What can you apply for?

A Finnish National Board of Education decision may concern the following cases:

1. Comparability of the level of a higher education qualification with a Finnish higher education degree of a certain level

A higher education qualification completed abroad may be recognised as comparable to a polytechnic Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, a university Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, or a postgraduate university Licentiate or Doctoral degree completed in Finland.

2. Eligibility for professions regulated in Finland 

The Finnish National Board of Education decides on the eligibility for regulated professions such as:
• teaching professions
• certain professions requiring a law degree
• social workers
• social instructors
• fire and rescue services professions

When applying for a decision on eligibility for a profession regulated in Finland, the applicant must be qualified for the same profession in the country of origin. A list of regulated professions and respective competent authorities in Finland

Who can apply?

A Finnish National Board of Education decision may be applied for by:

1. an EU/EEA citizen who has qualified in an EU/EEA country other than Finland for a profession that is regulated in Finland
2. a person who has completed a higher education degree abroad that is comparable with a Finnish higher education degree both in scope and depth of studies required;
3. a person who has completed a higher education study module abroad that is comparable with a module specified as a qualifications requirement in Finland (such as pedagogical studies for teachers);

The studies for which comparison is sought must be completed. Apart from decisions the Finnish National Board of Education issues advisory statements on vocational qualifications completed abroad.
Further information about statements and application instructions

How to apply for a decision

To apply for a decision, you should submit a completed and signed application form, accompanied by the necessary appendices, to the Finnish National Board of Education.

Applications must always be accompanied by the following documents:
- officially certified copies of the qualification certificates and transcripts of records;
- translations of the qualification certificates and transcripts of records drawn up by a translator authorised in Finland, if the original document is issued in language other than Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic or English (officially certified copies of the translations);
- proof of nationality, such as a copy of the passport’s ID - page or an extract from the Finnish  population register.

In some cases, you will also need to enclose other certificates with your application, such as letter of employment. For detailed instructions on the appendices to be enclosed, please consult the application instructions.

Officially certified copies are available from local Register Offices in Finland and from Finnish diplomatic missions abroad. Copies provided by foreign authorities, accompanied by Apostille certificates, are also accepted.
Contact details of local Register Offices: www.maistraatti.fi  and States and authorities issuing Apostille certificates .

The Finnish National Board of Education does not accept original documents and it is not possible to bring documents to be photocopied. Once the application has been processed, the documents are filed in the FNBE’s records.

The Finnish National Board of Education may check the accuracy of the information given in the application form and the documents (Administrative Procedure Act, 434/2003, § 31).

You can either print out the application form and instructions via this page or order copies from the Finnish National Board of Education by sending an e-mail to recognition(at)oph.fi.

Processing your application

The Finnish National Board of Education will confirm the receipt of your application within one month. If necessary, you may be asked to provide additional information. Your application will not be processed until you have provided the FNBE with a completed and signed application form and all the required appendices.

The average period for processing an application is 3 to 4 months. The processing period varies according to whether the Finnish National Board of Education requests any external expert opinions on the qualification.

The decision is subject to a fee of €238 + €10 for postage and handling  (2011). The decision will be sent to you on a cash-on-delivery basis (COD). The local post office will send you a notice of arrival when your decision is ready to be collected. You will pay the fee at the post office as you collect your decision.