Language Proficiency

Language proficiency

Health care professionals must have sufficient oral and written language proficiency to allow them to perform their duties. Valvira verifies the language proficiency of applicants. Employers are required to evaluate whether a person has sufficient language proficiency in order to perform their duties.

Finland’s official languages are Finnish and Swedish. You must demonstrate language proficiency in either Finnish or Swedish.

You may demonstrate sufficient language proficiency with a:

• Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate or National Certificate of Language Proficiency, issued in Finland. For the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate, the requirement is at least ‘Satisfactory skills’ in all skills areas; for the National Certificate of Language Proficiency, the requirement is at least the intermediate level test (levels 3–4) in all skills areas.

About the National Certificate of Language Proficiency

About the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate

or

• A leaving certificate from a Finnish comprehensive school.  The certificate must show a passing grade for Finnish or Swedish as mother tongue or second language.

or

• A leaving certificate from a Finnish upper secondary school, or a Finnish matriculation examination certificate, showing a passing grade for Finnish or Swedish as mother tongue or second language.

or

• A certificate showing that you have completed the upper secondary school syllabus in the subject of Finnish or Swedish as mother tongue or second language.

or

• A certificate showing that you have completed a vocational qualification in Finnish or Swedish. 

or

• A certificate showing that you have completed studies in Finnish for civil servants or Swedish for civil servants at a university. 

or

•  A maturity test taken in Finnish or Swedish as part of a university degree.

or

•  A statement from your employer vouching for your language proficiency. 

Such a statement must include the following details:

• place of employment and date(s) of employment 
• job duties 
• evaluation of written and spoken language proficiency, reading comprehension and speech comprehension 

The person issuing the statement must be someone who has been able to evaluate your language proficiency in practice. Valvira will evaluate such statements on a case-by-case basis.