Doctor

Doctors qualified outside the EU/EEA member state

Please read instructions on legalisation process for doctors who have qualified outside the EU/EEA member states.

Steps in the legalisation process 

1. Recognition of medical degree 
2. Six months of internship
3. Examinations
4. Limited license to practise
5. Legalisation

You must demonstrate the required language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish at the latest when you register for the first examination. 

How to apply for recognition of your degree 

Application form 

Application attachments:

1. a copy of a passport, identity card, alien's passport or refugee travel document (document certifying your identity and nationality)

2. a copy of your degree certificate 

3. a certificate of professional licence to practise, issued less than 3 months previously, from each country in which you have practised as a physician; such a certificate must state that your practice rights have not been restricted or withdrawn. Certificates may be submitted as originals or as copies.
4. if you are unable to submit the certificate referred to in point 3, an explanation of the matter
5. translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of all the aforementioned documents. Translations may be submitted as originals or as copies.

Valvira may request further explanations as necessary. Please note that Valvira will not return any documents submitted or make copies.

You must send your application and attachments to Valvira by mail.

Formal requirements for attachments

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 that document must be verified.  

Please contact the foreign ministry or other relevant body in the country where your 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.

Further information on the Apostille and Grand Legalisation procedures (Valvira.fi) 

All copies appended to the application must be officially certified copies.

You can obtain officially certified copies from a notary public in Finland or other EU/EEA Member States, or at a Finnish mission in other countries.  Officially certified copies made by a public authority in a country other than an EU/EEA Member State and legalised through the Apostille or Grand Legalisation procedure are acceptable.

The copies you submit must be copies with the original stamp and signature of the certifier. 

The translations must have been produced by an authorised translator in Finland or in another EU/EEA Member State. 

Further information on notaries public (dvv.fi)

Further information on authorised translators (oph.fi)

Further information on the Apostille procedure (hcch.net)

Internship

Once you have received Valvira’s recognition of your medical degree, you can start the internship required by Valvira. Valvira does not take into account internship made prior to  Valvira´s decision to accept the medical degree. Valvira accepts as an internship any job training undertaken in a Finnish hospital or health centre maintained by a public body, such that its job description is consistent with the internship requirements for Finnish medical students. Internship may also be completed in fully outsourced services or in an enterprise owned by one or more local authorities, provided that these enable an internship consistent with the Finnish training for a specialising physician.  

Medical research may be accepted by Valvira as a substitute for medical internship for a period of no more than 2 months.

Your internship must last at least 6 months in all, but Valvira may also separately specify how long your internship must be and what it must contain. You have to have served your internship in full in the 3-year period before your clinical examination for the internship to be accepted.  

Your internship must last at least 6 months if it is full-time employment (at least 30 h per week).

Your internship must last at least one year if it is part-time employment (at least 18.5 h per week). An internship period at any one location must last at least one month (30 days), but you may complete internship periods at several locations.  You must submit a statement from your employer for each of your internship locations. 

The following shall not be accepted as internships: observing the operations of a facility as a visitor; serving as a volunteer employee at a facility; or undergoing a general introduction to Finnish working life (integration training) arranged by the immigration authorities or employment authorities.

Valvira will not arrange an internship for you.  You must find your own internship, for instance by contacting hospitals directly. You must agree on the internship with the employer. You do not need permission from Valvira to enter into an internship.

Internships must be completed in either of Finland’s official languages, Finnish or Swedish.

While in an internship, you are not considered a health care professional and may not treat patients independently.

Language proficiency requirement

You must have sufficient oral and written proficiency in either the Finnish or Swedish language.

You must demonstrate this language proficiency at the latest when you register for your first clinical examination.

Demonstrating language proficiency 

Examinations

Examinations are held by the University of Tampere. For further information on examinations and when to sign up, please visit the university website. Examinations 

You may take the clinical examination when you have fully completed your 6-month internship and demonstrated sufficient language proficiency.

The examination is in three parts:

1. Clinical examination
2. Examination on the Finnish health care system
3. Practical patient care examination

The examinations are in Finnish or Swedish and must be completed in the order given above.

For further information on the examinations, please visit the Valvira website (valvira.fi)

Note: As of 1 January 2022, the University of Tampere will require physicians signing up for the practical patient care examination for the first time to submit a certificate of language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish at least at the level YKI 4 / B2.

Bulletin 

How to sign up for the clinical examination for the first time 

Registration form

Registration attachments:

• a report on language proficiency
• a statement from the internship supervisor evaluating your performance

You must sign up with Valvira at least one week before the University’s registration deadline. 
 

Limited licence to practise

Valvira may grant you a limited licence to practice at the time of your examinations.
After you have completed the first examination, you may apply for a limited licence to practise, allowing you to work at a hospital maintained by a public body.  After you have completed the second examination, you may apply for a similar licence allowing you to work at a health centre.

A limited licence to practise is granted for a specific speciality and a specific location, and for no more than 6 months at a time. Generally, you can only be granted limited licences to practise for a total of 2 years.

If your basic medical training does not qualify you to practise as an independent medical professional in the country where you completed your training, then you must work as a physician in Finland on a limited licence to practise for 2 years before you can be legalised as a physician.  

How to apply for a limited licence to practise 

Licence application (pdf)

Application attachment:

• a statement from your employer on your previous licence period or internship

You must attach a statement from your employer to every licence application you submit.
Submit the application to Valvira at least 3 weeks before the planned start of your job. 

Legalisation

Once you have passed all the examinations and, if so required, worked as a physician on limited licences to practise for 2 years, you may apply for legalisation as a physician.

Application form (pdf)

Application attachment:

• a statement from your employer on your most recent internship period or period of employment as a physician on a limited licence to practise

Another EU/EEA Member State has approved your degree and granted you the right to practise your profession

Requirements for legalisation: 

• EU/EEA citizenship or comparable status
• at least 3 years of employment as a physician or specialist in the EU/EEA Member State where you were granted the right to practise as a physician or a medical specialist
• language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish (see the requirements here)

Application form (pdf)

Application attachments:

1. a copy of a passport, identity card, alien's passport or refugee travel document (document certifying your identity and nationality)
2. a copy of your degree certificate 
3. a certificate of professional licence to practise, issued less than 3 months previously, from each country in which you have practised as a physician; such a certificate must state that your practice rights have not been restricted or withdrawn. Certificates may be submitted as originals or as copies.
4. if you are unable to submit the certificate referred to in point 4, an explanation of the matter
5. a certificate issued by a public authority in the EU/EEA Member State that approved your degree, stating that your degree is consistent with EU requirements. Certificates may be submitted as originals or as copies.
6. translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of all the aforementioned documents. Translations may be submitted as originals or as copies.
7. proof of language proficiency in Finnish or Swedish (see the requirements here)

You do not need to send original documents when you first submit your application. However, Valvira may later require you to submit officially certified copies of those attachment documents.

If Valvira does require officially certified copies, you can obtain those from a notary public in Finland or in another EU or EEA Member State, or from a Finnish mission in other countries.

You may also submit copies issued by a foreign authority and verified using the Apostille procedure. Such copies must bear the original stamp and signature of the notary public or Finnish mission.

Further information on notaries public

If you do not submit a certificate of language proficiency, Valvira can only recognise your professional qualifications. Recognition of professional qualifications does not automatically entitle you to practise your profession or to use a protected professional title in Finland.

Further information on recognition of professional qualifications.

Decision

A fee is charged for every decision concerning professional rights, even if decision is a negative one. Half the processing fee is payable if you withdraw your application.

The decision on the right to practise a profession will be issued in Finnish or Swedish. Valvira will send the decision and the invoice in separate letters once your application has been processed.