The profession of a specialist in veterinary medicine is regulated in Finland. Only a licensed veterinarian can practise the profession in question, as long as they have also been granted a right to use the title of a specialist in veterinary medicine. Upon application, the Finnish Food Authority grants a right to practise this profession to both those specialists in veterinary medicine who have t ...
First, apply for a licence to practise the profession of veterinary medicine in Finland either based on a Finnish or foreign degree. After you have been licensed and qualified to act as a veterinarian in Finland, send the application to recognise the specialist’s degree in veterinary medicine and a certified copy of the degree certificate to the Finnish Food Authority.
To support the application, you can also attach certificates of work experience and courses that you have gained and completed after your graduation. For more information about which documents to attach to the application, please refer to the Finnish Food Authority.
In Finland, the local register offices handle officially certified copies of degree certificates.
You need a degree in veterinary medicine in order to be eligible for the licence.
In Finland, the degree programmes that lead to a specialist’s degree in veterinary medicine are: small animal diseases, equine diseases, health care and treatment of production animals, environmental health care, food production hygiene and infectious animal diseases. You can receive a right to use the title of a specialist in veterinary medicine in Finland if you have completed a specialist’s degree in veterinary medicine in the above-mentioned fields of study in Finland or elsewhere.
If your specialisation degree is from another country (such as EBVS, European Board of Veterinary Specialisation) you will have the right to use the degree title in English or in the language the right has been granted in.
Apply for the licensing and a right to use the title of a specialist in veterinary medicine before starting to practise the profession in Finland. You have no right to work as a veterinarian in Finland without a licence granted by the Finnish Food Authority.
The processing time of applications by applicants who have completed a specialist’s degree in veterinary medicine is from 1 to 3 months after the Finnish Food Authority receives the application. Should the need arise for further information to be requested in connection with the application, the processing time will usually lengthen.
The right is valid for an indefinite term.