Degree in Veterinary Medicine from a university in a third country outside of EU/EEA and Switzerland

If you are educated in a third country you can obtain a Swedish license in one of the following three ways:

1. If you have completed the supplementary education at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (TU-VET see link below).
2. You can get your Swedish license immediately if you are very skilled and especially experienced in the veterinary profession. To be consider very skilled and especially experienced you should:
   • have a veterinary education that covers a total of at least 5 years and that corresponds to the Swedish veterinary education in content
   • in addition to your veterinary degree, have additional training in clinical veterinary medicine at university level covering at least two years
   • have at least 10 years’ experience as a clinically veterinarian.
3. If you do not meet the criteria very skilled and particularly experienced, you can obtain a Swedish veterinary license after undergoing an adjustment period during the time and to the extent decided by the Swedish Board of Agriculture in each individual case instead of attending the supplementary training. This applies provided that:
   • the education corresponds to the Swedish veterinary education in content
   • in addition to your veterinary degree, you have additional training in clinical veterinary medicine at university level covering at least two years or research experience in clinical veterinary medicine at university level covering at least two years.

Supplementary education (TU-VET)

If your Degree in Veterinary Medicine is at least five years long, we may decide that you need to pass a supplementary education (TU-VET). This course is given by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

You don’t need any previous knowledge in the Swedish language in order to receive a decision for TU-VET, but an admission requirement to TU-VET is knowledge of the Swedish language.

In order to receive your license, you have to report that you have successfully completed TU-VET. You do this by sending us a copy of your diploma from SLU, which proves your completion of the education.

TU-VET (slu.se) Länk till annan webbplats.

Additional higher education and experience in clinical veterinary medicine

If you have documents showing that you have completed additional higher education and/or have advanced experience in clinical veterinary medicine, please attach these documents with your application.

We will review these during our assessment of your application for a Swedish veterinary license.

Rejection of your application

Your application for a Swedish veterinary license will be rejected if your education

• is not a university education,
• does not cover at least five years,
• does not lead to a Degree in Veterinary Medicine in the country where your studied.
  

How to apply for a veterinary license

If you have a Degree in Veterinary Medicine from a university in a third country outside of EU/EEA or Switzerland, you have to submit the following documents during the application process:

• A copy of your diploma including an official document where all courses taken during the education are stated. This is usually called a “Diploma Supplement”. The diploma and supplement should be in the official language of your country
• A translation, made by an authorised translator, of the diploma and the supplement to either Swedish or English.
• Certificates of previous professional experience in clinical veterinary medicin, if any.
• Certificates of experience of academic research or additional higher education in clinical veterinary medicin, if any.
• A copy of your passport or other proof of nationality in case you are not a registered citizen in Sweden.
• A proof that you have satisfying knowledge of the Swedish language. Danish and Norwegian are considered equated to the Swedish language.

You apply through our Application form

Please note that information you fill in is not saved in the form. This means that if you do not complete the application process during one session you will have to re-enter all the data and upload the required documents again.

You can apply from an exemption from the rule about satisfactory knowledge in the Swedish language. You can read more about this further down.

When we have received your application we will do an evaluation of your Degree of Veterinary Medicine.

Special permit

If you are a veterinarian from a country outside of the EU/EEA and have expertise in an area of the veterinary medicine field where there is a lack of competence in Sweden, you may receive a special permit to work as a veterinarian in order to share your knowledge with Swedish veterinarians. There are two limitations:

• the maximum time granted is six months
• you have to work in a business for which a veterinarian with a Swedish license is responsible

Apply for the special permit by using the application form.

Application form: Ansökan – särskilt tillstånd att utöva veterinäryrket respektive djursjukskötaryrket Länk till annan webbplats.

Before submitting your application for a permit you must pay an application fee of 320 SEK. You do this by using the form “Avgift ansökan om särskilt tillstånd att arbeta som veterinär respektive djursjukskötare”. It is important that you write the order number you receive when paying the fee on the application form.

Application form: Avgift ansökan om särskilt tillstånd att arbeta som veterinär respektive djursjukskötare Länk till annan webbplats.

Send your application to the Swedish Board of Agriculture, International Affairs and Animal Health Staff Unit, Jonkoping 551 82 or via e-mail, jordbruksverket@jordbruksverket.se. Please ensure that the application form and all documents are readable when sending by e-mail. In case we would consider the application documents as not readable, you will have to send new copies of the documents, resulting in a longer time for the assessment process.

The application should include the following:

• a completed application form. Remember to include the order number from the web shop that shows that you have paid the application fee.
• a copy of your qualifications (diplomas) in their original language and a translation of the documents into English or Swedish. The translation should be done by an authorized translator.
• a copy of your passport
• a certificate from one or more employers in Sweden that there is a need to hire you because you have expertise in a specific veterinary area where competence in Sweden is limited and that they intend to employ or in any other way engage you. The name of the responsible Swedish veterinarian should be included.