Work in Finland as a foreign doctor, nurse or AHP (2026)

• LVVFinnish Supervisory Agency (formerly Valvira)

  Doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, pharmacists and all other licensed and title-protected health professions

  How to register with the LVV

1. 1

   1. Check whether your profession is licensed or title-protected

   LVV's list of licensed professionals and protected occupational titles tells you which applies. For a licensed profession such as doctor, dentist or registered nurse you must be legalised before you work in it. A registered nurse's training cannot be used to get the protected title of practical nurse, so apply for the profession you actually trained in.
2. 2

   2. Start Finnish or Swedish early

   You need sufficient Finnish or Swedish, shown for example by a YKI intermediate-level certificate with at least level 3 in all four skills, or a Civil Service Language Certificate at 'Satisfactory' in every skill. Doctors need YKI level 4 (B2) for the practical patient care examination. Nurses can send the certificate with the final legalisation application; doctors must have it at the latest when they register for the first examination.
3. 3

   3. Get your documents certified, legalised and translated

   Documents issued outside the EU or EEA must be sent by post as officially certified copies bearing the original stamp and signature of the notary or Finnish mission. Your degree certificate must be legalised in the country that issued it, by Apostille or Grand Legalisation; LVV says it does not accept Apostille certificates from Pakistan at all. You also need a certificate of good standing, no more than three months old, from every country where you have been licensed, and official translations of anything not in Finnish, Swedish or English.
4. 4

   4. Apply to LVV

   Doctors and dentists apply for recognition of their degree on a paper form sent by post. Registered nurses use LVV's electronic application form and post the certified documents. LVV asks you not to email documents in advance because this slows processing, and says its processing period is at least 4 months from the date it has everything.
5. 5

   5. Nurses and others: complete any additional studies

   LVV compares your training with the current Finnish training, taking work experience and continuing education into account. If it finds differences, it issues a decision mandating additional studies, which you arrange directly with a Finnish university of applied sciences or other institution. LVV says 20 universities of applied sciences take part in qualification training and legalisation paths (SAILA) for nurses, and you should apply to LVV as soon as possible even if you are already in such training.
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   6. Doctors and dentists: complete the internship in Finland

   After degree recognition you find your own internship; LVV will not arrange it and will not credit training done before the decision. Doctors need at least 6 months (180 days) full time, or at least one year part time, in a public hospital or health centre, with no more than 14 days' absence. Dentists need at least 3 months as a dental intern or 6 months as a dental assistant. Volunteering, observation and integration training do not count, and you may not treat patients independently during the internship.
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   7. Doctors: pass the three examinations at Tampere University

   The clinical examination, the examination on the Finnish health care system and the practical patient care examination must be passed in that order, in Finnish or Swedish. The written examinations are held four times a year, in February, May, September and November. Dentists instead take theoretical and practical competence examinations at the University of Helsinki.
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   8. Work on limited licences

   After the first examination a doctor can apply for a limited licence to work in a public hospital, and after the second, in a health centre. Licences are granted for a named speciality and workplace for no more than 6 months at a time, generally up to 2 years (730 days) in total, and you apply at least 3 weeks before the job starts. Dentists work on limited licences for at least one year after passing the competence examinations.
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   9. Apply for full legalisation

   Doctors apply once they have passed all three examinations and worked under limited licences for two years; dentists after one year on a limited licence, if the employer is in favour. Nurses apply after finishing the mandated studies, sending the completion certificate, language certificate and good standing certificate. Your right to practise then appears in JulkiTerhikki.
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    10. Find a job and apply for a residence permit

    With a job offer, apply to Migri through Enter Finland. The permit depends on the salary: the residence permit for an employed person needs at least €1,600 gross a month in 2026, while the specialist permit and the EU Blue Card need at least €3,937. Migri states that health care professionals need a right to practise for the job, and your employer must confirm your qualifications when filling in the terms of employment.

• Finland does not accept English as proof of language skills for the right to practise. You must show sufficient oral and written Finnish or Swedish, and employers must also judge whether your language is good enough for the job.
• The National Certificate of Language Proficiency (YKI) counts if you pass the intermediate-level test (levels 3 to 4) with at least level 3 in every skill area in the same test. YKI tests listening, speaking, reading and writing; level 3 corresponds to CEFR B1 and level 4 to B2.
• The Civil Service Language Certificate also counts, with at least 'Satisfactory skills' in all skill areas. LVV also accepts Finnish school and matriculation certificates, a vocational qualification completed in Finnish or Swedish, civil-servant language studies at a Finnish university, or a maturity test taken for a Finnish degree.
• An employer's statement can be accepted case by case. It must give the place and dates of employment, your duties and a separate assessment of your written and spoken language, reading comprehension and speech comprehension, from someone who has seen you work.
• Doctors need more. Tampere University requires YKI level 4 (B2) in Finnish or Swedish before you sign up for the practical patient care examination, and all internships and examinations are in Finnish or Swedish.
• The Finnish National Agency for Education (OPH) lists the YKI intermediate test at €190, the basic test at €165 and the advanced test at €216. Grading takes around two months, and registration opens about two months before each test date.

• Residence permit for an employed person (TTOL)

  For a confirmed job paid at least the collective agreement rate and at least €1,600 gross a month in 2026, excluding supplements such as evening and night pay. It may be subject to labour market testing, and a first permit must be applied for from abroad. Migri's 2026 fee is €750 online or €950 on paper.

• Specialist permit

  For expert work that needs special expertise, usually with a higher education degree, at a gross salary of at least €3,937 a month in 2026, not counting fringe benefits. A first permit is granted for up to 2 years. The 2026 fee is €530 online or €630 on paper, and there is no labour market testing.

• EU Blue Card

  For highly qualified work lasting at least 6 months, at a gross salary of at least €3,937 a month in 2026, with a higher education degree of at least 3 years or usually 5 years of comparable professional experience. It is issued for up to 2 years. The fee is the same as the specialist permit.

• Fast track and D visa

  Applications for the specialist permit or EU Blue Card can be decided in two weeks through the fast track if you apply and pay in Enter Finland, prove your identity at a Finnish mission within five working days, and your employer adds the terms of employment within two working days. You can apply for a D visa at the same time so you can travel as soon as the permit is granted; the D visa costs €95 online.

• Family members

  Your spouse and children can apply for residence permits based on family ties and, if they apply at the same time as you, use the fast track too. Each application has its own fee and income requirement, which Migri sets out on its family pages.

• EU and EEA citizens trained in the EU or EEA

  You do not need a residence permit, and LVV handles your application under the recognition of professional qualifications procedure, including automatic recognition for some professions. LVV says the statutory processing period is four months and that a complete application may be processed within 30 days. You still need sufficient Finnish or Swedish.

Median total monthly earnings of full-time employees in 2024, all sectors, from Statistics Finland (table 15au, occupational classification 2010). Total earnings include supplements such as shift and on-call pay. These are statistics, not pay scales: your actual pay is set by the collective agreement and your employer, and newly legalised professionals usually start below the median. Figures are gross, in euros.

Monthly amounts

• Generalist medical practitioners

  €8,067

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Specialists (medical)

  €8,104

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Senior physicians

  €10,795

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Dentists

  €7,221

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Pharmacists

  €5,045

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Midwives

  €3,947

  Statistics Finland 2024, midwifery associate professionals, median total earnings.

• Nurses

  €3,587

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Public health nurses

  €3,359

  Statistics Finland 2024, median total earnings.

• Practical nurses

  €3,154

  Statistics Finland 2024, 'other practical nurses', median total earnings.