With certain prerequisites, a citizen of an EU or EEA member state has the right to provide veterinary services temporarily or on an occasional basis in Finland. This does not require a licence to practise veterinary medicine, but instead, a notification to the Finnish Food Authority is enough. The right to practise the profession temporarily or on an occasional basis can be applied if the person ...
Before providing veterinary services, the applicant submits a written notification to the Finnish Food Authority. The notification should state the following information:
- the full name, date of birth and contact details of the service provider
- the planned duration and recurrence of the provided services as well as in which area the services will be mainly provided.
When submitting a notification for the first time, the notification should include:
- a document that proves the applicant’s nationality (such as a passport)
- proof of the notifier’s insurance coverage or other equivalent professional liability coverage (valid insurance certificate)
- a certificate issued by a relevant competent authority stating that the notifier has a valid right to practise the profession of a veterinarian in the EU/EEA state in question, and whether this right has been restricted (=public document). The public document must not be older than one year.
If the above-mentioned documents are in another language than Swedish or English, a translation into Finnish, Swedish or English must be attached.
In case of a notification of renewal, the applicant must send
- a certificate issued by a relevant competent authority stating that the notifier has a valid right to practise the profession of a veterinarian in the EU/EEA state in question, and whether this right has been restricted (=public document). The public document must not be older than one year.
- detailed information concerning the applicant’s insurance coverage or other equivalent professional liability coverage (copy of the insurance certificate)
Based on the notification, the applicant is granted a right to act as a veterinarian in Finland if:
- The applicant is a citizen of a European Union or European Economic Area member state.
- The applicant has the right to independently practise the profession of a veterinarian in an EU/EEA state other than Finland.
- Upon application, the applicant provides the documents referred to below.
The applicant must notify the Finnish Food Authority before providing veterinary services in Finland.
The notification will be processed no later than one month after it was received or, if the attached documents are insufficient, after the applicant has sent all the required documents to the Finnish Food Authority.
The notification is valid for one year.