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 the Finnish Supervisory Agency as e-mail attachments or by mail. The processing period is calculated from when the Finnish Supervisory Agency receives all the required documents.

Send your completed application and appendices by e-mail to: kirjaamo(at)lvv.fi.

Please note that e-mail is not recommended for sending confidential information. You can send a secure e-mail via the Finnish Supervisory Agency secure message service. Further information on how to deliver material to the Finnish Supervisory Agency by e-mail can be found on our website (link).

Or send your completed application with attachments by post to:
Finnish Supervisory Agency
P.O. BOX 20
13035 LVV 

Courier mail (e.g. DHL or Fedex) is to be sent to:
Finnish Supervisory Agency
Wähäjärvenkatu 6
FI-13100 Hämeenlinna, Finland

Append copies of the following documents to your application

1. Document verifying your identity and nationality

• passport or 
• ID card issued in an EU/EEA Member State or 
• alien's passport or 
• refugee travel document

If you do not have a Finnish personal identity number, please check the additional instructions on the website of the Finnish Supervisory Agency (link).

2. Emergency nursing degree certificate with appendices 

• e.g. diploma supplement or 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. Certificate of the right to practise the profession

• 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.  
• You must submit such a certificate from every country where you have been legalised to practise your profession.  
• If you have practised the profession in a country that does not register these professionals, please provide a certificate from the competent authority of the above-mentioned country stating that the country does not register these professionals or another reliable account of the matter. 
• The Finnish Supervisory Agency can check the information directly with the competent authorities of EU and EEA Member States, in which case you do not need to submit this document. The review may delay the processing of the application. If the Finnish Supervisory Agency does not receive information from the competent authority, you must provide the relevant certificate yourself. 

The certificate of the right to practise the profession must be submitted at the latest in connection with the final application for recognition of professional qualification once you have completed any required compensatory measures. 

4. Consent document

• Freeform consent stating that the Finnish Supervisory Agency has your permission to submit your application documents to a Finnish educational institution for an expert opinion if necessary, which is subject to a fee charged to you.. By giving your consent, you agree to pay a statement fee in addition to the processing fee.

The following documents mentioned in points 7-9 are not necessarily mandatory. They are mandatory if, without them, it is not possible to establish any significant differences with regard to the education required in Finland.

5. Detailed description of the education

• A 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 confirmation to the Finnish Supervisory Agency by e-mail (contact information below).  
• We need sufficiently comprehensive information about the education to establish any significant differences between the education required in Finland.

6. Employment certificates

• Any employment certificates for work in the profession following completion of your training.
• Employment certificates must have been issued by your employer, and must state at least your job title, duties and the duration of your employment.
• Please note that employment contracts are not accepted as employment certificates.

7. Certificates of any supplementary training and continuing education 

• Certificates of any supplementary professional training and continuing education.

9. Translations of the documents listed in points 2-7 

• If the original documents are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, please also provide official translations. 
• The translations must have been produced by an official or authorised translator in Finland or in another EU/EEA Member State. Authorised translators in Finland can be found through the online service of the Finnish National Agency for Education.
• The translations must be accompanied by the document in the original languagecertified by the translator. 
• An official translator outside the EU/EEA may be acceptable if the translator’s status is confirmed with an Apostille or Grand Legalisation in the translation (link). 

The Finnish Supervisory Agency may request additional clarifications if necessary. Please do not attach any original documents that you may need later to your application. The application documents will remain in the Finnish Supervisory Agency 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 before a decision is made, we can return them. In this case, you must provide corresponding copies of the documents. However, this will slow down the processing of your application.

Contact information

E-mail: [email protected] 
Telephone: +358 295 256 932 (Monday–Friday 9:00–15:00)
Application documents to the address: [email protected]