Guide

Instructions for applicants who have qualified outside the EU/EEA

Application

To apply for the right to practise a profession, you must submit an application to Valvira. In the application, you must state in which profession you are applying for the right to practise. If you wish to apply for the right to practise in more than one profession, you must submit a separate application for each of them.

Application form (in Finnish)

Application form (in Swedish)

Fill in the application in Finnish, Swedish or English. You may also submit a freeform application.

In order for your application to be processed, you must supply officially certified copies of the documents listed below. This means that you must send these attachments by mail.

Copies can be officially certified by a notary public in Finland or in another EU or EEA Member State, or by a Finnish mission in other countries. You must send to Valvira the copies that bear the original stamp and signature of the notary public or Finnish mission. You may also submit copies issued by a foreign authority and verified using the Apostille or Grand Legalisation procedure.

Application attachments

1)    Document certifying your identity and nationality.

2)    Degree certificate

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 contact details for the educational institution (snail mail address and official e-mail address) so that Valvira can verify the validity of your degree.
Further information on the Apostille and Grand Legalisation procedures (Valvira.fi)

3)    Degree certificate appendix (e.g. diploma supplement, academic transcript).

4)    Report issued by the educational institution detailing the learning outcomes, contents and scope in hours of the units included in your degree and the operating environments in which you completed your practical training and your duties therein. If the educational institution supplies a general study programme to provide this information, the institution must separately confirm that you have completed the units required. The educational institution may deliver the report directly to Valvira by e-mail. It is in your interests to supply information on your training in as much detail as possible, because Valvira will compare the content of your training to the corresponding training given in Finland.

5)    Employment certificates for work in the profession following completion of your training. Employment certificates must have been issued by your employer, and they must state at least your job title, your job duties and the duration of your employment.

6)    Certificate of supplementary professional training and continuing education.

7)    Certificate, no more than three months old, verifying that your right to practise the profession in question has not been restricted or revoked, such as a Certificate of Current Professional Status. If you have been granted the right to practise your profession in several countries, you must submit this certificate for each country.

8)    Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of all the aforementioned documents. The translations must have been made by an authorised translator in Finland or in another EU or EEA Member State.

•    Authorised translators in Finland: http://www03.oph.fi/kaantajat/

9)    Freeform consent stating that Valvira has your permission to submit your application documents to a Finnish educational institution for an expert opinion if necessary. A fee will be charged from you if this is done (EUR 200–600).

10)    Certificate of language proficiency.

a)    Copy of a language proficiency certificate issued in Finland (either the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate or the National Certificate of Language Proficiency). 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.

OR
b)    Leaving certificate/diploma of the education completed in Finnish or in Swedish, on a second stage educational institution. The second stage educational institution is an institution intended for post primary studies (for example vocational school and upper secondary school).

More information on language tests (OPH, in Finnish) https://www.oph.fi/fi/koulutus-ja-tutkinnot/kieli-ja-kaantajatutkinnot

OR
c)    Other report on language proficiency, which Valvira will assess on a case-by-case basis.
Valvira may request further explanations as necessary. Please note that Valvira will not return any documents submitted, and Valvira will not make copies of any documents.

Further information on notaries public (dvv.fi)

Further information on authorised translators (oph.fi)

If you have a completed a degree or qualification outside the EU/EEA and an EU/EEA Member State other than Finland has recognised your degree or qualification and granted you the right to practise a profession or the right to use a protected professional title, and you have practised your profession in that country for 3 years, see the instructions for persons who have completed their training in an EU/EEA Member State.

Processing period

The average processing period for applications is 4 months. The processing period is calculated from the time when Valvira has received all the required documents.

Decision

A fee is charged for every decision concerning professional rights, even if decision is a negative one. If you cancel your application, you will be charged half of the application processing fee.

Types of fee include:
•    Legalisation and protected title registration of a professional other than a physician or dentist

or
•    Fee for a statement requested from a university or other educational institution to evaluate a foreign degree or training programme
•    Legalisation and protected title registration of a professional other than a physician or dentist

or

•    Order mandating additional studies to qualify for the right to practise a profession
•    Legalisation and protected title registration after completing the required additional studies

The decision on the right to practise a profession will be issued in Finnish or Swedish. The invoice will be sent separately by post after the decision.

Legislation

Act on Health Care Professionals

Decree on Health Care Professionals

www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kokoelma/2011/20110377.pdf (in Finnish only)