Finland – Evidence of qualifications

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

Below is information about

Medical regulatory authority

National Board of Medico-legal Affairs
Siltasaarenkatu 18C
5th Floor
PO Box 265
FIN-00531
Helsinki
Finland
Tel: + 358 9 3964 280
Fax: + 358 9 3967 2842

Provisional registration

You will need to hold:

A Todistus lääketieteen lisensiaatin tutkinto/ medicine licentiatexamen (degree of licentiate in medicine) awarded by a Finnish university.

Full registration

If you have previously held provisional registration you will need to hold:

A Todistus lääkärin perusterveydenhuollon/examenbevis om tilläggsutbildning för läkare inom primävården (license to practise independently) issued by the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs (formerly known as the National Agency for Health and Welfare/ National Board of Health) of Finland.

To apply for full registration if you have previously held provisional registration and completed your internship in the UK you will need to hold:

A Certificate of Experience form completed by an authorised officer of your UK medical school or deanery. Please contact us to obtain a blank Certificate of Experience form that you will need to pass to your medical school or deanery to be completed.  

Please note that you cannot apply using the UK on-line registration method through MyGMC.

Note: If you are granted full registration in the UK, your primary medical qualification may not be automatically recognised in another EEA member state. You can check by contacting the medical regulatory authority in the country in which you wish to obtain registration.

If you have not previously held provisional registration you will need to hold both:

A Todistus lääketieteen lisensiaatin tutkinto/ medicine licentiatexamen (degree of licentiate in medicine) awarded by a Finnish university

AND

A Todistus lääkärin perusterveydenhuollon lisakoulutukseta/examenbevis om tilläggsutbildning för läkare inom primävården (license to practise independently) awarded by the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs (formerly known as the National Agency for Health and Welfare/ National Board of Health) of Finland

AND

A letter from the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs of Finland which confirms that the training leading to the award of your Finnish primary medical qualification meets the standards laid down by Article 24 of the European Medical Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you qualified or began your training before 1977 you will also need to hold a letter from the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs of Finland 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 23.1 of the Directive 2005/36/EC).

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 Erikoislääkarin tutkinto/ specialläkarexamen (certificate of degree of specialist in medicine) awarded by a Finnish university.

If your Finnish specialist certificate was awarded before 1 January 1994, 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 National Board of Medicolegal Affairs of Finland 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 will need to hold a letter from the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs of Finland, 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 Finish 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 also need to hold:

A letter from the Finnish National Board of Medicolegal 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 Finland as a certificate of medical specialisation in the relevant speciality as set out in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you qualified or began your training before 1977 you will also need to provide a letter from the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs of Finland confirming that your qualification complies with article 23.1 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 either:

A Todistus lääkarin perusterveydenhuollen lisäkoulutuksesta/ Bevis om tilläggsutbildning av läkare I primävárd (certificate of specific training for general medical practice) awarded by the Finnish National Board of Medicolegal Affairs. The certificate must clearly state that the training for general medical practice meets the standards laid down in Article 28 of Directive 2005/36/EC or you will need to hold a letter from the Finnish National Board of Medicolegal Affairs stating the compliancy of the training.

OR

A certificate of acquired rights for general medical practice awarded by the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs. The certificate must state that it was awarded to you in accordance with Article 30(1) of the European Medical Directive 2005/36/EC.

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.