22. nov 2011, 06:00

Foreign pharmacists in Denmark

If you have trained as a pharmacist outside Denmark and want to work as a pharmacist in a Danish pharmacy or hospital pharmacy, you must obtain authorisation to do so from the Danish Medicines Agency.

If you want to work in the private sector, e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry, approval from the Danish Medicines Agency is unnecessary. You may nevertheless choose to obtain approval because employers in Denmark are unfamiliar with foreign training courses.

Different rules apply to the recognition of training undertaken abroad, depending on which country you come from and where you did your training. Case handling by the Danish Medicines Agency takes three to four months.

Our information is based to a large extent on the Danish Medicines Agency’s guidance on authorisation for pharmacists trained abroad. The guidance is available in full under Read more on the right of this page. Please note that because the guidance is currently under revision by the Danish Medicines Agency the Danish Medicines Agency’s practice in this area may diverge from our description. Therefore always contact the Danish Medicines Agency for further information on application requirements and procedures.

Pharmacists from the Nordic countries

The following applies to Nordic citizens with pharmacist who did their training in one of the Nordic countries:

  • Nordic citizens do not need residence or work permits to work in Denmark
  • No formal language requirements apply. It is the pharmacist with whom you are employed who assesses whether or not your Danish skills are adequate
  • You must submit a written application to the Danish Medicines Agency. You must enclose with your application documentation of your citizenship of a Nordic country and your name and date of birth. A copy of relevant pages from your passport can be used. You must also enclose documentation showing that you are entitled to work as a pharmacist. Submit original documents or copies on which their authenticity is confirmed. If you have a Nordic authorisation certificate, you must also submit this

Pharmacists from the EU/EEA

For EU/EEA citizens and Swiss citizens with pharmacist training from the EU/EEA or Switzerland, the following applies:

  • To work in Denmark, you must have a valid residence and work permit. Contact the Statsamt (chief administrative authority) office where you live, or for Copenhagen residents, Københavns Overpræsidium (the prefect’s office), for information about the rules governing residence and working in Denmark.
    If you are a EU citizen from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, you must contact the Danish Immigration Service for further information.
  • No formal language requirements are laid down. It is the pharmacist with whom you are employed who assesses whether your Danish skills are adequate.
  • You must submit a written application to the Danish Medicines Agency. Your application must enclose documentation of your citizenship of a EU/EEA country or Switzerland, and your name and date of birth. A copy of relevant pages from your passport can be used. You must also enclose an EU examination certificate or other qualifications and also a declaration showing that you are entitled to work as a pharmacist (also known as a “certificate of good standing”). This declaration must be no more than six months old. Submit original documents or copies on which their authenticity is confirmed.

Pharmacists from other countries

For pharmacists from other countries, the following applies:

  • To work in Denmark, you must have a residence and work permit. Contact the Danish Immigration Service for further information
  • You are required to have adequate Danish language skills and to have training which is on a par with Danish pharmacist training. The Danish Medicines Agency also requires you to undergo a placement with a pharmacy of at least six months’ duration within five years (resulting in a positive evaluation) and to pass tests in pharmaceutical dispatch and communication
  • You must send your application to the Foreign Training Assessment Centre (CVUU). CVUU sends your application on to the Danish Medicines Agency. You must enclose the following documentation with your application:
  1. Documentation of citizenship, your name and date of birth – a copy of relevant pages from your passport can be used
  2. Proof of pharmacist training
  3. Detailed educational and examination certificates from a university
  4. Your Curriculum Vitae
  5. Any documentation of professional experience
  6. A declaration that you are entitled to work as a pharmacist (also known as a “certificate of good standing”). This declaration must be no more than six months old. Submit original documents or copies on which their authenticity is confirmed and an official translation of all documents into Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or English.