Rules and regimes of the recognition of professional qualifications in the Slovak Republic
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On this page, you will find the information on how the professional qualification for the pursuit of regulated professions is evaluated, including the rules regarding the proficiency in the Slovak language. The regime of recognition depends on the type of profession and the state of origin, which can be a member state (EU, EEA or Switzerland) or non-member state. Specific rules apply to the so-called sectoral professions (doctor of medicine, nurse, dental practitioner, midwife, pharmacist, vererinary surgeon, and architect), the training for which was harmonised across the Member States and does not require the comparison anymore. By other professions, or by professional qualification obtained in a non-member state, the general system of recognition is applied, which includes the comparison of the scope and contents of the training. Specific procedure applies to the recognition healthcare professional qualifications from non-member states, where the professionals also need to undergo the supplementary examination.
On this page, you will find the information on how the professional qualification for the pursuit of regulated professions is evaluated, including the rules regarding the proficiency in the Slovak language. The regime of recognition depends on the type of profession and the state of origin, which can be a member state (EU, EEA or Switzerland) or non-member state. Specific rules apply to the so-called sectoral professions (doctor of medicine, nurse, dental practitioner, midwife, pharmacist, vererinary surgeon, and architect), the training for which was harmonised across the Member States and does not require the comparison anymore. By other professions, or by professional qualification obtained in a non-member state, the general system of recognition is applied, which includes the comparison of the scope and contents of the training. Specific procedure applies to the recognition healthcare professional qualifications from non-member states, where the professionals also need to undergo the supplementary examination.
Systems of professional qualifications recognition in the Slovak Republic
When it comes to regulated professions, there are three regimes of professional qualifications recognition currently applied in the Slovak Republic:
- Automatic system of recognition,
- System of recognition based on acquired rights, and
- General system of recognition.
Automatic system of recognition is based on the principle of coordination of the minimum training conditions. The professions currently in this category are doctor of medicine, dental practitioner, pharmacist, nurse responsible for general care and midwife. In case of these professions, the EU member states agreed to coordinate the training process, which must fulfil the minimal standards for education, as determined by the Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.
The automatic system applies only to the recognition of qualifications of medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and midwives and only to the qualifications obtained in an EU member state, after the so-called reference date (f. ex. the date of its accession into the EU or other date that was notified by the member state).
Healthcare professions of medical doctor, dental practitioner, pharmacist, nurse, and midwife
The list of professions with coordinated training and the titles of the required qualifications is present in the Annex 2. of the Regulation of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic No. 16/2016 establishing professional organizations whose members perform a regulated profession with the right to hold a professional title and the regulated professions with training coordination. The list contains the names of the qualification documents as well as reference dates for specific states and professions.
More information can be found on the website of the competent authority for the healthcare sectoral professions, which is the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak republic.
More information can be found on the website of the competent authority for the healthcare sectoral professions, which is the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak republic.
Veterinary surgeons
The list of automatically recognized qualifications is present in the Annex 2 of the Act No. 442/2004 Coll. on private veterinary surgeons, the Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons of the Slovak Republic and on the amendment of the Act No. 488/2002 Coll. on veterinary care and on the amendment of certain acts as amended. More information can be find on the websites of the competent authorities, the Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons of the Slovak Republic (Komora veterinárnych lekárov Slovenskej republiky) and the State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic (Štátna veterinárna a potravinová správa Slovenskej republiky).
Architects
The list of automatically recognized qualifications is present in the Annex 2 and 3 of the Act No. 138/1992 Coll. on authorized architects and authorized civil engineers. More information can be find on the websites of the competent authority for the recognition of professional qualifications from a member state, the Slovak Chamber of Architects.
System of recognition based on acquired rights is applied to the professions with coordinated training (medical doctors, dental practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, veterinary surgeons, and architects) in case the education was completed prior to the reference date applicable to the respective member state of the EU and the profession, or if the circumstances of the educational path has changed since (e.g. the qualification title has changed or there is some other specific reason why the qualification is not listed in the specific annex applying to the regulated profession).
General system of recognition of professional qualifications is applied to recognition of qualifications for regulated professions without coordinated training as well as to all qualifications, which were obtained in non-member states.
The general system of recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications is based on the principle of comparability. It means that in the recognition process, the content and scope of the applicant’s education and training are compared to the content and scope (level, length) of education and training which is required for the respective profession in the Slovak Republic. This comparison is the basis for the decision if the qualification obtained abroad is equivalent or not equivalent to the qualification required for the same profession in the Slovak Republic.
The competent authorities responsible for the specific regulated professions are listed in the database of regulated professions.
Recognition of qualifications of the healthcare professionals acquired in non-member states (all healthcare professions) presents a specific two-step process.
In the first step, the holder of the qualification applies to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic for validation of his or her diploma. The Ministry verifies if the qualification was obtained at a state-accredited education institution and if the training fulfils the formal requirements specified by the Regulation of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 296/2010 Coll. on professional aptitude for the practice of medicine, further training of health professionals, the system of specialized fields and the system of certified work activities.
If the validation is successful, the applicant is then required to pass a supplementary exam to prove his or her declared skills. The exam is taken at a recognized secondary school or higher education institution offering the study program which leads to the qualification required for the same profession in the Slovak Republic.
After the validation of the diploma and the successful passing of the supplementary exam the professional qualification is recognized automatically. The evidence of the successful passing of the supplementary exam is added to the application for the recognition of the professional qualification as one of the required documents.
Slovak language proficiency
The applicant for recognition of professional qualification shall have the knowledge of the official language necessary for the practice of the respective regulated profession.
In case of healthcare professionals, knowledge of the official language of the Slovak Republic required in order to perform the respective regulated profession is always verified.
In other regulated professions, the language verification is conducted only if there are legitimate concerns about the sufficiency of the applicant’s official language skills required for the performance of the respective regulated profession.
The applicant is not required to demonstrate his or her language skills in case he or she had already successfully passed the leaving exam (maturitná skúška) or a state language exam in the subject of the official language in the past.
For healthcare professions, the organization responsible for the official language verification is the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.
System of recognition based on acquired rights is applied to the professions with coordinated training (medical doctors, dental practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, veterinary surgeons, and architects) in case the education was completed prior to the reference date applicable to the respective member state of the EU and the profession, or if the circumstances of the educational path has changed since (e.g. the qualification title has changed or there is some other specific reason why the qualification is not listed in the specific annex applying to the regulated profession).
General system of recognition of professional qualifications is applied to recognition of qualifications for regulated professions without coordinated training as well as to all qualifications, which were obtained in non-member states.
The general system of recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications is based on the principle of comparability. It means that in the recognition process, the content and scope of the applicant’s education and training are compared to the content and scope (level, length) of education and training which is required for the respective profession in the Slovak Republic. This comparison is the basis for the decision if the qualification obtained abroad is equivalent or not equivalent to the qualification required for the same profession in the Slovak Republic.
The competent authorities responsible for the specific regulated professions are listed in the database of regulated professions.
Recognition of qualifications of the healthcare professionals acquired in non-member states (all healthcare professions) presents a specific two-step process.
In the first step, the holder of the qualification applies to the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic for validation of his or her diploma. The Ministry verifies if the qualification was obtained at a state-accredited education institution and if the training fulfils the formal requirements specified by the Regulation of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 296/2010 Coll. on professional aptitude for the practice of medicine, further training of health professionals, the system of specialized fields and the system of certified work activities.
If the validation is successful, the applicant is then required to pass a supplementary exam to prove his or her declared skills. The exam is taken at a recognized secondary school or higher education institution offering the study program which leads to the qualification required for the same profession in the Slovak Republic.
After the validation of the diploma and the successful passing of the supplementary exam the professional qualification is recognized automatically. The evidence of the successful passing of the supplementary exam is added to the application for the recognition of the professional qualification as one of the required documents.
Slovak language proficiency
The applicant for recognition of professional qualification shall have the knowledge of the official language necessary for the practice of the respective regulated profession.
In case of healthcare professionals, knowledge of the official language of the Slovak Republic required in order to perform the respective regulated profession is always verified.
In other regulated professions, the language verification is conducted only if there are legitimate concerns about the sufficiency of the applicant’s official language skills required for the performance of the respective regulated profession.
The applicant is not required to demonstrate his or her language skills in case he or she had already successfully passed the leaving exam (maturitná skúška) or a state language exam in the subject of the official language in the past.
For healthcare professions, the organization responsible for the official language verification is the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.