Scope

a) The profile of two professions with the same name or with different names in two Member States may vary considerably from one Member State to another.

b) The paramedical professions are subject to the rules in force in the Member State in which the profession in question is practised: the authorities there lay down the conditions governing the right to take up and practise the profession. The paramedical professions are in most cases closely regulated; practitioners must be registered and enjoy a monopoly in providing treatment in their respective fields.

c) In some Member States certain professional activities may be restricted to doctors (for instance chiropractic and osteopathy in Austria, France and Italy) whereas in other Member States persons who are not qualified doctors but hold other qualifications may be authorised to practise (as in the case of Heilpraktiker (non-medical practitioners) in Germany, chiropractors in Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom and osteopaths in Finland and the United Kingdom).

d) Recognition of the qualifications of specialist nurses is, as a rule, covered by the general system. But where specialist nurses wish to work in a Member State in which that profession is practised by nurses responsible for general care, there are two possibilities. Nurses with specialist training who first acquired one of the qualifications listed in the Directive on nurses responsible for general care can have their qualifications recognised automatically. In the case of nurses with specialist training who did not first acquire one of those qualifications, the host Member State must examine their qualifications and compare them against its own training requirements. This examination should take into account the provisions of Articles 39, 43 and 49 of the EC Treaty and the judgments of the Court of Justice in the Heylens (Case 222/86, judgment of 15 October 1987), Vlassopoulou (Case 340/89, judgment of 7 May 1991) and Newman (Case 104/91, judgment of 7 May 1992) cases.

e) The social security arrangements for these professions, which vary from one Member State to another, should also be noted. For instance, some services provided by members of these professions who meet certain requirements may qualify for reimbursement.

f) In a very few cases where the difference between two professional qualifications is too great, the general system of recognition may not apply.

Formalities in Spin 

Examples of regulated professions in Spain 

(This list is not exhaustive and is provided for guidance only)

Care assistant, hearing-aid maker, dental hygienist, specialist nurse, laboratory assistant, chiropodist, dental prosthetist, dietetic and nutritional technician, medical laboratory technician, pathological anatomy and cytology laboratory technician, NMR technician, radiotherapy technician.

This list does not mean that there are not other, non-regulated, paramedical professions in Spain; it merely refers to some professions for which regulations exist.

How to proceed 

Applications for recognition must be sent to the competent authority in Spain for the regulated profession you wish to practise there. To identify the relevant authority, see the file "Useful addresses".

For further information on your profession in the different Member States, contact the appropriate professional association at European or national level.

Supporting documents 

Contact the appropriate authority for a list of precisely which documents are required. As an indication, you will probably be expected to provide: a document proving that you have the nationality of a Member State, the diploma(s) certifying that you are qualified to practise the same profession in the Member State from which you come, and a certificate indicating the length and the content of your training.

If that profession is not regulated in the Member State from which you come, you will also have to provide proof that you have practised the profession for at least two of the previous ten years.

In case of doubt, you will be asked to provide a certificate (drawn up by a competent authority in your country) attesting that you are qualified to carry on the same profession there.

Translations and charges 

You will be required to produce the originals (with copies) or copies authenticated by a Spanish consular establishment in your country or by any other competent authority there. You will also be required to provide official translations of these documents into Spanish.

Reference documents 

• Royal Decree No 1665/1991 of 25 October (Boletín Oficial E No 280 of 22 November 1991).
• Royal Decree No 1396/1995 of 4 October (Boletín Oficial E No 197 of 18 August 1995).
• Ministerial Order of 22 June 1995 (Boletín Oficial E No 155 of 30 June 1995).
• Order of 22 June 1995 establishing the procedure for verifying higher education qualifications issued in the Member States of the European Community which authorise the practice of the professions of physiotherapist, chiropodist, optician and general care nurse with specialisations (BOE: 30-06-1995).
• Order of 12 June 1998 amending the Order of 22 June 1995 and extending its application to verifying the qualifications of speech therapist and occupational therapist (BOE: 19-06-1998).
• Royal Decree No 411/2001 of 20 April excluding the profession of general care nurse with specialisations from the Annexes to Royal Decree No 1665/1991 of 25 October on the recognition of higher education qualifications issued in the Member States of the European Union and other countries party to the European Economic Area Agreement which require a minimum of three years in higher education (BOE: 21-04-2001).
• Order of 9 December 1997 regulating the aptitude test and adaptation period for the recognition of vocational training qualifications in the health sector of the Member States of the European Union (BOE: 27-12-1997).

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2005
Reproduction is authorised.