Professional Qualifications Directive
If you want to work in an EU / EEA country or Switzerland, where your profession is regulated, you must have your qualifications (education and work experience) officially recognized before you can start working. The Professional Qualifications Directive (Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the recognition of professional qualifications 2005/36 / EC) contains rules that facilitate the process for those who wish to work in regulated professions in EU / EEA countries or Switzerland.
How to apply for recognition of professional qualifications
If you want to practice a profession that is regulated in Sweden, you can apply to the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, Boverket, for recognition of your professional qualifications. The prerequisites for this are that you fulfil the formal qualifications through appropriate training from another EU / EEA country or Switzerland. If the profession is regulated in the other EU / EEA country or Switzerland, you can apply for recognition by presenting a certificate of competence. Otherwise, you must have worked full-time in the current occupation for one year or half-time for two years during the past ten-year period. Other criteria are found in the Swedish Act (2016:145) on the recognition of professional qualifications and the Swedish Regulation (2016:157) on the recognition of professional qualifications.
If you have education and work experience from Sweden, you should contact one of the certification bodies directly for assessment on whether your qualifications are sufficient to obtain certification.
If you have education from a country outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland, you should contact the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) to validate your education and make a decision on what it corresponds to in the Swedish education system. A link to the Swedish Council for Higher Education is available in the field related information.
Regulated professions
By regulated profession is meant professional activity where it is directly or indirectly required that the person who is to work has certain specific qualifications. Such qualifications mean, for example, a special education or professional experience.
Boverket is the competent authority regarding:
- energy experts,
- experts in fire safety,
- expert (ventilation) performance inspectors,
- experts in cultural values,
- experts in accessibility;
- inspection managers, and
- professional activities relating to the control of lifts and certain other power operated devices.
Foreign education and professional experience are assessed by Boverket. The education is validated by the Swedish Council for Higher Education, UHR, following an application for an opinion from Boverket. Boverket will then handle the matter and, if the requirements are met, issue a decision on recognition of professional qualifications. After receiving the decision from Boverket on recognition of professional qualifications, the applicant can turn to the appropriate certification body, which examines the other prerequisites for certification.
Application for recognition of qualifications
If you wish to have your professional qualifications validated, the application is sent to:
The application must state the following:
- Name
- Address
- Personal code number
- E-mail address
- Nationality
- What occupation is intended
In the e-mail you must attach the documents you invoke in support of your application. Examples of such documents:
- Certificate of employment, including any references and diplomas, if the profession is not regulated in the EU/EEA country or Switzerland where the qualifications have been acquired
- Certificate of competence from a certification body, if the profession is regulated in the country within the EU/EEA country or Switzerland where the qualifications have been acquired
Through the menu you will find more information that describes in detail the validation of different regulated professions.
