Aqua Medicine Biologist

If you have a foreign education or professional qualification and wish to practice your profession in Norway, you generally need approval or authorisation. You will find information about documentation requirements, the application process and regulations here. The competent authority will assess whether you meet the requirements to practice the profession and use the professional title in Norway. If you intend to establish in Norway and work permanently in your chosen profession, the rules below apply to you. However, if you wish to work in Norway for shorter periods of time within your chosen profession, the rules for temporary provision of services apply.

Animal health staff: Authorization and licence | The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (mattilsynet.no)

About this form

Applications can only be submitted by the professional/individual. Please submit your application with attachments to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.

Establishment:

If you wish to establish yourself or work for an extended period in Norway within your profession, you must apply for recognition from the competent recognition authority before you can practice this profession in Norway.

Temporary provision of services:

You can work temporarily in this profession if you are already legally established in an EEA country or Switzerland and can practice the same profession in that country. To be able to work in this profession temporarily in Norway, you must submit a prior declaration to the competent authority (by applying for temporary recognition). This is because the practice of the profession may have serious implications for safety and health of the recipient of the service, and the competent authorities need to be able to verify that you are qualified to practice the profession before you start working.

The competent authority will assess whether they will allow professional practice without further scrutiny or conduct further scrutiny of your professional qualifications.

Documentation requirements for establishment:

  • Certificate/diploma of passed education and, if relevant, authorisation documentation.
  • Documentation of date of birth and national ID number, and, if applicable, documentation of change of name and citizenship.
  • A description of the different subjects in your training and the scope of these subjects, translated into Norwegian or English.
  • Documents that are not in English or Norwegian must be translated into English or Norwegian. Translated documents must also be submitted in the original language.

If you took your education abroad more than one year ago, you must also submit:

  • Certificate of Current Professional Status from a public competent authority in your home country/the country where you last worked. The certificate must not be older than three months.

Documentation requirements for temporary provision of services:

  • Proof of identity and nationality.
  • Evidence of formal qualifications.
  • Documentation that you have not been prohibited, either permanently or temporarily, to practice the profession, or prescribe medicines.
  • Evidence of work experience, cf. Section 4-1 first paragraph second sentence in Regulations relating to the right to work as animal health personnel or inseminator under the EEA Agreement.
  • Professional insurance.

Language requirements:

No.

Criteria/conditions for recognition: 

National regulations related to the practice of the profession are stipulated in Act 75 of 15 June 2001 relating to Veterinarians and Other Animal Health Personnel and Regulations No 77 of 19 January 2009 relating to the right to work as animal health personnel or inseminator under the EEA Agreement.

Case processing deadlines:

  • Establishment:

The competent authority must acknowledge receipt of your application within one month of receiving it and inform you of any missing or incomplete documentation.

Following the submission of a complete application, the competent authority should complete processing your application within three months.

  • Temporary provision of services:

The competent authority shall, within one month of receiving the notification, determine whether you can start working without further scrutiny of your qualifications, or if you need to undergo a compensation measure.

If the competent authority needs more than one month to determine this, you shall be notified of the reason for the delay within one month after the notification was received. In such cases, the competent authority shall make a decision within two months after the reason for the delay has been resolved.

If the competent authority has not processed the application within these deadlines, you may practice the profession.

Fees:

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority does not charge a fee for processing applications for recognition.

Right of appeal:

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the decision, you may appeal in writing, pursuant to Chapter VI of the Public Administration Act. In your application is processed in accordance with the Professional Qualifications Act, the right of appeal also applies if the competent authority has exceeded the case processing deadlines (see Case processing deadlines above).

Competent authority

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority
Southern and Western Region,
National Assignments Department,
Felles postmottak, Postboks 383
NO-2381 Brumunddal

E-mail: postmottak@mattilsynet.no
Phone (+47) 22 40 00 00

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