Category: Finnish Language Courses for Doctors

Which institution in Finland recognizes a medical degree?

In Finland, the institution that recognizes medical degrees is "Sosiaali- ja terveysalan lupa- ja valvontavirasto" (Social and Health Permission and Monitoring Agency), also known as "Valvira" (the name of the special institution is a combination of the first syllables of the words valvonta and virasto). You must send the necessary documents to Valvira by post. The company you send your mail to must make the customs declaration for your mail. Otherwise, your mail will get stuck in customs. Valvira updates and publishes the required documents and procedures on its website. Click here for the requirements for doctors who have studied medicine outside Europe (outside EU/ETA countries).

What are the documents required for the presentation of the Turkish medical school diploma in Finland?

Passport, Medical School Diploma, Good-Standing document (Certificate of Good Standing) are required for the recognition of Turkish medical school diploma in Finland.

Passport, Medical School Diploma, Good-Standing document (Certificate of Good Standing) are required for the recognition of Turkish medical school diploma in Finland.

The apostilled copy of the medical school diploma and passport translated into English by an apostille authorized notary and a legally competent translator (whose translation will be apostilled at the Governorship or District Governorate) and the apostilled version of the English Good-Standing document will be sufficient. List of apostille authorizing institutions. Valvira also does not accept Turkish translators. You can email your diploma in pdf to an authorized translator in Finland and ask them to send the translation to Valvira on your behalf. They charge 40€ but your document is 100% verified. You can also print out the Finnish application formfrom Valvira's relevant page, fill it in, write your name and date and attach it to your documents ( Click here for application help). When filling out the form, please write your address and the name of your medical school without translating it. You will be asked for your medical school's e-mail, website and phone number. Have the contact of someone from your faculty who can answer in English ready to hand in.
The transcript and the diploma supplement are not included in the required documents at the moment, but if you send them, there will be no problem. As much as possible, keep the original documents in English. If your diploma is in Turkish, ask the faculty secretariat for the "Diploma in English is like the original" document. Problems arise if the translators are not authorized by the apostille.

Which postal address do I send the documents to? Will they get stuck in customs?

PO Box address : Sosiaali- ja terveysalan lupa- ja valvontavirasto Valvira, PL 43, 00521 Helsinki / Finland

For shipments by hand or registered mail, the postal address is : Sosiaali- ja terveysalan lupa- ja valvontavirasto Valvira, Ratapihantie 9, 00520 Helsinki / Finland

Send a digital copy of your documents to the e-mail address kirjaamo@valvira.fi in the Finnish application form( click here for application assistance). You can also send digital copies of your documents to https://turvaviesti.valvira.fi, which has a cyber security level.

You have to make a customs declaration for every letter or mail coming into Finland from outside the EU. Let the postal company you are sending documents to do the customs declaration for you. You must also confirm that Posti Oy in Finland will pay the assessment fee (€2.90). Otherwise your mail will get stuck at customs (common problem with PTT shipments). You can track your mail with your tracking code here.

In order to make the additional payment for Posti Oy, you must first be able to activate the Finnish Identity Confirmation Servicewith your passport. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make a customs declaration for your post. The only way to make this declaration is to be the recipient or someone living in Finland. Or the company you send your mail to must make this customs declaration on your behalf.

Always check the page you are tracking with your postal code. Within 20 days from the date of receipt of your mail, you must first make and pay the customs declaration and then pay the postal surcharge. Otherwise your mail will be returned. Posti Oy has collected all the links mentioned in this section on this page. In our experience, if we show the customs value as "1 Euro" and select "Paper ..." in the declaration, we get the job done with 0.24 Euro VAT and 0 Euro customs costs. In order to make this payment you need to use a Finnish bank account or Finnish Identity Confirmation Service. When you search for Posti surcharge by tracking code, a payment button should appear. You have to pay 2,90 Euro. If the payment button for the postal surcharge does not appear, you can ask the Valvira Agency at terhikki@valvira.fi if your mail has arrived.