Paramedic trained in an EU or EEA Member State

Recognition of professional qualification of a paramedic may be awarded to a citizen of an EU or EEA Member State, or a person of comparable status, having completed their training in an EU or EEA Member State other than Finland. In order to work as a paramedic in Finland on the basis of training completed abroad, you must apply for recognition of professional qualification.

Recognition of professional qualifications means that we accept the training completed by an individual as adequate. A recognition decision grants you the right to work on the advanced level in an emergency medical service unit. An ‘emergency medical service unit’ comprises a vehicle devised for emergency medical service (EMS) operations and its personnel. Emergency medical service units include not only ambulances but also various other EMS vehicles, medical and EMS helicopters and any other applicable means of transport.

If you have not been legalised as a nurse in Finland, your degree will be compared to a nursing degree in connection with your paramedic application. Paramedics who have qualified in Finland (Ensihoitaja (AMK)) are always also legalised nurses. For further information on paramedic training, visit the Studyinfo website.

Having sufficient language skills in Finnish or Swedish is not required for recognition of your professional qualification as a paramedic but is required for being legalised as a nurse.

Applying for recognition of professional qualification

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

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 emergency nursing degree certificate with appendices (e.g. diploma supplement, academic transcript). If you have completed a nursing degree in addition to your emergency nursing degree, include your nursing degree certificate and academic transcript as well.
3. 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.
4. 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 5-7 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.
5.  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.
6. 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.
7. A certificate of any supplementary professional training and continuing education.
8. Translations into Finnish, Swedish or English of the documents listed in points 2–8.
   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 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.