I am a EU national who acquired professional qualification in the EU

You are a national of the European Union, European Economic Area or Swiss Confederation and have acquired your professional qualification in the European Union, European Economic Area or Swiss Confederation,

If your profession is a regulated profession in a EU Member State, in which you want to incorporate/work, You have to launch your professional qualification recognition procedure. An individual who acquired professional qualification in one state and wants to work in this profession in the other state, must have  professional qualification recognition.

Recognition of professional qualifications of persons who acquired their professional qualifications in other member states and pursuing incorporation/employment in Lithuania is carried out by competent authorities of the Republic of Lithuania. Competent authorities and specific contact details by respective regulated professions can be found here.

In the database of regulated professions,   you will find out which professions are regulated in various EU Member States and which authorities are responsible for that.

Recognition of professional qualification does not apply to persons pursuing studies in the other Member State, or starting studies in one Member State and willing to continue them in the other Member State. Information about academic recognition of diplomas is provided by ENIC – NARIC centres. In Lithuania, such information is provided by the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education.

The main legal acts of the European Union and Republic of Lithuania regulating this field:

• Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament of the Council of 7 September 2005 regarding recognition of professional qualifications.
• Law on Recognition of Regulated Professional Qualifications of the Republic of Lithuania.

Systems of recognition of professional qualifications:

Your professional qualification can be recognised by several systems. Find out the differences between them.

• Principle of automatic recognition of professional qualification

Procedure and required documents

If you are a doctor, general practice nurse, midwife, dentist, pharmacist, architect, veterinary doctor, you diploma is recorded in the Directive 2005/36/EC, Annex V  and started your studies from the  reference date specified in the above-mentioned annex – your professional qualification will be recognised by the principle of automatic recognition of professional qualification.

Minimum training requirements are set for the following 7 professions in the EU Member States: doctors, general practice nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, architects, veterinary doctors. Annex V of the Directive 2005/36/EC has only those proofs of formal qualification that meet the minimum training requirements recoded.

If your diploma does not meet the minimum training requirements, a certificate of acquired rights certifying 3 years of employment in that profession during 5 years before the issue date of the certificate is required. Certificate of acquired rights is issued by a competent authority of a Member State, in which the diploma was issued to you and acquired your experience.

To have your professional qualification recognise you are requested to apply to an appropriate competent authority (link to competent authorities and contact persons), which will provide you with a form of an application for recognition of your professional qualification and comprehensive list of documents required to be submitted.

Application and required documents can be submitted directly to a competent authority or through Contact Centre of Services and Products.

Terms

Decision on recognition of your professional qualification is adopted within 3 months from the day of submission of all documents.

Certified copies and translations

The application must be supported with Lithuanian translations of the documents. Translations must be certified by a translator’s signature and/or seal of a translation agency affixed.

For more information about certified copies of submitted documents (by a notary or an appropriate authority), please apply to appropriate competent authorities (link to the competent authorities and contact persons).

• General system of recognition of professional qualification

Procedure and required documents

If profession in which you intend to be engaged in Lithuania is regulated and its training requirements are not harmonised with the EU (EU minimum training requirements are set for 7 professions only: doctors, general practice nurses, midwifes, dentists, pharmacists, architects, veterinary doctors), your professional qualification will be recognised in accordance with the General system of recognition of professional qualification.

According to the General system of recognition of professional qualification, your training subjects will be compared with the requirements set in the Republic of Lithuania for respective professional training. Lithuanian competent authority in every specific case having assessed the circumstances and discovered certain defects, essentially different subjects, can request you to complete professional adaptation period of maximum three years or professional eligibility measure (compensatory measure). In certain cases, competent authority can apply both compensatory measures.

What do you have to do if you are coming from a Member State in which appropriate profession is not regulated, while it is regulated in Lithuania? You have to prove that in the last ten years you exercised the profession in question for one year or part-time equal to it in your Member State of origin and have one or more documents or formal qualification proofs certifying the competence.

What do you have to do if you are coming from a Member State in which appropriate profession is regulated, while it is not regulated in Lithuania? In such event your professional qualification recognition is not required. You can apply directly to an employer who will establish job requirements.

For your professional qualification recognition, you are requested to apply to a competent authority, which will provide you with a form of an application for your professional qualification recognition and comprehensive list of documents required.

Application and required documents can be submitted directly to a competent authority or through Contact Centre of Services and Products.

Terms

Decision on recognition of your professional qualification is adopted within 3 months from the day of submission of all documents.

A Lithuanian competent authority will confirm receipt of your application within one month from the day of receipt of the application and documents and notify if any document is missing. A competent authority can establish a term of maximum one month for elimination of any defects from the day of dispatch of the notice.

Certified copies and translations

The application must be supported with Lithuanian translations of the documents. Translations must be certified by a translator’s signature and/or seal of a translation agency affixed.

For more information about certified copies of submitted documents (by a notary or an appropriate authority), please apply to appropriate competent authorities.