Temporary and occasional provisions of services

From an EU/EEA country or Switzerland

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland you can work temporarily in Sweden on your foreign qualifications, that is, you do not need to apply for a Swedish veterinary license if you are only going to work here temporarily. There is no definition of what temporarily is, but if you intend to establish yourself in Sweden, you have to apply for a license. You can of course apply for a Swedish veterinary license even if you are only going to work here temporarily.

When you work here temporarily you are still part of the animal health staff and therefore subject to the Swedish regulations.

Before the first time you intend to work in Sweden, you have to notify the Swedish Board of Agriculture. There is no specific application form for notifying us of your intention to work. Instead, you should send us the following:

• a letter including your contact information, information about the period you intend to work and where you will work.
• a certificate showing that you are legally established in a Member State to exercise the profession and that, at the time of issue of the certificate, there was no ban, even temporarily, for you to practice as a veterinarian. This certificate must be issued by the competent authority of the Member State where you are established and should not be older than three months. You can submit either the original or a readable copy,
• evidence of your professional qualifications (i.e. a copy of your diploma), and
• a copy of your passport.

You send this either to the Swedish Board of Agriculture, International Affairs and Animal Health Staff Unit, Jonkoping 551 82 or via e-mail, jordbruksverket@jordbruksverket.se. Please state clearly the intention of the notification by labelling it temporary and occasional provision of services.

If you later return to Sweden to again work temporarily as a veterinarian, you should notify, in writing, the Swedish Board of Agriculture once a year. You can send this notification via email.

From third countries

Temporary and occasional provision of services is only an option for professionals that are established as veterinarian in another member state of the EU/EEA. However, 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 “Ansökan – särskilt tillstånd att utöva veterinäryrket respektive djursjukskötaryrket”, found to the right on this web page.

Before submitting your application for a permit you must pay an application fee of 250 SEK. You do this by using the form “Avgift ansökan om särskilt tillstånd att arbeta som veterinär respektive djursjukskötare”, found on the right of this web page. It is important that you write the order number you receive when paying the fee on the application form.

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.

If you do not have the right to practice veterinary medicine/the veterinary profession in Sweden

Without the right to practice veterinary medicine/the veterinary profession in Sweden you are not allowed to claim to be a veterinarian in case you examine or treat animals for money. You are also not allowed to use a title or professional designation that gives the impression that you have a Swedish veterinary license or are in any other way authorised to perform the veterinary profession. If you violate this rule, you could be fined.