A citizen of a country belonging to the European Union or the European Economic Area has a right to provide veterinary services in Finland on a notification basis under certain conditions. In this case, authorization as a veterinarian is not required, a notification to the Finnish Food Authority is enough. The prerequisite for providing services is that the person has a legal right to independently practise the veterinary profession in an EU or EEA state other than Finland.
Submitting an advance notice
The right to provide temporary and occasional veterinary services requires that the person submits a written notification to the Finnish Food Authority before providing services. The notification shall include the following information:
- Name and contact details of the service provider.
- Details of the notifier's insurance cover or equivalent professional liability protection.
- The planned duration and frequency of the provision of services and the area in which the services are mainly intended to be provided.
When the notification is submitted for the first time or when the notification is submitted again and the information indicated in the documents attached to the previous notification has fundamentally changed, the notification shall be accompanied by:
- A document proving the applicant's nationality (e.g. passport).
- A certificate issued by the appropriate competent authority indicating that the notifier has a valid right to independently practise the veterinary profession in the EU or EEA state in question and whether this right has been restricted (= official certificate).
The official certificate must not be older than one year. It should be noted that the certificate should show the following information:
- The notifier has a valid right to independently practise the veterinary profession in an EU or EEA state.
- Whether this right has been restricted.
The attachments shall be presented as originals or officially certified copies. Documents are not copied while waiting at Finnish Food Authority. Documents are officially certified by, for example, a public notary or the police. If the attachments are not in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish or English, they must be accompanied by a Finnish, Swedish or English translation.
The provision of services may be commenced as soon as an advance notice with the required attachments has been submitted. The notification is valid for one year and can be renewed if necessary.
The temporary and occasional nature of services
Veterinary services subject to notification shall only be provided temporarily and occasionally. Whether the veterinary services provided are temporary or occasional is assessed case-by-case and in particular, based on the duration, frequency, regularity and continuity of said services. A veterinarian providing temporary and occasional veterinary services cannot hold a state, municipal, communal or other veterinary position or duty.
The requirement for being occasional emphasizes the temporary nature of the provision of services. In each individual case, after receiving a notification concerning the provision of veterinary services, Finnish Food Authority will assess whether the provision of services can be considered temporary and occasional.
During the preparatory phase of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the recognition of professional qualifications, it was considered that the provision of services could be considered temporary and occasional when services are provided for up to 16 weeks total during the year. However, this limit is not recorded in the directive or in national legislation.
Finnish Food Authority will assess on a case-by-case basis after receiving the notification whether, in its view, the notified provision of services can be considered temporary and occasional in nature.
Use of the veterinary surgeon and degree titles
For the temporary and occasional provision of services, the veterinary title must be used. You can use the degree title or its abbreviation in the original language that it was granted in, in the EU or EEA state where the degree was completed. A degree title that may be confused with a specialist veterinary title may only be used in a form that does not present a risk of confusion.
Veterinary register
A veterinarian providing temporary and occasional veterinary services is entered in the veterinary register maintained by Finnish Food Authority.