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Doctors educated outside EU/EEA

Doctors educated outside EU/EEA

License to practise

In order to practice medicine in Sweden you need to obtain a Swedish medical license. If you already have a license to practice from your country of residence, you can have it validated in Sweden. It is the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) that will assess your academic and clinical background. You can read all the details about the process on their web page. You also need to have at least level C1 in the Swedish, Danish or Norwegian language before you can work in Sweden.

Recognition of specialist qualification

Specialty training (postgraduate training) in Sweden is composed of hospital services in a subordinate position under full professional responsibility. In Sweden, the clinical training of medical doctors towards specialist competence is the responsibility of the public health providers, i.e. the county councils, not the universities. Consequently, there are no courses at the faculty of medicine leading to a specialty degree. The current duration of the speciality training is in all specialities a minimum of 5 years. After July 1, 2021, you also need to complete a mandatory introductory training period before the specialty training (minimum of 6 months).

If you already have a certificate of specialist qualification from your country, you will be required to take specialty training (ST) for minimum of 1 year to receive a Swedish specialist certificate. The required lenght of your ST in Sweden depends on your achievements for the the learning objectives in the Swedish specialty training and is assessed by the Head of the department and the superviser for your ST i Sweden. In order to credit maximum of 4 years of specialist training done in another country into the Swedish specialty training, the following criterias have to be fullfilled:

  • The training abroad needs to be performed as a part of an individual study program
  • The specality training needs to be supervised
  • The training needs to be verified by certificates
  • The training needs to meet certain objectives in the Swedish regulation for the medical specialty

You can then apply for a specialist certificate at Socialstyrelsen.

Learning Swedish

Practicing medicine also entails a responsibility to have sufficient knowledge of the Swedish language and to be familiar with Swedish legislation concerning the health care sector.

Courses designed for health care professionals There are some language courses designed exclusively for healthcare personnel:

In Uppsala: Svenska för medicinsk personal In Stockholm: Svenska för medicinsk personal In Gothenburg: Svenska för vårdpersonal In Lund: SFI för medicinsk personal

Swedish for immigrants (SFI) Swedish for immigrants (SFI) is organised by the the municipalities. It is required that you have a residence permit and you have to be registered in the municipality. The municipalities are obliged to offer SFI for new arrivals within three months. For further information about SFI, please contact the local county office.

Other alternatives A website of the Swedish Institute (SI) contains information about learning Swedish. One of many providers for language courses is Folkuniversitetet.

Immigration regulations

If you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA and you want to study or work in Sweden, you will need a study or work permit. Swedish Migration Agency, Migrationsverket, will provide you with more information.

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