Medical specialty training in Ukraine: internship, residency, and recognition in Poland

Why doctors consider specialty training in Ukraine

In Poland, you compete for a place in your chosen specialty in a qualification procedure, and in the most sought-after fields there are few places. That is why some doctors look for another route and turn to Ukraine, where medical universities have trained doctors from abroad in fee-paying places for years.

• Places for foreigners are fee-paying, so they do not depend on the pool of state-funded places.
• The training is very hands-on: in residency, at least 80% of the time is spent working with patients.
• The one-year program for doctors from abroad can be completed in English.
• Polish citizens have special rights in Ukraine when it comes to access to education.
• Living costs are lower than in Poland, and home is close by.

Internship and residency: how the system works in Ukraine

You can often read that Ukraine has replaced the internship with residency. That is not true: in 2026 both forms operate side by side as successive stages of a doctor’s training after medical school.

1. Internship (інтернатура) is the first specialty training that every graduate completes. It lasts from one year to 3 years, depending on the specialty, and ends with the Krok 3 exam (the Ukrainian state licensing exam) and a specialist doctor’s certificate. Without it, a doctor cannot work independently in the profession in Ukraine.
2. Specialization cycles (цикли спеціалізації) lead to a narrower specialty after the internship, for example to cardiology after an internship in internal medicine. They usually last from a few months to about a year.
3. Medical residency (лікарська резидентура) is a new stage, being introduced since 2024 in the most demanding specialties. In these fields it replaces specialization cycles.

The rules for the internship are set out in the 2021 regulations (order No. 1254 of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health), which have been amended many times, most recently in 2025. Residency is governed by order No. 949 of June 3, 2024.

How long the internship in Ukraine lasts

The length of the internship depends on the specialty. In each year, about 3 months are classes at the university, and the intern works in a hospital for the rest of the time.

Internship length	Specialties
1 year	dentistry, pharmacy, epidemiology, medical psychology
1.5 years	laboratory diagnostics, pathology, radiology
2 years	internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, orthopedics and traumatology, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, forensic medicine
3 years	surgery, pediatric surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, anesthesiology, physical and rehabilitation medicine

After a one-year internship, dentists gain narrower specialties, such as orthodontics, through specialization cycles. There is no residency in dentistry yet.

Residency: who it is for and how long it lasts

Residency is full-time, and at least 80% of it consists of practical training. The resident’s supervisor is a doctor with at least 7 years of experience in the specialty, who may supervise no more than two residents. The training ends with an attestation and a specialist doctor’s certificate.

Specialty	Length of residency
Neurosurgery	3 years after an internship in surgery, 4 years after an internship in orthopedics and traumatology or in neurology
Clinical oncology	3 years
Gynecologic oncology	2 years
Cardiac surgery (surgery of the heart and major vessels)	3 years

In July 2026, the ministry approved two more specialties: pediatric hematology and oncology, and plastic surgery (order No. 953 of July 13, 2026).

Admission to residency is by competition. The candidate must have completed an internship and hold a specialist certificate, and applies for a place in one of three groups:

• internship graduates with a Krok 3 score of at least 85% and the highest grade on the practical exam;
• internship graduates with a score of at least 78%, at least a good grade on the practical exam, and a year of work in the specialty;
• specialists with at least 3 years of experience in the specialty.

Applications are submitted from July 15 to 31, the entrance exam takes place from August 1 to 10, and training begins on September 1. There are few places so far, because the system is only now developing.

The route for doctors from abroad

Foreigners do not take part in the central allocation of internship places and instead submit their documents directly to the university. They can choose between two routes:

• One-year “general medical practice” program (Загальна лікарська практика), taught since 2024 in English or Ukrainian. It lasts 12 months, begins on September 1 (no later than November 1 with an individual plan), and ends with a certificate of completion.
• Internship in a chosen specialty, in Ukrainian, for people with a Ukrainian language certificate at level B1 or higher. Graduates of the one-year program complete it in a shortened time.

For foreigners, residency is fee-paying and taught in Ukrainian. The ministry may extend a foreigner’s training if their country requires it.

What documents you need

• a medical diploma with a supplement, recognized in Ukraine (at the Ukrainian ENIC center);
• translations of the documents into Ukrainian;
• a Ukrainian language certificate (for an internship in a specialty and for residency);
• for residency, also a specialist certificate after the internship and a list of publications;
• a temporary residence permit for the entire period of training.

We assemble the documents together with you, and we keep track of translations and deadlines for you.

How much specialty training in Ukraine costs

A foreigner in a fee-paying place signs a paid services agreement with the university and does not receive an intern’s salary. For comparison: since 2025, Ukrainian interns in state-funded places have earned at least 15,000 Ukrainian hryvnias a month.

At the three universities we offer, namely the University of Medicine and Social Sciences (UMSS) in Rivne and Kharkiv, Luhansk State Medical University based in Rivne, and Odesa National Medical University, a year of specialty training costs $5,500. We choose the path, the language of instruction, and the start date together with the university to match your goal, including with a view to later recognition in Poland.

Published prices for a one-year internship for foreigners at other Ukrainian universities ranged in 2025–2026 from about $3,400 to $5,000, and English-language programs are more expensive than Ukrainian-language ones. On top of tuition, you need to budget for accommodation, living expenses, insurance, the residence permit, and translations.

Recognition of a Ukrainian specialist title in Poland, step by step

Ukraine is not a member of the European Union, so its specialist title is not automatically recognized in Poland. It is recognized by the Minister of Health on the basis of art. 16n of the Act on the Professions of Physician and Dentist (consolidated text: Dz.U. 2026 poz. 37), when four conditions are met together:

1. you have the right to practice medicine in Poland;
2. the training lasted as long as the Polish specialty training program requires;
3. the program, theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and the way they are assessed correspond in essential respects to the Polish program;
4. the exam that ends the training corresponds to the Państwowy Egzamin Specjalizacyjny (PES, the Polish State Specialty Exam).

The procedure looks like this:

1. You submit an application to the Minister of Health through the director of the Centrum Medyczne Kształcenia Podyplomowego (CMKP, the Medical Center of Postgraduate Education) in Warsaw, in person or by mail. The application can be submitted at any time and costs nothing.
2. The CMKP checks whether the application is complete. If something is missing, it sets a deadline for completing it, and after that deadline passes the application is left unprocessed.
3. A team of experts, which includes among others the national consultant in the given field, two doctors with a habilitation degree, and a representative of the Naczelna Rada Lekarska (the Supreme Medical Council), compares your training with the Polish program. The team meets as needed, but no less often than once a quarter.
4. The team issues a positive or negative assessment, or recommends a supplementary placement and specifies its length, scope, and location. The director of the CMKP passes the opinion to the minister within 14 days.
5. The minister issues a decision. Within 14 days, you can submit a request for reconsideration of the case.
6. You present a positive decision to your okręgowa izba lekarska (regional medical chamber).

You attach to the application:

• your Polish right to practice medicine;
• a document confirming the right to practice in Ukraine;
• a specialist diploma or certificate;
• information about the place, length, and program of the training;
• information about the exam or another way of assessing knowledge and skills;
• information about work in the profession after obtaining the title (place, period, type).

You submit the documents as originals or as copies certified by a notary, a consul, an attorney, or a legal counsel, with an apostille and a sworn translation into Polish.

The act sets no time limit for this procedure, and the ministry admits that it may take longer than the usual two months. Expect several months and, in the case of a supplementary placement, also the time needed to complete it. A Ukrainian internship is usually shorter than Polish specialty training (for example, ophthalmology takes 4 years in Poland), so collect certificates from every stage, lists of procedures, and confirmations of employment from the start: the team takes them into account.

The right to practice in Poland with a diploma from Ukraine

A graduate of a Ukrainian university must first obtain the Polish right to practice, because without it a specialist title cannot be recognized. Full rights are granted by the okręgowa rada lekarska (regional medical council), and the path looks like this:

1. recognition of the diploma: nostrification (formal validation) at a Polish medical university, or passing the Lekarski Egzamin Weryfikacyjny (LEW, the Medical Verification Exam; LDEW for dentists), which has been run since 2021 by the Centrum Egzaminów Medycznych (Medical Examinations Center) in Lodz (200 questions, 60% pass mark, in Polish only);
2. a postgraduate internship in Poland or recognition of an internship completed abroad;
3. the Lekarski Egzamin Końcowy (LEK, the Medical Final Examination), and LDEK for dentists;
4. knowledge of Polish, confirmed for example by an exam of the Naczelna Rada Lekarska.

The simplified path for doctors from Ukraine under the act on assistance to citizens of Ukraine accepted applications only until October 24, 2024. Specialists with at least 3 years of experience in the last 5 years can still apply for the Minister of Health’s consent to work in a specified scope, time, and place, for at most 5 years and without extension (art. 7 ust. 2a of the act). In June 2026, the ministry prepared a draft of amendments that may close this path to applications submitted after December 31, 2026 and introduce a new verification exam for specialists from outside the European Union, so check the current regulations before deciding.

Recognition in other European Union countries

Directive 2005/36/EC provides for automatic recognition of specialist titles only from European Union member states, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, so a Ukrainian title goes through the national procedure in every country. Usually you first need to obtain the right to practice in the given country and only then submit an application for recognition of the specialty. In Germany, a specialist title is recognized by the medical chamber of the given state (Landesärztekammer), and from November 1, 2026, the main route to a German license to practice for doctors from outside the European Union is the medical knowledge exam (Kenntnisprüfung).

The directive also provides that qualifications from outside the European Union that are recognized in one member state may, after 3 years of work in that state, confirmed by its certificate, be treated in other member states like EU qualifications. The host country may then require an adaptation period or an aptitude test. This is a complicated path, so we check it individually for the chosen country.

Specialty training in Ukraine during the war

Martial law is in force in Ukraine, most recently extended to January 29, 2027. The universities are operating: in Odesa and Lviv, classes in the 2026/2027 academic year are mostly held in person, switch to remote mode if there is a threat, and during air raid alerts everyone uses shelters.

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains the highest travel warning level for Ukraine. Before you travel, check the ministry’s current notices and register your trip in the Odyseusz system (the Polish system for registering trips abroad). We discuss the situation in a specific city with every candidate before they make a decision.

How we help

We guide you all the way: from choosing a university and specialty, through documents, translations, and enrollment at the university, to the residence permit, accommodation, and preparing the application for recognition of your title in Poland. Not sure where to start? Book a free consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Can you do specialty training in Ukraine in English?

The one-year general medical practice program for foreigners is taught in English. The internship in a specialty and residency are taught in Ukrainian and require a certificate at level B1 or higher.

How long does specialty training in Ukraine take?

The internship lasts from one year to 3 years, depending on the specialty. Narrower specialties then require specialization cycles or residency, which lasts from 2 to 4 years.

Is a specialty from Ukraine recognized in Poland?

Yes, but not automatically. The title is recognized by the Minister of Health after an assessment by a team of experts, which may recommend a supplementary placement lasting up to 3 years.

Can a Polish doctor get a state-funded place in Ukraine?

They can apply for one, because Law No. 2471-IX gives Polish citizens the same access to education as Ukrainians. Ukrainian admission rules then apply.

Do you get a salary during a fee-paying internship?

Not during a fee-paying internship. A foreigner signs a paid services agreement with the university and does not receive an intern’s salary.

Where should I start?

With a conversation about which specialty you want to pursue and where you want to work afterward. On that basis, we choose the university and the path and plan the documents for recognition of your title in Poland.

Read also: Studying medicine in Ukraine: is it a good idea? You can find the universities on the page for Ukraine and in the university directory, and specialty training in other countries on the page for the field of study Specializations.