Dentist
Dentists who have qualified outside the EU/EEA
Please note that Valvira charges a fee for every decision concerning licences to practise a profession, including when an application is denied. Half the processing fee is payable if you withdraw your application.
Steps in the legalisation process
- Recognition of dentistry degree. Application for the approval of a degree in dentistry completed abroad
- Internship of at least three months as a dentist in a public health care facility
- Acceptable completion of examinations to ascertain your competence at the University of Turku or of the University of Helsinki
- Restricted practice rights with a limited licence for at least one year
- Right to practice dentistry independently in Finland
You cannot undertake the internship and competence examinations mandated by Valvira before Valvira has issued a decision to approve your qualification.
You must demonstrate the required language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish at latest when you register for the first examination.
How to apply for recognition of your degree
Application for the approval of a degree in dentistry completed abroad (pdf)
- A copy of a passport, identity card, alien's passport or refugee travel document (document certifying your identity and nationality)
- A copy of your original qualification certificate
- Certificate of a licence to practice your profession issued by a competent foreign authority if you have been licensed to practice your profession in a country other than Finland. This certificate must be no more than three months old and it must indicate that the licence is valid and not subject to any restrictions. If you have been licensed to practice your profession in more than one country, you must submit the certificates from all those countries in either the original or as a copy.
- If you cannot provide the certificate mentioned in point 3, the proof that practitioners of this profession are not registered in said country must be established by means of a certificate to that effect issued by the competent authority of the said country or a proof by other reliable means.
- Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of the aforementioned documents made by a translator certified or authorised in Finland or another EU/EEA member state. The translations may be submitted in the original or as copies.
Formal requirements for application documents
Please have your original degree certificate (diploma) legalised in the country in which you completed your training, using the Apostille or Grand Legalisation procedure. In this procedure, the position of the person who signed the degree certificate and their right to sign must be verified. Once your degree certificate has beem endorsed in the Apostille or Grand Legalisation procedure, you may submit an officially certified copy of the certificate to Valvira, but the aforementioned endorsement must have been made on the original document, not the copy.
Please contact the foreign ministry or other relevant body in the country where you completed your training to find out how your degree certificate should be legalised in that country.
OR
If you are unable to obtain a legalised degree certificate from the country where you completed your training, please submit the official e-mail address for the educational institution, so that Valvira can verify the validity of your degree. This verification will delay the processing of your application.
More information about the Apostille or Grand Legalisation
All copies must be officially certified and must be sent to Valvira by mail. E-mailed copies will not be accepted.
Authenticated copies may be obtained from notaries public in Finland and other EU/EEA Member States and from Finnish missions abroad. The copies submitted to Valvira must bear the original stamp and signature of the notary public or Finnish mission. Copies issued by a foreign authority are acceptable if endorsed with an Apostille.
Translations of the documents into Finnish, Swedish or English must be appended to the application. The translations must be made by a translator certified or authorised in Finland or another EU/EEA Member State. The translations must be submitted either in the original bearing the translator’s original stamp and signature or as authenticated copies bearing the original stamp and signature of a notary public or a Finnish mission.
Further information on notaries public
Database search for authorised translators(search available only in Finnish)
Further information on Apostille
Valvira may request further explanations if necessary. Valvira will not return your application documents and does not make copies of documents.
Internship
An internship for qualification recognition as a dentist is an internship completed at a public health care unit or University clinic. The internship should last at least three months, but Valvira can specify both the length and the content of your internship as necessary. You have to have begun and finished your internship within the three years immediately preceding your taking the examination tests.
Observing the operations of a medical care facility as a visitor, serving at a facility as a volunteer employee or undergoing labour market training as part of the training provided by the immigration or employment authorities (‘integration services’) does not count as internship for the purposes of this process.
Valvira does not serve as an employment exchange for internships: you must obtain your own internship position yourself.
Instructions (pdf)
Language proficiency
As a dentist, you must have sufficient spoken and written language skills to be able to carry out your duties. The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish.
Here you can find more information about language proficiency.
Certificates of studies in the Finnish or Swedish language, e.g. language course certificates, will not be accepted as proof of language skills by themselves. For further information on language examinations and certificates, please see the website of the National Board of Education (www.oph.fi).
Examination
Examinations to ascertain the applicants’ competence in dentistry are organised by the University of Helsinki Institute of Dentistry and the University of Turku Institute of Dentistry.The purpose of the examination, consisting of both dental theory and practice, is to ensure that the candidate possesses the required skills and knowledge to work in a clinical setting in Finland. In addition, the candidate’s knowledge of relevant Finnish legislation will also be tested.
You may take the first examination test when you have completed your three-month internship in full and passed your language certificate test.
You must register for the first examination with Valvira and the following registrations will be made directly to the university. Send certificates and statements received from the place of the internship when registering for the examination. Please notify in writing if you wish to have the examination questions in Swedish. You may use the registration form to register for the examination.
Form (in Finnish)
Form (in Swedish)
When registering for the examination, you must provide Valvira with the following:
- a copy of your language proficiency certificate
- a certificate of your internship
- a statement from your internship supervisor including an evaluation of your internship performance
Further information on examinations (available only in Finnish):
Helsingin yliopisto
Turun yliopisto
Licensing
Restricted practice rights with a limited licence
- Use this form to apply for restricted practice rights: Application for restricted practice rights as a dentist
- You must append a certificate from the university showing that you have acceptably compeleted all complete examinations
Once you have completed your competence examinations, you must practice on a limited licence for at least 1 year. You must find a job where you can practice with this licence.
Practising as a dentist on a limited licence means that you must work under the direction and supervision of another legalised dentist at a designated health care facility. Valvira may grant this licence for a maximum of 6 months at a time. Your emplyer's statement concerning your previous licence period will be considered when granting extensions to your licence. You may work at both public and private health care facilities on this licence.
Right to practise dentistry independently in Finland
Dentists licensed for independent practice may undertake work in both the public and private sectors.
1) In order to obtain a licence to practice dentistry independently, you must submit an application to
Application form (pdf)
2) You must append your employment certificates to the application either in the original or as copies.
Other cases
Licensing when you have completed a qualification in a country that is not an EU/EEA Member State and an EU/EEA Member State other than Finland has recognised your qualification and licensed you to practice your profession
Licensing is subject to the condition that you have practiced as a dentist or specialised dental practitioner for at least three years in the EU/EEA Member State in which you were licenced to practice as a dentist or specialised dental practitioner.
If an applicant has worked in the profession in question for at least three years in the EU/EEA Member State where they were granted the right to practise said profession or to use the professional title, then it may be possible to grant recognition after complementary measures. This applies to EU citizens and persons of comparable status.
Appendices to the application
- A copy of a passport, identity card, alien's passport or refugee travel document (document certifying your identity and nationality)
- A document certifying your change of name if any of your appended documents were issued under a name that is different from your current name
- A copy of your original qualification certificate and any appendices demonstrating the content and scope of the qualification (e.g. diploma supplement or transcript of records)
- Certificate of a licence to practice your profession issued by a competent foreign authority if you have been licensed to practice your profession in a country other than Finland. This certificate must be no more than three months old and it must indicate that the licence is valid and not subject to any restrictions. If you have been licensed to practice your profession in more than one country, you must submit the certificates from all those countries in either the original or as a copy.
- If you cannot provide the certificate mentioned in point 4, the proof that practitioners of this profession are not registered in said country must be established by means of a certificate to that effect issued by the competent authority of the said country or a proof by other reliable means.
- Certificate issued by a competent authority verifying that your qualification complies with EU requirements either in the original or as a copy.
- Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of the aforementioned documents made by a translator certified or authorised in Finland or another EU/EEA member state. The translations may be submitted in the original or as copies.
- Applicants who have completed their professional training related to the application or their general education in a language other than Finnish or Swedish must submit a copy of their National Certificate of Language Proficiency or Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate.
Doctor ID
All foreign dentists practicing dentistry in Finland must have a doctor ID, which is issued by Valvira in connection with the licensing decision. The doctor ID must always be written or stamped on prescriptions, for example.
Specialty training in Finland
The degree of a specialised dental practitioner in Finland is a specialised postgraduate degree. It can be undertaken at the University of Helsinki Institute of Dentistry, the University of Turku Institute of Dentistry and the University of Oulu Institute of Dentistry.
It is an unconditional requirement for completing this degree that you have been licensed by Valvira to practice dentistry in Finland.
Each Faculty of Medicine decides on admissions of foreign dentists as post-graduate students and on how your training completed abroad will be recognised in specialist training in Finland. Training of a specialised dental practitioner lasts 3-4 years and principally involves practical work in the specialist field in question.
A foreign dentist can also complete a post-graduate Doctor of Dental Science (DDS) degree at the universities listed above.
Processing time
The application processing time is roughly 4 months and it begins to run once Valvira has received all necessary documents.
Decision
Professional practice rights decisions are subject to a fee, and the fee will be charged also from the negative decisions. Half of the application processing fee will be charged for the cancelled application. Currently valid fees.
The decision on your licence to practice your profession will be issued in Finnish or Swedish. The invoice will be sent as a separate mail delivery.
Work permit
For further information on residence permits and work permits, please contact the Finnish Immigration Service and the employment authorities.
Finnish Immigration Service (migri.fi)
TE Office (mol.fi)