Qualification of childcarer (early childhood education and care)

When applying for a decision from the Finnish National Agency for Education

1. Fill in the electronic application from according to the instructions.
2. Attach the required documents.
3. Send the application to Finnish National Agency for Education.

Required documents

When submitting your application, enclose copies of the following documents:

• Degree/qualification certificate
• transcript of studies
• Proof of nationality, e.g. an extract from the Population Information System in Finland or copy of the ID page of your passport
• Document verifying name change (if applicable).
• If you are an EU/EEA national and you apply for recognition of professional qualifications obtained in an EU/EEA member state, you can also enclose certificates of professional experience and certificates of life-long learning.

Required translations

Provide a translation of each document into Finnish, Swedish or English if the original document is in a language other than Finnish, Swedish, Danish, English, Estonian, Icelandic, French, German, Norwegian or Spanish. The translator must be an authorised translator in Finland or an official translator in the source country, working in the language pair in question. Translations done by the body that has issued the original document are also accepted.

You can apply for a decision on eligibility from the Finnish National Agency for Education if:

1. you have completed a training that qualifies you as a childcarer in early childhood education and care in another EU / EEA country or Switzerland, and
2. you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country or have a document that entitles you to be treated in the same way as EU citizens.

You can also apply for a decision on eligibility if you are a national of a Member State, have obtained a qualification outside the EU and EEA, your professional qualification is recognised in another Member State and you have worked in the profession for at least three years in the country where your professional qualification is recognised.

You can contact the Finnish National Agency for Education for more information on decision-making criteria.

Finnish National Agency for Education decides on the eligibility that a foreign qualification gives for positions in the early childhood education and care, teaching, and positions for which a Master of Laws degree completed in Finland is required.