Medical Doctor trained outside of the EU/EEA
Only persons duly legalised by Valvira are allowed to perform the duties of Medical Doctors. Valvira grants the right to practise as a Medical Doctor on application to Medical Doctor trained in Finland and abroad.
Steps in the legalisation process:
- Recognition of medical degree
- Six-month medical internship at a health care operating unit
- Completing examinations at a university
- Restricted practice rights with a limited licence
- Legalisation (right to practise medicine independently in Finland)
Recognition of medical degree
Fill in the application form (pdf). Send your application with attachments to Valvira. If you submit all the relevant documents with your application, the application process will be quicker. The processing period is calculated from the time when Valvira has received all the required documents and reports. Please do not send your application or attachments by e-mail in advance, because this will slow down the processing of your application.
The processing of an application in Valvira is subject to a fee. A fee is also charged for a withdrawn application. By submitting an application, you agree to the fees. Please check the prices at end of the instructions, under “Fees”.
Send your completed application and appendices by mail to:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki
You must supply officially certified copies of the documents listed below (1–4). Copies can be officially certified by a notary public in Finland (dvv.fi) or in another EU or EEA Member State, or by a Finnish mission in other countries. Copies issued by a notary public outside the EU/EEA and furnished with an Apostille or Grand Legalisation are also acceptable. You must submit to Valvira, by mail, the copies that bear the original stamp and signature of the notary public or Finnish mission.
Please attach the following documents to your application:
- Passport, identity card issued in an EU/EEA Member State, alien’s passport or refugee travel document (proof of your identity and nationality). Please read the instructions on our website if you do not have a Finnish personal identity number.
- Degree certificate and the official e-mail address and mailing address of your educational institution
If you give the contact details, Valvira may verify the legitimacy of your degree. This verification may delay the processing of your application. You do not need to submit an officially certified copy if Valvira verifies your degree directly with your educational institution. If Valvira is unable to obtain the required information directly from your educational institution, you must submit your degree certificate, verified by Apostille or Grand Legalisation.
OR
Have your degree certificate (diploma) legalised in the country where your completed your education, by Apostille or Grand Legalisation. In this procedure, the position of the person who signed the degree certificate and their right to sign that document must be verified. Find out from the foreign ministry or other body in your country of education how to legalise your degree certificate (diploma). - A certificate verifying that your right to practise the profession in question has not been restricted or revoked (e.g. Certificate of Good Standing). This certificate must be no more than three months old when received by Valvira. You must submit such a certificate from every country where you have been legalised to practise your profession. If you have practised your profession in a country where practitioners of that profession are not registered, then you need to submit an affidavit from the competent authority in that country stating that practitioners of your profession are not registered in that country, or some other reliable testimonial of the matter.
- Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of the documents listed in points 2–3.
The translations must have been produced by an authorised translator in Finland or in another EU/EEA Member State. Authorised translators in Finland can be found through the online service of the National Agency for Education. If the translator is not an official or authorised translator in an EU/EEA Member State, the translation may nevertheless be acceptable if the translator’s status is verified by Apostille or Grand Legalisation.
Valvira may request further clarifications if necessary. The application documents will remain in Valvira, and it is not possible to get them back after a decision has been made. If you request for documents to be returned to you while the application process is ongoing, you must send in replacing documents that meet the formal requirements. This will significantly slow down the processing of your application.
In most cases, the processing period will be at least 4 months. The processing period is calculated from the time when Valvira has received all the required documents. If Valvira has to send you a request for further information or if Valvira has to verify your qualification, then processing your application will take significantly longer.
Once you have received a decision of recognition of your degree, you may begin the practical training required by Valvira. Valvira will not credit any practical training that you have done before the recognition of your degree. Internships must be completed in either of Finland’s official languages, Finnish or Swedish.
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. If you have worked temporarily performing the duties of a physician as a medical student registered by Valvira in Finland, the time worked may be credited towards your six-month internship service. If you did such work more than three years ago, it will not be credited as internship.
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 half-day employment (at least 18.5 h per week). An internship period at any one location must last at least one month (30 days), 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. While in an internship, you are not considered a health care professional and may not treat patients independently.
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. For instructions on how to demonstrate sufficient language proficiency, visit our website.
Examinations are held by the University of Tampere. For further information on examinations and when to sign up, please visit the university website. 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:
- Clinical examination
- Examination on the Finnish health care system
- Practical patient care examination
The examinations are in Finnish or Swedish and must be completed in the order given above.
Registration
Here is how to sign up with Valvira for your first clinical examination. You must sign up with Valvira at least one week before the university’s registration deadline.
Fill in the registration form (pdf, in Finnish).
Please attach the following documents to your application:
- passport, identity card, alien’s passport or refugee travel document (proof of your identity and nationality)
- a report on language proficiency
- a statement from the internship supervisor evaluating your performance
Send your completed registration form and appendices by e-mail to: [email protected].
Please note that e-mail is not recommended for sending confidential information. You can send a secure e-mail via the Valvira secure message service. Further information on how to deliver material to Valvira by e-mail can be found on our website.
OR send your completed application and appendices by mail to:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki
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.
Applying for a limited licence
Fill in the licence application (pdf) (in finnish).
Append to each application a statement from your employer on your previous licence period or internship.
Submit the application to Valvira at least 3 weeks before the planned start of your job.
Send your completed application and appendices by e-mail to: [email protected].
Please note that e-mail is not recommended for sending confidential information. You can send a secure e-mail via the Valvira secure message service. Further information on how to deliver material to Valvira by e-mail can be found on our website.
OR send your completed application and appendices by mail to:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki
Once you have passed all the examinations, you may apply for legalisation as a physician.
Fill in the application form (pdf).
Append to your application a statement from your employer on your most recent internship period or period of employment as a physician on a limited licence to practise.
Send your completed application and appendices by e-mail to: [email protected].
Please note that e-mail is not recommended for sending confidential information. You can send a secure e-mail via the Valvira secure message service. Further information on how to deliver material to Valvira by e-mail can be found on our website.
OR send your completed application and appendices by mail to:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki
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.
Types of fee include:
- Recognition of medical degree EUR 440
- Limited licence to practice EUR 870
- Granting the right to practise after granting a limited licence EUR 440
- Legalisation EUR 2080 if you have not had a licence yet
You will find the information on the rights to practise granted to you in JulkiTerhikki or JulkiSuosikki.
Rights to practise granted may be viewed in the public information services for social welfare and health care professionals (JulkiSuosikki and JulkiTerhikki, respectively) after the decision is issued or the registration is made. The register data are updated once a day.
A right to practise granted for a fixed term will be visible in the public information service only while it is valid, as in the case of a limited licence.
Valvira may send you any requests for further information, certificates and decisions electronically as a Suomi.fi message if you have registered in that service. Suomi.fi messages may only be used for matters that are currently pending. You may register for Suomi.fi messages at the suomi.fi website or by downloading the Suomi.fi mobile app.
In application matters, we will only deal with the applicants themselves. However, an applicant may authorise an agent or an assistant to act on their behalf in the matter of their application. In this case, the agent or assistant must present a power of attorney authorising them to act for the applicant. The power of attorney may be an e-mail or physical document sent by the applicant, stating that the applicant authorises the person in question to act for them in the matter of the application. However, attorneys-at-law and public legal aid attorneys do not need to present said document unless specifically requested.