Doctors qualified outside the EU/EEA area

If you have completed your qualification outside the EU/EEA, first you should apply for approval of your qualification. With the approval you can work as a medical intern. When you have completed the internship, have passed a language test and professional competence test, your can apply to Valvira, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, for a licence to practice medicine in Finland. Approval depends greatly on whether your medical school is on the WHO list of medical schools.

 

After your qualification has been approved, you can work as a medical intern under lead and supervision. Some employers accept interns even before Valvira has accepted their qualification which is rare but permitted. You need at least some language skills to find employment. After a minimum of six months of practical training you will be allowed to take part in a professional competence examination. Before you can sign up for the examination, you need to provide Valvira with an official proof of your language skills, EU/EEA nationals are not required to present proof. When you pass all three parts of the examination, you are entitled to apply for a licence to practice medicine in Finland.

Note: if your education has already been approved by another EU/EEA country meaning you have been licensed for medical practice in the EU/EEA area, go to and follow instructions under Qualification Outside the EU/EEA Area, Licensed by Another EU/EEA State.

Education requirements

If you wish to work as a doctor in Finland, you must have completed a primary medical qualification that meets certain criteria. You should apply for approval of qualification before starting your compulsory practical medical training.

How to apply for approval of qualification

The form can be filled in electronically or manually. Either way, print it out and mail it to the enclosed address.

Please include the following documents:

  • A copy of your passport or equivalent so that we can verify your nationality.
  • A copy of your degree certificate or diploma and all relevant appendices such as degree transcript and grades awarded.

Copies must be officially certified.

In Finland, you can arrange for your documents to be certified by the notary public at local Register offices but practices may vary between countries. Notary public’s signature is sufficient, but signature and Apostille certificate will be accepted as well.

Your degree certificate and all appendices must be translated into Finnish, Swedish or English by an authorised translator. Copies of translations must also be officially certified.

Language skills

All doctors working in Finland must be able to speak either Finnish or Swedish. Finland is officially a bilingual country and some 5% of the population speaks Swedish as their first language.

As a non-EU/EEA national, you need to provide official proof of your language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish before you can sit the three-part professional examination. Please note that the only proof we accept is a copy of your National Certificate of Language Proficiency at Skill Level 3 or Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate at “Satisfactory”.

If you are an EU/EEA national, Valvira does not require an official language certificate. However, your employer has a legal duty to make sure you have good enough language skills so you can carry out your professional duties. Your employer is allowed to ask you an official language certificate.

Practical medical training (medical internship)

Having completed your medical qualification in a non-EU/EEA country, you are required to complete a minimum of six months of supervised practice in Finland. If necessary, Valvira can extend this period and also specify its content.

Valvira does not arrange supervised practice placements. You need to arrange the placement yourself by, for example, contacting hospitals directly. You can make an agreement with the hospital directly without authorisation from Valvira.

The period of supervised practice must take place at a state, local authority or joint authority-run hospital or health centre and must be equivalent in content to the Finnish junior house officer (or amanuenssipalvelu in Finnish).

Please note that voluntary placements and extended visits to hospitals do not count towards your period of supervised practice. General integration courses run by the Finnish authorities also cannot be counted towards this period.

Medical research can be accepted only if it has been carried out in a hospital setting. Research can compensate a maximum of two months of the six-month practical training requirement.

Professional competence examination

Applicants are required to demonstrate their professional competence through an examination. Passing the examination means that your professional skills and competence are equivalent to those who graduate in Finland.

You can sit the examination after you have completed the six months of supervised practice and have gained the official language certificate.  

The examination can be taken in Finnish or Swedish. It consists of three parts which will be taken in the following order:

  • Part 1: Written examination on key areas of medicine
  • Part 2: Written examination on healthcare management
  • Part 3: Oral examination in a clinical setting (with patient present)

For further information on the exam and on how to apply, see Competence Examinations

Limited authorisation to practice

After you have completed the examination Part 1, you can apply for a limited authorisation. The limited authorisation allows you to work at a Finnish state, local authority or joint authority-run hospital under lead and supervision of another doctor licensed to practice medicine.

The authorisation is granted for practice in a named specialty field and for a named hospital/ health centre for a maximum of six months at a time. You can apply for a continuation to the limited authorisation and the authorisation can be granted for a maximum of two years in total. 

After you have completed the examination Part 2, you can apply for a limited authorisation at a state, local authority or joint authority-run hospital or health centre.

Please note that you are not allowed to work through a locum/ supply/ employment agency while the limited authorisation is in place. You need to sign an employment contract directly with your employer.

How to apply for limited authorisation

The form can be filled in electronically or manually. Either way, print it out and mail it to the enclosed address.

Licensing

When you have provided Valvira with language certificate and all additional documents, have completed the practical training and passed all three parts of the exam Valvira will grant you a right to practice medicine in Finland.

How to apply for licensing

The form can be filled in electronically or manually. Either way, print it out and mail it to the enclosed address.

Note: most applicants will already have sent copies of all the relevant documents when they applied for approval of qualifications or for Part 1 of the examination. Just make sure you have sent earlier the documents below; if not, then include them in your Application for Licensing.

  • A copy of your passport or equivalent so that we can verify your nationality.
  • A copy of your degree certificate or diploma and all relevant appendices such as degree transcript and grades awarded.
  • A document confirming that you have completed your period of supervised practice.
  • A document confirming that you have completed the three-part examination.
  • Proof of your language proficiency.
  • Any other documents requested by Valvira.

Copies must be officially certified.

In addition, all documents must be translated into Finnish, Swedish or English by an authorised translator and certified copies of the translated documents should be included with the application.

In Finland, you can arrange for your documents to be certified by the notary public at local Register offices but practices may vary between countries. Notary public’s signature is sufficient, but signature and Apostille certificate will be accepted as well.

Specialty training in Finland

In Finland medical specialisation takes place through post-graduate study. Specialist post-graduate degrees in medicine are available at the Medical Faculties at the Universities of Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere, Eastern Finland and Turku. Please note that you will only be able to undertake specialist study if you have already been licensed for medical practice in Finland by Valvira.

The relevant Faculty of Medicine will decide on admission of international students for specialty training. The Faculty will also decide to what extent any specialty training you may have already undertaken outside Finland will count towards your specialty training here. Specialist training in Finland takes five to six years and is mainly made up of clinical work in the relevant specialty. In addition, all candidates must sit a final examination.

Doctors who were qualified outside of Finland can also study for Doctor in Medical Science. You do not need to be licensed for medical practice in Finland for this purpose unless your research includes a clinical component, i.e. direct patient contact.

Two-stage licensing practice of doctors discontinued May 1 2011