The Migration of Medical Graduates from Romania to EU Countries – Regulations as a Pull Factor
The Migration of Medical Graduates from Romania to EU Countries – Regulations as a Pull Factor

Summary/Abstract: This article explicitly examines the migration of medical graduates from Romania, ensuring clarity in scope. The study draws on the 2023 European Commission State of Health in the EU: Romania Country Profile, ensuring the use of the most recent data. While the number of graduates has increased in the last decade, the medical workforce remains below EU averages (3.2 doctors and 7.5 nurses per 1,000 inhabitants compared to 3.9 and 8.4, respectively). Romania ranked fifth in generating medical graduates (4,967) and third in nursing graduates (17,549) within the EU in 2019. However, migration significantly reduces the domestic healthcare workforce, influencing access to care and quality of life. My analysis thus uniquely explores the role of regulatory frameworks in shaping migration flows, offering a novel perspective on how policies in destination countries act as pull factors. My findings reveal that countries with deregulated or minimally selective residency admission systems attract significantly higher numbers of Romanian medical graduates. Among the most preferred destinations, Germany, the UK, France, Sweden and Belgium collectively account for over 70 per cent of intended migration cases. Residency systems without national exams saw an average migration preference rate of 69 per cent, while those with strict entry requirements saw a preference rate below 1 per cent. Higher expected wages and shorter residency durations were also significant pull factors. Another significant pull factor identified in the top destination countries is that graduates have the freedom to choose their specialization, rather than having it assigned based on exam performance.

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