Education completed outside the EU/EEA countries

The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) may, in response to an application, grant the right to practice as a legalized health care professional, or the right to use the appropriate occupational title, to a health care professional who has received his or her training and education outside the EU/EEA countries.

The main principle is that that educational qualifications awarded outside the EU/EEA countries will be compared directly to the equivalent education provided in Finland. The comparison of qualifications will be carried out by a university or other institute of education that will issue a statement indicating whether the existing qualifications can, in principle, be upgraded to conform to Finnish standards and, if so, what additional studies should be completed by the applicant to achieve this.

Determination of the equivalence of qualifications

Inquiries concerning the equivalence of qualifications can be made through Valvira. Alternatively, the applicant can directly contact the Finnish university or institute of education providing the appropriate training.

If you wish to have the equivalence of your qualifications determined by Valvira, please submit the following documents to Valvira. Valvira will forward the documents to a university or institute of education to request a statement on the application. The party issuing the statement may require a processing fee up to a maximum of € 336. A separate application and set of documents are required for each individual profession for which determination of equivalence is requested.

Documents required

• Application form. The application must clearly indicate the profession to which it relates.
• Extract from the population register or officially certified copy of passport
• Officially certified copy of the diploma
• Translations of the diplomas by a certified translator into Finnish, Swedish or English
• Officially certified copies of documents indicating the studies (subjects) included in the degree including the number of lessons in the original language accompanied by official translations by a certified translator into Finnish, Swedish or English
• Officially certified copies of certificates indicating work history in the profession involved
• National Certificate of Language Proficiency in Finnish or Swedish or the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate if the applicant is not an EU/EEA citizen

As an applicant, you may also contact the Finnish university or institute of education providing the training for the purpose of determining the equivalence of qualifications. It is advisable to first contact the student advisor of the university or institute to find out about the application procedure and other practical arrangements. The institutes of education may test your knowledge of Finnish or Swedish, hold other examinations or impose other requirements.

Language skills

If the applicant is not an EU/EEA citizen, he or she is required to possess adequate language skills in addition to having equivalent qualifications. Sufficient proof of languages skills is the National Certificate of Language Proficiency in Finnish or Swedish or the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate. The applicant is required to demonstrate a satisfactory level of language skills the Civil Service Language Proficiency Test or achieve the medium level in the tests for the National Certificate of Language Proficiency in Finnish or Swedish (levels 3–4). Individual certificates of Finnish/Swedish studies are not recognized. For more information on language tests and certificates, visits the website of the Finnish National Board of Education.

No certificate of language proficiency is required of Finnish citizens or the citizens of other EU/EEA countries. Even so, health care professionals are required to possess the language skills required for a successful discharge of their duties.

Finnish National Board of Education
www.oph.fi