Medical Practitioner (Lege) – Outside the EU/EEA

Before you apply

If you have an education from outside the EU/EEA you will be subject to additional requirements before authorisation can be granted. It is important that you are familiar with the requirements, and the fees that comes with it, before you apply for authorisation read the additional requirements.

Extension of the deadline to undergo complete the additional requirements

Have you received a decision letter with information that you must complete additional requirements within three years before you can be granted a Norwegian authorisation?

Verification of diploma and transcript from ECFMG
Applicants with an education from a country outside the EEA (except applicants with an education from the UK) must verify their diploma and transcript through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), a member of Intealth.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health cooperates with ECFMG regarding verification of education for applicants with education from a country outside the EEA. You must therefore submit your diploma and transcript for verification through ECFMG electronically via their portal Electronic Portfolio of International Credential (EPIC). 

Important note: You can find information about the first step using EPIC: Getting Started with EPIC (ecfmg.org) and you will find the portal at https://epic.ecfmgepic.org/EpicRecipient
For more information regarding ECFMG and Norway see https://www.ecfmg.org/psv/instructions-norway.html

If you have questions about the process of getting your educational documents verified, please read the frequently asked questions on ECFMG's website here: EPIC: Frequently Asked Questions for Physicians (ecfmg.org).

Have you practiced the profession in another EEA country with full professional rights for three consecutive years?

Then you must attach the following documentation when you apply for authorisation:

• A confirmation that is no older than three months that documents that you have not been banned from practicing the profession in the other EEA country, for example Certificate of Good Standing or Certificate of Current Professional Status
• A document confirming that you have worked continuously for at least three years in an EEA country and meet the requirements in Article 3.3 of EU Directive 2005/36/EU

Both confirmations must be issued by the competent approval authority in the other EEA country.

If you can document these confirmations, you are exempt from the verification process via ECFMG as well as the completion of additional requirements.

You must attach these documents when you apply

1. Diploma
2. Transcript/Diploma Supplement
   a) The document must be issued in your name
   b) The document must contain an overview of all subjects included in your education with the number of hours dedicated to each subject/subject area.
3. Documentation of completed internship and the duration and subject area covered in the internship.

Possible additional documentation:

1. You should attach the authorisation/license (approval showing that you have the full professional right to practice) from the country of education and/or another country.
2. Certificate showing relevant work experience after graduating. The certificate must contain information about the type of position and work. Furthermore, the certificate must: 
   - Be issued with the workplace's letterhead and/or stamp. 
   - Be signed by the relevant manager or leader at the workplace. The manager's or leaders name and position must be typed in addition to the signature. 
   - Contain the workplace's contact information.
3. Detailed overview in the form of a syllabus that shows the specific subject content (not just the names of the subjects) and the length of the education.

a) Theoretical content must be stated in learning objectives for the individual subjects and the scope must be stated ECTS or the number of hours for each subject. The number of internships / clinical internships that show the length of the individual period, objectives, arena (form of teaching) and evaluation results must also be stated.

b) Internships must be stated in the number of weeks / hours or ECTS within each field of practice / department and areas / institutions where you have had an internship. They must also state the form in which the practice was carried out (skills training, observation, patient-oriented practice or patient simulation).

c) The syllabus must be issued by the institution of education and must be valid for the years the education was taken. The syllabus must also list the contact information for the institution of education.

Please note the following regarding your documents

• All documents must be scanned as PDF-copies of the original documents. If the original documents are in colour, the scanned copies attached to the application must also be in colour. Photographs of documents will not be accepted.
• If an original document has multiple pages, all scanned pages must be assemled into one document and in the correct order.
• All pages must be rotated correctly.
• All original documents that are not in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English must be translated into one of these languages by a authorised translator. The translation must be scanned/submitted in the same file as the original document.

Any attempt to obtain recognition with fraudulent documents will be reported to the police.

You apply in Altinn

NB! Applicants without a Norwegian national ID or D number must use alternative login in Altinn.

You must attach a scanned copy of passport or European ID card in your application.
First name and surname in the application form must be the same as in the passport/ID card, and be written in the same order.

User manual Altinn - Application for authorisation and license (PDF)

You pay the processing fee when you apply

You must pay a processing fee of NOK 1.665,-

You pay the fee in Altinn when you register your application.

Processing time is 11 months

The case processing time will be extended if the application lacks necessary documentation.

The processing time is based on the country you obtained your degree in.
If you have worked in another EEA country with the full right to the profession continuously for at least 3 years, you can inform us about this by sending an e-mail to: godkjenning@helsedir.no