Practical nurse trained in an EU or EEA Member State
The Finnish Supervisory Agency grants the right to use the protected occupational title of practical nurse to social welfare and health care professionals trained in Finland and abroad. Other people who have sufficient education, experience and professional skills can also be employed in a profession that has a protected occupational title. However, you must not use a protected occupational title unless you have been granted the right to do so by the Finnish Supervisory Agency.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency registers practical nurses in the central registers of social welfare and health care professionals (JulkiSuosikki and JulkiTerhikki, respectively), which can be used to verify the professional qualifications of a social welfare and health care professional. The right to use the protected occupational title of practical nurse cannot be granted based on a registered nurse’s training.
Applying for the right to practise
Fill in the application form (pdf). On the form, indicate whether you are applying for registration in the central register of social welfare or healthcare professionals or both.
Send the application and the documents listed below 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. See our website for further information on how to deliver material to the Finnish Supervisory Agency by e-mail.
The processing of an application in the Finnish Supervisory Agency is subject to a fee. By submitting an application, you agree to the fees. Please check the prices at the bottom of the page under Fees.
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
Attach a copy of the double-page spread in the passport containing personal data. (page showing personal data and a photo). - ID card issued in an EU/EEA Member State or
Attach a copy of both sides of the ID card. - alien's passport or
Attach a copy of the double-page spread in the alien’s passport containing personal data.
Also attach a separate copy of the Additional entries page, which shows any special conditions and restrictions.
(Note: the alien’s passport contains the holder’s personal data and additional entries on different pages.) - refugee travel document
Attach a copy of the double-page spread in the refugee travel document containing personal data.
Please note that only the above-mentioned documents are accepted as proof of identity.
For example, a residence permit card or a driving licence cannot be used as proof an identity in this application.
2. Degree certificate with appendices
- e.g. diploma supplement or academic transcript
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 legalisation 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.
5. Certificate of sufficient language proficiency
- A list of approved certificates of sufficient Finnish or Swedish language proficiency is available on our website. These include the Civil Service Language Proficiency Certificate and the National Certificate of Language Proficiency. Further information on language proficiency certificates is available on the Finnish National Agency for Education website.
The certificate of sufficient language proficiency must be submitted at the latest in connection with the final application for legalisation once you have completed any required compensatory measures.
If you do not submit a certificate of language proficiency, the Finnish Supervisory Agency 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. Read more about the recognition of professional qualifications on our website.
You do not need to submit a certificate of language proficiency if you are applying for registration only as a social welfare professional. Employers are required to evaluate whether a person has sufficient language proficiency in order to perform their duties.
The following documents mentioned in points 6-8 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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 2-8
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 language certified by the translator.
- An official translator outside the EU/EEA may be acceptable if the translator’s status is confirmed in the translation with an Apostille or Grand Legalisation.
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.
- Applying for the right to practise
- Request for further information if necessary
- Request for comments if necessary
- Hearing if necessary
- Recognition of professional qualification (only for health care professionals)
- Conditional decision of recognition of professional qualification or decision on right to practise
- Completing compensatory measures, if any
- Applying for professional qualification after completing compensatory measures
- Decision on the right to practise
Within 30 days of receiving the application, the Finnish Supervisory Agency will ask the applicant to submit any missing documents. The processing period is calculated from when the Finnish Supervisory Agency receives all the required documents. The processing period will be 3–4 months.
A fee is charged 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. Please note that the application fees are lower if you apply to the central registry of health care professionals or when applying to both registers at the same time. The application fees are higher if you only apply to the central registry of social welfare professionals.
Types of fee for registering to the central registry of health care professionals:
- Fee for expert opinion 100–400 euros.
- Decision of recognition of professional qualification 470 euros.
- Protected title registration once proof of language proficiency is received after recognition of professional qualification 240 euros.
- Decision of conditional recognition of professional qualification 710 euros.
- Recognition of professional qualifications or registration of title protection after the adaptation period or qualification test or completion of additional studies 180 euros.
- Registration of protected occupational title 710 euros.
Types of fee for registering to the central registry of social welfare professionals:
- Fee for expert opinion 100–400 euros.
- Decision of conditional recognition of professional qualification 1470 euros.
- Protected occupational title registration after an adaptation period or aptitude test or additional studies 370 euros.
- Right to use a protected occupational title 1470 euros.
The decision on the right to practise a profession will be issued in Finnish or Swedish. The invoice will be sent after the decision. If the Finnish Supervisory Agency has requested an expert opinion, the invoice for the fee for the expert opinion will be sent to you after the Finnish Supervisory Agency receives that opinion.
If there are significant differences between the social welfare education that the applicant has received abroad or healthcare education received in an EU or EEA Member State and the education in Finland, the Finnish Supervisory Agency will issue a certificate of conditional recognition of professional qualification. 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.
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 is 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. An example of such a right is the registration for an adaptation period.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency may send you any requests for further information, certificates, decisions and invoices 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 attorney to act on their behalf in the matter of their application. In this case, the agent or attorney 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. Attorneys-at-law and public legal aid attorneys do not need to present a power of attorney unless specifically requested.
Contact information
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +358 295 256 932 (Monday–Friday 9:00–15:00)
Application documents to the address: [email protected]