Estonia – Evidence of qualifications

This page is to explain what evidence of qualifications doctors who qualified in Estonia need to supply to support their registration application.

Below is information about

Medical regulatory authority

Sotsiall Ministeerium
Gonsiori 29
15027 Tallinn
Estonia
Tel: +372 626 9301
Fax: +372 699 2209
Email: info@sm.ee

Full registration

You will need to hold a Diplom arstite aduse oppekava läbimise kohta (Diploma in the medical science curriculum) awarded by the University of Tartu.

If you qualified or began your training before 20 August 1991 you will also need to provide a letter from the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs or the registration authority of the EEA Member State or Switzerland where you are now working, which confirms that you have effectively and lawfully been engaged in actual medical practice for at least three consecutive years during the last five years (as required by Article 23.4 of the Directive 2005/36/EC) and confirming that your qualification complies with Article 23.4 of the Directive.

Specialist register

To hold specialist registration you must also hold full registration.

Your specialty must be listed in Annex V of the Directive 2005/36/EC by the country that awarded it and have a corresponding entry for the United Kingdom.

If you want to apply for specialist registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and specialist registration at the same time.

You will need to hold a Residenturi lõputunnistus eriarstiabi erialal awarded by a Tartu university.

If your Estonian specialist certificate was awarded before the academic year 1995/1996, or if you began your training leading to the award of that certificate before that date, you will need to hold either:

A letter from the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs confirming that the training leading to the award of your specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

If your specialist training does not meet those standards you will need letter from the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs, or the medical regulatory authority of the country where you are now working, confirming that you have been practising in the specialty in which your specialist certificate was awarded for the period required by Article 23.1 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If the title of your Estonian specialist certificate is not described above or the specialty in which it is awarded is not the same as that specialty listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC you will need a letter from the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs confirming that your training leading to the award of the specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC and that the specialty is treated in law by Estonia as a certificate of medical specialisation in the relevant speciality as set out in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the specialist register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) to be assessed via the Article 14 equivalence route. Doctors applying via the Article 14 route will be required to demonstrate that their specialist qualifications, knowledge and experience gained are equivalent to that of a doctor completing a UK specialist training programme in your specialty. For further guidance, including application forms and a list of frequently answered questions, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB cannot accept CVs/resumes in isolation.

GP register

To hold GP registration you must also hold full registration.

If you want to apply for GP registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and GP registration at the same time.

You will need to hold:

A Diplom peremeditsiini erialal (Diploma of family medicine) awarded by Tartu University. The certificate must clearly state that the training for general medical practice meets the standards laid down in Article 28 or 22 of Directive 2005/36/EC or you will need to hold a letter from the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs stating the compliancy of the training.

If you are not eligible to enter the GP register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to PMETB via the Article 11 equivalence route. Doctors who apply using this method will have their training, qualifications and experience compared against the standard required for doctors completing a UK General Practice training programme. Successful applicants will be given a statement confirming their eligibility for entry to the GP Register and hence eligible to work as a GP in the UK. For further information and to request an Article 11 application pack, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB is unable to accept CVs/resumes in isolation and cannot process applications that are not made through the correct channels.