Planning to work in the social welfare and health care field
To work in a social welfare or health care profession in Finland, you must usually have a licence granted by Valvira. Valvira grants the right to practise a social welfare or health care profession on application to professionals trained in Finland and abroad.
The instructions on how to apply are slightly different depending on whether you have completed your training in Finland, in a Member State of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), or outside the EU/EEA. Select the profession for which you want to apply for the right to practise and select where you have completed your training for that profession. The instructions are available in English only for applicants who have studied outside of Finland.
The Member States of the European Union (EU) are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The European Economic Area includes all Member States of the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Training completed in Switzerland is also considered as a training completed in an EU or EEA country.
The decisions regarding professional practice rights as well as expert opinions are subject to fees. A fee is also charged for denied applications. Half a processing fee is charged for a withdrawn application. By submitting an application, you agree to the fees.
The fees for your application can be found at the end of the application instruction, under “Fees”. Valvira’s fees changed in the beginning of the year 2024. The current decree on fees is valid until the end of 2025. The amount of a fee depends on when an application has arrived to Valvira.
The invoice will be sent after the decision. If Valvira has requested an expert statement, a fee will also be charged for the statement on top of the decision fee. You may receive multiple invoices depending on whether you are given a licence to practice straight away or whether you must complete supplementary studies or additional measures before receiving a licence.
Most professions in the social welfare and health care sectors require legalisation or registration of a protected occupational title by Valvira. For further information on social welfare and health care professions in Finland, please consult our website.
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 occupational title, and also you have practised your profession in that country for 3 years, select “in an EU or EEA Member State”. This applies to EU citizens and persons of comparable status.
- If you completed your degree in the UK no later than 31 December 2020, select "in an EU or EEA Member State".
- If you completed your degree in the UK on or after 1 January 2021, select “outside the EU/EEA”.