Diploma awarded outside the EU

If you obtained your diploma in a country outside the EEA or Switzerland, you must satisfy a number of quality requirements before you will be permitted to work in the Dutch healthcare sector. These requirements are identical to those which apply to practitioners who obtained their qualifications in the Netherlands.

Declaration of Professional Competence
Holders of a foreign diploma may apply for a ‘Declaration of Professional Competence’. In the case of doctors, dentists and nurses, we also require applicants to undergo assessment. For the other pofessions listed in Article 3 of the BIG Act, the application will be considered on the basis of training and qualifications alone.

Where the application is not explicitly covered by a European Directive, the assessment of a foreign diploma can have three possible outcomes:

  • Equivalent
    This decision entitles you to apply for immediate inclusion in the BIG-register. Your registration may or may not be subject to certain restrictions. You may then be entitled to use a professional title.

  • Largely equivalent
    You will receive a provisional Declaration of Professional Competence which is restricted in both content and duration. It will state the requirements you must meet in order to have the restrictions lifted. If you do not meet these requirements within the stated period, the Declaration will lapse.

  • Not equivalent
    Your application for a Declaration of Professional Competence will be refused. You should contact an accredited institute of higher education in the Netherlands in order to obtain a recognized Dutch diploma.

Before making a decision, we may seek advice from the Foreign Health Care Qualifications Commission (CBGV). The CBGV advises on the standard of the applicant’s professional qualifications, and may also take relevant professional experience into account. If we request it to do so, the CGBV may in turn consult other accreditation organizations, notably Nuffic in the case of higher education degrees and diplomas, and Colo with regard to secondary and vocational qualifications. linken aanbrengen?


   
BIG-register