Veterinary surgeon (veterinarian)

 As a veterinary surgeon you belong to the Animal health staff, meaning that

• the public knows you have specific qualifications
• you shall practice your profession in line with veterinary science and proven experience
• you shall follow the requirements regarding your profession, such as keeping journals, issue certificates, confidentiality and duty of notification
• you are under government supervision, and you may be reported to the authority Ansvarsnämnden för djurens hälso- och sjukvård (Veterinary Disciplinary Board for Animal health staff).
  

As a principle, you as a licensed veterinary surgeon have the formal qualification to perform all examinations and treatments within the Animal health profession. However, you are only allowed to carry out the examinations and treatments where you have the required experience and skill to succeed. Consequently, you should only perform such treatments that you are competent to perform. It is your own responsibility how the treatments are performed and that they are in line with the legislation, your qualifications, veterinary science and proven experience.

How to apply for a veterinary license

To become a licensed veterinarian in Sweden you have to have a Degree in Veterinary Medicine. In addition to the degree, it is also necessary to have satisfying knowledge of the Swedish language, indicating that you should be able to communicate with animal owners, keep veterinary medical journals in Swedish and understand the legislation related to your profession. Danish and Norwegian are considered equated to the Swedish language.

The application for a veterinary license is made electronically by using our e-service. You will need to upload digital copies of your diplomas and other certificates. You may choose whether you want to scan your documents or submit photos of them. We must be able to read all the documents in the application in order to make our assessment. It is therefore important that the digital copies are clear and legible. If we consider the quality insufficient, you will need to resubmit the documents and then the processing time will be longer. The application fee is currently SEK 1,660, and you pay at the end of the application process by using either Visa or MasterCard.

Depending on where you studied veterinary medicine or what country issued your authorisation, the required documents for your application might differ. Follow the correct link below to find out what documents are required for your application.

• Veterinary authorisation in Norway, Denmark, Iceland or Finland
• Degree in Veterinary Medicine from a university in an EU/EEA-country or Switzerland
• Degree in Veterinary Medicine from a university in a third country (outside of EU/EEA and Switzerland)

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.