Finnish public employment and business services offers you important basic information on the issues you need to consider before moving to Finland. Take into account that if you are a non-EU/EEA citizen, you must have a job before you move to Finland. If you are an EU/EEA citizen, you can move to Finland and search for a job during a period of three months.
In Finland you have to have a licence to practice as a nurse. Therefore, when aiming to work as a nurse in Finland, you need to contact first the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) in order to apply for the right to practice.
See more infomation on moving to Finland and also a helpful checklist for your guidance. Learn also about the social security benefits in Finland.
See the web pages of Finnish Immigration Services about working in Finland. Also the web pages of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy provide good information on Finnish working rules.
Your Europe webpage offers good help and advice for EU nationals and their family. See also an illustrative video on how to apply for the European Professional Card (EPC).
The pages of Info Bank contain important basic information for immigrants on the functioning of society and opportunities in Finland.
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences offers SIMHE services
(Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education) for immigrants for
recognizing their competences and for their guidance for suitable
educational and career paths. In addition, there are unfortunately at
the moment hardly any clear, nation wide, and permanent services for
nurses from outside EU-countries to offer paths to acquire the licence to work in Finland as a nurse.
To practice as a nurse in Finland
The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health
(Valvira) grants, upon application, the right to practice as a licenced
or authorised professional and authorises the use of the occupational
title of healthcare professional.
Valvira registers all persons granted professional practice rights in the Terhikki-register and also maintains information on all registered nurses. A person practicing as a healthcare professional in Finland without a licence may be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment.
In addition, all medical or health care professionals working in Finland must be able to speak well enough either Finnish or Swedish. See information on Finnish and Swedish language courses for adults.
National legislation closely regulates the education and professional practice of health care personnel. Nursing training in Finland is also based on the European Union’s Directive 2005/36/EC,amended
by Directive 2013/55/EU. Therefore, the requirements in Finland are
similar to those of elsewhere in the European Union and other
collaborating European countries. See the national list of competencies for a nurse responsible for general care, page 60 in English.
Information on Finnish health care system you will find e.g. on the web page of Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Also the brochure of Finnish Nurses Association includes many facts and figures on Finnish nursing and health care.
The Study in Finland –website offers a lot of information on Finnish higher education possibilities for international students.
See also a very useful brochure Foreign nurse’s guide to Finnish working life, drawn up at the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences by Taina Kilpeläinen.
As soon as you have registered as a nurse in Finland by Valvira, you can apply for the membership of the Finnish Nurses Association and of Tehy, the Finnish Union of Health and Social Care Professionals. Membership is voluntary, but highly recommended.
Welcome to Finland! This text has copied from Finnish Nurses Association! You can always join them!