Social welfare professional trained outside the EU or EEA
To work in Finland as a social worker, social service professional (“sosionomi”), professional of applied gerontology (“geronomi”) or rehabilitation counsellor, you must be granted a right to practise by the Finnish Supervisory Agency. To be allowed to use the title of practical nurse (“lähihoitaja”) in a social welfare occupation, you must register this protected occupational title with the Finnish Supervisory Agency. The Finnish Supervisory Agency grants rights to practise and protected occupational title registrations on application, including based on degrees completed abroad.
Applying for the right to practise
Submit your application through our online service, if you are able to use strong identification. You can identify yourself using online banking credentials, a mobile certificate or an organisation card. Processing an application via the online service is the fastest and most cost-effective for you. However, please send the supporting documents by post due to format requirements.
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 sent in your online account, not mailed to your home. For more on how to use our online service, please visit our website.
You can send the application (pdf) and the documents listed below to the Finnish Supervisory Agency by post. The processing period is calculated from the date when the Finnish Supervisory Agency receives all the required documents. If you use post instead of the online service, even if you could use electronic services, your application processing fee will be increased by 20%.
Send your completed application and attachments by post to:
Finnish Supervisory Agency
P.O. BOX 20
13035 LVV
Courier mail (e.g. DHL or Fedex) is submitted to:
Finnish Supervisory Agency
Wähäjärvenkatu 6
FI-13100 Hämeenlinna, Finland
Requirements for documents
Submit documents issued outside the EU or EEA as officially certified copies by post to the Finnish Supervisory Agency. For documents issued in Finland or another EU or EEA country, a standard copy is sufficient. Copies can be officially certified by a notary public in Finland or in another EU or EEA Member State, or by Finnish missions in other countries. Copies issued by a notary public outside the EU/EEA and furnished with an Apostille or Grand Legalisation are also acceptable. You must submit to the Finnish Supervisory Agency the copies that bear the original stamp and signature of the notary public or Finnish mission by post. The Finnish Supervisory Agency may request further clarifications if necessary.
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.
Please do not attach any original documents that you may need later to your application. The application documents will remain at the Finnish Supervisory Agency, and it is impossible to get them back after a decision has been made. If you request documents to be returned to you while the application process is ongoing, you must send corresponding documents that meet the formal requirements. This will significantly slow down the processing of your application.
Please attach the following documents to your application
1. Document proving identity and citizenship
- a passport or
Attach the double-page spread in the passport containing personal data. (page showing personal data and a photo). - an identity card issued in an EU or EEA Member State or
Attach both sides of the ID card. - an alien’s passport or
Attach the double-page spread in the alien’s passport containing personal data.
Also attach 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.) - a refugee travel document
Attach 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 and the contact details for your educational institution
- your degree certificate and
- the official email address and mailing address of your educational institution
Have your degree certificate legalised directly in your country of education, using either the Apostille or Grand Legalisation procedure. The procedure must prove the authenticity of the degree certificate. Please contact the foreign ministry or another relevant body in the country where you completed your training to find out how your degree certificate should be legalised in that country.
If legalisation fails, and if you have provided the contact information of your educational institution, the Finnish Supervisory Agency may check the correctness of your degree directly with the educational institution if possible. In such a case, an ordinary copy of the degree certificate is sufficient. However, this review may delay the processing of the application. Please also note that in some cases, the Finnish Supervisory Agency is unable to verify the correctness of the degree from the educational institution, in which case the only option is to legalise the degree certificate using the Apostille or Grand Legalisation procedure.
3. Degree certificate appendix
- e.g. a transcript of records or an academic transcript
4. 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 Good Standing).
- This certificate must be no more than three months old when received by the Finnish Supervisory Agency.
- 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, 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 another reliable testimonial on the matter.
The certificate of the right to practise the profession must be submitted no later than with the final legalisation application once you have completed any required compensatory measures.
5. Consent document
- Free-form consent stating that the Finnish Supervisory Agency has your permission to submit your application documents to a Finnish educational institution for a fee-based expert opinion if necessary. When you give your consent, you agree to pay a statement fee in addition to the processing fee.
The appendices listed below in points 7–9 are not always mandatory. They are mandatory if it is impossible without them to determine any differences from the training required in Finland.
7. A more detailed description of the training
- A report issued by the educational institution detailing the learning outcomes, content 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 directly to the Finnish Supervisory Agency by email.
- We need sufficiently comprehensive information about your training to determine any differences from the training required in Finland.
8. 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 they must state at least your job title, your job duties and the duration of your employment.
- Please note that employment contracts are not accepted as certificates of employment.
9. Certificates of further and continuing education
- Certificates of any supplementary professional training and continuing education.
10. Translations of the documents listed in points 2 and 9
- If the original documents are not in Finnish, Swedish or English, please provide official translations as well.
- Translations must be provided by an official or authorised translator in Finland or another EU or EEA country. Authorised translators in Finland can be found through the online service of the National Agency For Education.
- The translation must be accompanied by a source document certified by the translator.
- 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 in the translation by Apostille or Grand Legalisation.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency may request a certificate demonstrating sufficient proficiency in Finnish or Swedish when you submit your final application for the right to practise. See our website for more information about demonstrating language proficiency.
- Applying for the right to practise
- Request for further information if necessary
- Request for expert opinion if necessary
- Hearing
- Conditional decision on the recognition of professional qualifications or decision on the right to practise the profession
- Completion of any required compensatory measures
- Decision on the right to practise
Decisions on the right to practise a profession are issued in Finnish or Swedish.
The application processing period is at least 4 months. The processing period is calculated from the time when the Finnish Supervisory Agency has received all the required documents. If a request for further information needs to be sent to you, or if the Finnish Supervisory Agency has to verify your qualification, processing your application will take significantly longer.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency will investigate whether your training qualifies for the same profession as the relevant Finnish training. Work experience, supplementary professional training and continuing education may be considered in the comparison and may compensate for any significant differences in the training between countries.
If there are significant differences between the education that the applicant has received abroad and the education in Finland, the Finnish Supervisory Agency will issue a certificate of conditional recognition of professional qualifications. The certificate of conditional recognition will specify the additional measures required to compensate for the differences. Compensatory measures include an adaptation period and an aptitude test. You cannot be licensed to practise your profession until you have successfully completed the compensatory measures assigned to you. You will need to reapply for a licence once you have completed the compensatory measures.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency may also grant the right to practise as a social worker or “sosionomi” (Bachelor of Social Services) based on 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 qualifications in social services. The decisions issued 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 the Finnish Supervisory Agency. This depends on the type of decision made by the National Agency for Education.
Your application may be processed based on 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 qualifications or a decision of recognition of professional qualifications from the National Agency for Education will expedite your application process at the Finnish Supervisory Agency. Having a decision of equivalent qualifications will have no bearing on the processing at the Finnish Supervisory Agency of your application for the right to practise.
Decision of conditional recognition of professional qualifications by the National Agency for Education
A decision on conditional recognition of professional qualifications 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 additional 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 successfully completed the adaptation period, aptitude test or additional studies, you may apply to the Finnish Supervisory Authority for the right to practise. Append copies of a document verifying your identity and nationality, your decision from the National Agency for Education, and your certificate of completing the compensatory measures required to your application. You do not need to append your training or employment certificates to this application.
How to complete the compensatory measures
During the adaptation period, the applicant works under the guidance and supervision of another professional. Find yourself a job for the adaptation period that is consistent with the decision of the National Agency for Education and enter into an agreement with the employer to complete the adaptation period as required. Further information about completing the adaptation period can be found on our website. The supervisor of your adaptation period or the employer will issue a statement confirming that you have successfully 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, 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, 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 qualifications
A decision of recognition of professional qualifications by the National Agency for Education means that due to the qualification – plus any aptitude test, adaptation period or additional studies you may have completed – you are eligible for the professional qualification of a social worker or social advisor.
You may apply directly to the Finnish Supervisory Agency 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 a social advisor, you must apply to the Finnish Supervisory Agency for the right to practise as a “sosionomi”.
Append copies of a document verifying your identity and nationality and your decision from the National Agency for Education to your application. You do not need to append your training or employment certificates to this application.
To work in Åland as a social worker or “sosionomi” (Bachelor of Social Services), you must be granted a right to practise by the Finnish Supervisory Agency. To use the protected occupational title of practical nurse in Åland, you must apply to the Finnish Supervisory Agency for the right to practise as a practical nurse. The Finnish Supervisory Agency also 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 based on decisions made by the Government of Åland before 2021.
You may apply to the Finnish Supervisory Agency for the right to practise in social welfare or for the right to use the aforementioned occupational title based on a decision by the Government of Åland if the Government of Åland equated your qualification completed abroad in that decision to
- the training of a Finnish social worker, or
- the training of a Finnish “sosionomi”, or
- the qualification of a Finnish practical nurse.
Your application may be processed based on 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 qualification of a social advisor is equal to the right to practise as a “sosionomi”.
Append copies of a document verifying your identity and nationality and your decision from the Government of Åland to your application for the right to practise.
The processing of an application at the Finnish Supervisory Agency is subject to a fee. The fee is also charged for negative decisions, meaning cases where the right to practise is not granted. Half the application decision fee is payable if you withdraw your application. By submitting an application, you agree to the fees. An application cannot be withdrawn free of charge once its processing has begun.
Possible fees include:
- Fee for an expert opinion 200–600 euros
- Decision on conditional recognition 2070 euros
- Legalisation after the completion of compensatory measures 830 euros
- Legalisation based on a recognition decision issued by the National Agency for Education 420 euros
- Legalisation of a professional 2900 euros
If you have the option of using the online service to apply for professional rights, it will be the most cost-effective for you. If you use another application channel anyway, your application processing fee will be increased by 20%.
The total amount may consist of more than one of the payments listed above. The final payment is determined by the processing phases of the application. The invoice for the decision will be sent by post after the decision has been issued. If the Finnish Supervisory Agency requests an opinion to assess your application, a fee for the opinion will be charged in addition to the decision fee. An invoice for the opinion fee will be sent after the statement has been received by the Finnish Supervisory Agency.
Rights to practise that have been granted may be viewed in the public information services for social welfare and health care professionals (JulkiTerhikki and JulkiSuosikki) 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. This includes rights such as the registration of the adaptation period.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency may send you any requests for further information, certificates and decisions electronically as a Suomi.fi message if you have registered for that service. Suomi.fi messages may only be used for matters that are currently pending. You may register for Suomi.fi messages on 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 email 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 a power of attorney unless specifically requested.
Contact information
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +358 295 256 932 (Monday–Friday 9:00–11:00 and 12:00–14:00)