Registered nurse, pharmacist or midwife trained in an EU or EEA Member State

Only persons duly legalised by Valvira are allowed to perform the duties of legalised health care professionals. Valvira grants the right to practise the profession of registered nurse, midwife or pharmacist on application to nurses trained in Finland and abroad. 

Applying for the right to practise

Fill in the application form (pdf). Send the application and appendices to Valvira as e-mail attachments or by mail. The processing period is calculated from the time when Valvira has received all the required documents.

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.

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 A fee is also charged for a withdrawn application.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”. 

OR send your completed application and appendices by mail to:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki

Append copies of the following documents to your application:

  1. Passport or ID card issued in an EU/EEA Member State (i.e. document verifying your identity and nationality). Please read the instructions on our website if you do not have a Finnish personal identity number.
  2. Your degree certificate with appendices (e.g. diploma supplement, academic transcript)
  3. Certificate of sufficient language proficiency. Further information on language proficiency requirements is available on our website.
    If you do not submit a certificate of language proficiency, Valvira can only recognise your professional qualifications. In order to be eligible for this, you must be a citizen of an EU or EEA Member State or a person of comparable status, and you must have completed your training in an EU or EEA Member State. Recognition of professional qualifications does not automatically entitle you to practise your profession or to use a protected occupational title in Finland. Further information on the recognition of professional qualifications.

    The appendices listed below in points 4–6 may be necessary for resolving your application. Valvira may also be able to verify the information directly with the competent authority in the relevant EU or EEA Member State, in which case you do not need to submit these documents. This verification may delay the processing of your application. If Valvira is unable to verify the information with the competent authority, then you must submit the relevant certificates yourself. 
  4. A certificate verifying that your right to practise the profession in question has not been restricted or revoked (e.g. Certificate of Current Professional Status). 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. OR If you want Valvira to check your credentials directly with the competent authority, then you need to declare all the countries in which you have been granted the right to practise your profession.
  5. Certificate issued by a competent authority stating how your professional qualifications fulfil the requirements of Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.
  6. Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of the documents listed in points 4 and 5. 
    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 (oph.fi). 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 confirmed with an 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, the processing of your application will be significantly slowed down.