Complementary and alternative medicine practitioner - decision on the recognition of professional qualifications

Citizens of the European Union Member States, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation or countries which have signed a suitable international agreement may perform a profession in the Republic of Slovenia under the same conditions as Slovenian citizens.

Citizens who wish to have a permanent professional position must acquire a decision on the recognition of professional qualifications from the Ministry of Health.

The procedure for the recognition of professional qualification is initiated at the request of the applicant, who files a written application at the Ministry of Health.

In the procedure the Ministry of Health may request that the applicant submit other evidence in addition to the evidence stated below.

Evidence of professional qualifications issued by a third country is considered as evidence of professional qualifications if an applicant has three years of professional experience in the relevant field in the territory of the European Union, Member State, the European Economic Area or Swiss Confederation which have recognised this evidence of professional qualifications.

The evidence, except for the evidence on citizenship, is usually submitted in certified translation, and its original is available on request.

The Ministry of Culture may request an opinion of the competent chamber or other competent authority or organisation which must give an opinion within 14 days, otherwise the competent ministry issues the decision without this opinion. In the procedure, the Ministry of Health compares the written documentation of the applicant's professional qualifications with the professional qualifications required by the regulations of the Republic of Slovenia to perform a profession.

If, based on this comparison, the competent ministry assesses that the applicant's professional qualifications are not appropriate, the authority issues a temporary decision requesting that the applicant carries out one of the additional actions necessary for the recognition of his professional qualifications with regard to the circumstances of the case:

•  a test of professional competence or
• an adjustment period during which they meet the missing conditions for the recognition of their professional qualifications.

The Ministry of Health issues the decision to the applicant on the recognition of his or her professional qualifications for the practice of a profession:

•  if, based on the application, it assesses that the professional qualifications of an applicant correspond to the professional qualifications required by regulations in the Republic of Slovenia;
• when an applicant submits the evidence of successfully performed adjustment period or a professional competence test.