Social welfare professional trained in an EU or EEA Member State
In order to work in Finland as a social worker, social service professional (‘sosionomi’), professional of applied gerontology (‘geronomi’) or rehabilitation councellor, you must be granted a right to practice by Valvira. In order to be allowed to use the title of practical nurse (‘lähihoitaja’) in a social welfare occupation, you must register this protected occupational title with Valvira. Valvira grants rights to practice and protected occupational title registrations on application, also on the basis of degrees completed abroad.
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.
OR send your completed application and appendices by mail to:
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira)
PO Box 43
FI-00521 Helsinki
If you are able to use strong identification, you may submit your application and attach appendices through our online service.
In online transactions, you may identify yourself using online banking IDs, a mobile certificate or an organisation card.
On your first visit, you will need to set up an account that you can also log in to later. You must activate the account via a link that will be sent to you by e-mail.
Once you have entered your language preference and contact details in the online service, you will be able to fill out the application. When you send your application, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail to the address you gave. If you give your consent to being notified electronically, the decision or certificate will be posted in your online account, not mailed to your home. For more on how to use our online service, please visit our website.
Append copies of the following documents to your application:
- Passport or ID card issued in an EU/EEA Member State (i.e. document verifying your identity and nationality)
You do not need to attach a document proving your identity and nationality if you submit your application in the Valvira online service. Please read the instructions on our website if you do not have a Finnish personal identity number. - Your degree certificate with appendices (e.g. diploma supplement, academic transcript)
- 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. 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 all the aforementioned documents.
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. - Freeform consent stating that Valvira has your permission to submit your application documents to a Finnish educational institution for an expert opinion if necessary.
The appendices listed below in points 6–9 are not necessarily mandatory, but they are recommended, because they may be required for obtaining an expert opinion. In order to evaluate an application, information regarding the completed education is needed. This information needs to be comprehensive enough to allow determining the possible differences between the completed education and the education required in Finland. - 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. - 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.
- A certificate of any supplementary professional training and continuing education.
- Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of all the aforementioned documents.
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.
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”.
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.
- Applying for the right to practise
- Request for further information if necessary
- Request for expert opinion if necessary
- Hearing if necessary
- Decision on conditional recognition or recognition
- Completing additional measures, if any
- Decision on the right to practise
If any documents are missing from your application that Valvira requires, Valvira will request them from you within 30 days of receiving your application.
Applications submitted by citizens of EU/EEA Member States who have completed their degree in an EU/EEA Member State other than Finland will be resolved by Valvira within 3 months of receiving all the documents required for the application.
If there are significant differences between the education that the applicant has received abroad and the education in Finland, Valvira will issue a certificate of conditional recognition of professional qualifications. In social care this can be issued for all qualifications completed abroad and in health care for qualifications received in another EU or EEA country. The certificate of conditional recognition will specify the additional measures required to compensate for the differences. Additional measures include an aptitude test and an adaptation period. The applicant cannot be licensed to practise their profession until the additional measure specified has been acceptably completed. The applicant will need to reapply for a licence once they have completed the additional measure.
Valvira may grant the right to practise as a social worker or ‘sosionomi’ (Bachelor of Social Services) also on the basis of a decision by the Finnish National Agency for Education. Before the entry into force of the Act on Social Welfare Professionals in 2016, the National Agency for Education dealt with applications for recognition of professional qualification in social services. The decisions made up until then by the National Agency for Education remain valid and may be relevant for the processing of an application for the right to practise by Valvira. This depends on the type of decision made by the National Agency for Education.
Your application may be processed on the basis of a decision by the National Agency for Education only if you are applying for the same right to practise to which the National Agency for Education originally equated your professional qualification. Having a decision of conditional recognition of professional qualification or a decision of recognition of professional qualification from the National Agency for Education will expedite your application process at Valvira. Having a decision of equivalent qualification will have no bearing on the processing at Valvira of your application for the right to practise.
Decision of conditional recognition of professional qualification by the National Agency for Education
A decision of conditional recognition of professional qualification means that you must improve your competence by undergoing an adaptation period, taking an aptitude test or completing further studies. Under such a decision by the National Agency for Education, you may be granted the right to practise as a social worker or social advisor once you have improved your competence by undergoing an adaptation period, taking an aptitude test or completing further studies. Under current legislation, the right to practise as a social advisor is equal to the right to practise as a ‘sosionomi’.
Once you have acceptably completed the adaptation period, aptitude test or additional studies, you may apply to Valvira for the right to practise. Append to your application copies of a document verifying your identity and nationality, your decision from the National Agency for Education and your certificate of completing the additional measures required. You do not need to append your training or employment certificates to this application.
How to complete the additional measures
During the adaptation period, the applicant works under the guidance and supervision of another professional. Find yourself a job for the adaptation period consistent with the decision of the National Agency for Education and enter an agreement with the employer to complete the adaptation period as required. Further information on completing the adaptation period can be found on our website. The supervisor of your adaptation period will issue a statement confirming that you have acceptably completed the adaptation period.
If your qualification has been deemed equivalent to the professional qualification of a social worker and you wish to complete an aptitude test or further studies, please contact Sosnet, the Finnish National University Network for Social Work. If your qualification has been deemed equivalent to the professional qualification of a social advisor and you wish to complete an aptitude test or further studies, please contact any Finnish university of applied sciences that has a ‘sosionomi’ (Bachelor of Social Services) programme. The educational institution in question will issue a certificate on acceptable completion of your aptitude test or further studies.
Decision of recognition of professional qualification
A decision of recognition of professional qualification by the National Agency for Education means that due to the qualification you have – plus any aptitude test, adaptation period or further studies you may have completed – you are eligible for the professional qualification of a social worker or social advisor.
You may apply directly to Valvira for legalisation in social welfare on the basis of the decision of the National Agency for Education. You must apply for the same right to practise that the decision of the National Agency for Education concerns. If your decision is for the professional qualification of social advisor, you must apply to Valvira for the right to practise as a ‘sosionomi’.
Append to your application copies of a document verifying your identity and nationality and your decision from the National Agency for Education. You do not need to append your training or employment certificates to this application.
In order to work in Åland as a social worker or ‘sosionomi’ (Bachelor of Social Services), you must be granted a right to practise by Valvira. In order to use the protected occupational title of practical nurse in Åland, you must apply to Valvira for the right to practise as a practical nurse. Valvira grants the right to practise as a social worker or as a ‘sosionomi’ and the right to use the protected occupational title of practical nurse also on the basis of decisions made by the Government of Åland before 2021.
You may apply to Valvira for the right to practise in social welfare or for the right to use the aforementioned occupational title on the basis of a decision by the Government of Åland IF the Government of Åland, in that decision, equated your qualification completed abroad to:
- the training of a Finnish social worker, or
- the training of a Finnish ‘sosionomi’ (Bachelor of Social Services), or
- the qualification of a Finnish practical nurse.
Your application may be processed on the basis of a decision by the Government of Åland only if you are applying for the same right to practise to which the Government of Åland originally equated your professional qualification. Under current legislation, the right to practise as a social advisor is equal to the right to practise as a ‘sosionomi’.
Append your decision from the Government of Åland to your application for the right to practise.
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:
- Fee for expert opinion EUR 100–400
- Decision on conditional recognition EUR 1470
- Legalisation after an adaptation period or aptitude test EUR 370
- Legalisation on the basis of a recognition decision by the National Agency for Education EUR 250
- Legalisation EUR 1470
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. If Valvira has requested an expert statement, the invoice for the statement fee will be sent to you after Valvira receives that statement.
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 with the registration for an adaptation period.
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.