If you have completed a vocational qualification abroad, you can apply for an advisory statement from the Finnish National Agency for Education.
A car mechanic at work
Photo: Satu Haavisto

The advisory statement describes
•    the official status of the qualification and the awarding institution or body
•    the qualification’s level and extent
•    the professional rights conferred by the qualification in the country of origin, and
•    the content of studies, provided that the qualification certificates contain such information.

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You can use the advisory statement when looking for a job. However, the advisory statement does not give eligibility for a profession or duty that is regulated in Finland.

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The Finnish National Agency for education can issue a statement on a fully completed vocational qualification. The qualification must be official in the country it was completed in.

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Fill-in the application form and append the required documents.

Copies of the following documents must be appended to an application for an advisory statement:
•    Qualification certificate
•    Transcript of studies or other document that provides information about the studies’ extent and content
•    Official translations of the certificates into Finnish or Swedish
•    An identification document
More detailed instructions about the appendices are given on the application form.

You will receive an electronically signed advisory statement by either email or mail. Receiving the advisory statement takes approximately three months counting from the date on which all of the required documents are submitted to the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Application form
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The fee for a statement on a foreign vocational qualification is €221. Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the fee according to the Value Added Tax Act. From September 1, 2024, the total fee for the statement is €277.36, including VAT (25.5%). An invoice for the fee will be sent by post when the statement has been issued.

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The statement is issued either in Finnish or Swedish.

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Processing an application for an advisory statement takes usually up to two to three months. The processing will be faster if all the infomation and documents are included in the application. 

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