Finnish Translation of Diplomas, Transcripts and Qualifications for Opetushallitus, Valvira, Admission and Recognition in Georgia

Opetushallitus: recognition and assessment of Georgian degrees

A Georgian degree used in Finland for a regulated profession (teaching, social work, early childhood education, certain technical professions) or for public-sector eligibility goes to the Finnish National Agency for Education (Opetushallitus) for a recognition decision (tutkinnon tunnustaminen), and for other purposes its assessment of the level of a foreign higher education degree (tutkinnon tason rinnastaminen), which employers and unions use; the application is made online with a fee, requires the diploma and transcript in the original with translations into Finnish, Swedish or English by an authorized translator (Opetushallitus's own rules) and, for professional recognition, the curriculum, and the agency verifies the diploma with the Georgian university. Georgian teachers seeking to work in Finnish schools, and Georgian graduates in fields with Finnish licensing, use this route most, and we translate the Georgian packet in the agency's format with authorized re-certification arranged, using the terminology Finnish universities use for the same subjects.

Valvira: authorizing Georgian doctors, dentists and nurses

Healthcare professionals with Georgian qualifications apply to Valvira (the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health) for the right to practise through the route for professionals trained outside the EU/EEA, which involves an assessment of the diploma and curriculum, Finnish or Swedish language proficiency, the three-part licensing examination for doctors organized by the University of Tampere (and equivalent tests for other professions), a period of supervised practice and, for some professions, additional studies. The document stage requires the apostilled diploma, the full curriculum with hours, specialization certificates, the Georgian license and proof of practice, and a certificate of good standing, translated by an authorized translator - which for Georgian means our translation re-certified by an authorized translator for English in Helsinki. Finland's recruitment of foreign nurses and doctors has made this route more frequent, and our medical translators, who are physicians, translate clinical subjects using the terminology of Finnish medical faculties.

Studyinfo and Finnish university admission

Georgian applicants to Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences - Helsinki, Aalto, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, LUT, and Metropolia, Haaga-Helia, Laurea and the other ammattikorkeakoulut - apply through the Studyinfo (Opintopolku) joint application or each institution's portal, uploading the diploma and transcript in the original and in translation, proof of English, and for bachelor's programs the Georgian school leaving certificate with national exam results, which the institution assesses for eligibility; most international programs are in English, non-EU students pay tuition since 2017, and scholarships exist. Institutions accept certified translations with our stamp and ask for apostilled originals or certified copies at enrollment. Migri's student permit requires the admission letter, proof of tuition payment and funds, and health insurance. We translate the full Georgian packet in one business day and coordinate with the January application window.

Finnish degrees and teaching qualifications for recognition and work permits in Georgia

A Finnish degree used in Georgia - for a work permit, for a teaching position at a Finnish or international school in Tbilisi, for a medical or engineering position, for admission to a Georgian master's or doctoral program, or for recognition at the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement - must be apostilled by DVV and translated into Georgian and notarized in Tbilisi. We translate the tutkintotodistus, the opintosuoritusote, the Diploma Supplement and, when recognition is sought, course descriptions. Finnish degree titles - kandidaatti, maisteri, tohtori, the ammattikorkeakoulututkinto and ylempi AMK degrees, and the older diplomi-insinööri, lisensiaatti and other titles - and the Finnish grading scales (0-5 at universities, and the ylioppilastutkinto's Latin grades from laudatur to improbatur) are explained in a translator's note for a Georgian committee. Finnish teachers' qualifications - the master's degree with pedagogical studies that Finnish teaching requires, and the class teacher and subject teacher qualifications - are translated for Georgian work permits and school licensing, and this is now one of our most frequent Finnish files.

School certificates, student letters and vocational qualifications

Finnish families in Tbilisi enroll children in Finnish, international and Georgian schools with päättötodistukset and school records translated; Georgian families moving to Finland need Georgian school records translated for the kunta and the school, which places the child in the right year and arranges preparatory instruction in Finnish or Swedish. Students need opiskelutodistukset and student status letters in the other language for permits, banks and Kela where applicable. Georgian workers going to Finland with vocational qualifications - welding, electrical work, construction, driving, care - need certificates translated for employers and Opetushallitus's vocational assessment; Finnish ammattitutkinto certificates used in Georgia are translated and notarized for Georgian employers.

Motivation letters, recommendations, CVs and timing

Georgian applicants to Finnish programs ask us to translate or edit motivation letters and CVs in English - Finnish institutions value concrete, modest applications - and to translate recommendation letters from Georgian professors while preserving the signature block; doctoral candidates need research proposals, thesis abstracts and publication lists translated, and researchers collaborating with Finnish universities and the Academy of Finland use our editors for articles. Native Finnish and English editors with academic backgrounds handle these texts.

On timing: the Studyinfo joint application for international programs closes in January, Opetushallitus recognition takes three to four months including verification, the Valvira route takes years overall but the document stage months, and the apostille on a Georgian diploma can take up to five business days. Start the apostille early, since the apostilled diploma is reusable, and ask for a digital certified translation first so you can upload it while the paper originals are in process.

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