If you have a foreign education or professional qualification and wish to practice your profession in Norway, you generally need approval or authorisation. You will find information about documentation requirements, the application process and regulations here. The competent authority will assess whether you meet the requirements to practice the profession and use the professional title in Norway. If you intend to establish in Norway and work permanently in your chosen profession, the rules below apply to you. However, if you wish to work in Norway for shorter periods of time within your chosen profession, the rules for temporary provision of services apply.
If you do not already have a Norwegian national ID-number, you will need to register a user account for the Altinn services. Please access the registration procedure here.
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Applications can only be submitted by the professional/individual who already holds a Norwegian authorisation as a medical practitioner.
Please submit the application electronically via the service Application for authorisation and license as a healthcare professional.
Establishment:
If you wish to establish yourself or work for an extended period in Norway within your profession, you must apply for recognition from the competent recognition authority before you can practice this profession in Norway.
Temporary provision of services:
You can work temporarily in this profession if you are already legally established in an EEA country or Switzerland and can practice the same profession in that country. To be able to work in this profession temporarily in Norway, you must submit a prior declaration to the competent authority (by applying for temporary recognition). This is because the practice of the profession may have serious implications for safety and health for the recipient of the service, and the competent authorities need to be able to verify that you are qualified to practice the profession before you start working.
Documentation requirements for establishment:
- Signed certificate of completed and approved guided practice.
Documentation requirements for temporary provision of services:
You must provide evidence of:
- Identity and nationality.
- Proof that you are legally established in another EEA state or in Switzerland for the purpose of exercising the profession in question and that you are not prohibited from practicing the profession, not even temporarily.
- Professional qualifications.
- Proof that you have practiced the profession for at least one of the last ten years, if the profession is not regulated by law in the country in which the service provider has established its business.
Language requirements:
No.
Criteria/conditions for recognition:
The statutory requirements for being entitled to authorisation are stipulated in the regulation for guided practice.
Case processing deadlines:
Establishment:
The competent authority must acknowledge receipt of your application within one month of receiving it and inform you of any missing or incomplete documentation.
Following the submission of a complete application, the competent authority should complete processing your application within six weeks.
Temporary provision of services:
The competent authority shall, within one month of receiving the notification, determine whether you can start working without further scrutiny of your qualifications, or if you need to undergo a compensation measure.
If the competent authority needs more than one month to determine this, you shall be notified of the reason for the delay within one month after the notification was received. In such cases, the competent authority shall make a decision within two months after the reason for the delay has been resolved.
If the competent authority has not processed the application within these deadlines, you may practice the profession.
Fees:
The Norwegian Directorate of Health does not charge a fee for processing applications for recognition.
Right of appeal:
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the decision, you may appeal in writing, pursuant to Chapter VI of the Public Administration Act.
Competent authority
The Norwegian Directorate of Health
P. O. Box 220, Skøyen,
0213 Oslo
E-mail: godkjenning@helsedir.no
Phone: (+47) 21 52 97 00
