this procedure apply to veterinarians who are citizens of third countries or member states who wish to practice the veterinary profession in Romania and hold an official qualification obtained in a third country.

If the applicant, holder of an official qualification obtained in the territory of a third country, has obtained professional recognition in a member state, they shall submit an application for a recognition decision to which shall be attached: a) the document of professional recognition b) a certificate of linguistic competence (ECL) for the Romanian language

The phrase "member states" means the member states of the European Union, any other state belonging to the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation, as defined in Government Decision no. 79/2008 for the amendment and completion of Government Decision no. 860/2004 on the recognition of the qualification of veterinarian and regulation of certain aspects regarding the practice of the veterinary profession.

The phrase "third countries" refers to countries other than member states as well as those territories of European Union member states for which Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications does not apply.

The College of Veterinarians, as the competent authority for the veterinary profession, recognizes official qualifications by issuing the Decision for the recognition of professional qualifications.

The recognition of official qualifications allows access to practice in Romania after registration in one of the branches of the College of Veterinarians and obtaining the certificate of free practice in the same profession for which the applicant is qualified in their country of origin, as well as performing professional activities in Romania under the legal conditions laid down for Romanian citizens who hold official qualifications in the profession of veterinarian issued by the competent Romanian authorities.

Veterinarians who will practice the profession indefinitely in Romania have the same rights and obligations regarding the practice as veterinarians who are members of the College of Veterinarians and must know the Romanian language, be familiar with and comply with the legal provisions in force regarding the organization and practice of the veterinary profession, administrative regulations in the veterinary-medical field, the Statute of the Veterinarian, the Code of Veterinary Medical Ethics, as well as the regulations of the College of Veterinarians.

After obtaining the Decision for the recognition of professional qualifications, in order to practice the profession of veterinarian in Romania, veterinarians are required to register with the College of Veterinarians and to obtain their certificate of free practice, in compliance with legal provisions.

For the recognition of the professional qualification, the applicant must obligatorily prove that they have Romanian language skills and are a beneficiary of long-term resident status granted by one of the member states. The applicant will take an aptitude test and must prove professional experience/internship of at least 3 years, either in a member state or in a third state.

The aptitude test, which consists of a theoretical multiple-choice test and a practical one, is taken before a commission appointed by decision of the Executive Bureau of the National Council, after confirming the eligibility of the requested documents and proof of Romanian language knowledge.