Apply for Recognition of International Qualifications

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please do not post any documentation to the office. Please email all documentation to recognition@coru.ie.

Only professional qualifications awarded within the State can be accredited by CORU for access to CORU regulated professions. Professional qualifications awarded outside the State are assessed through a process of ‘recognition’ which involves comparison of the qualification with the standard of proficiency required of accredited Irish qualifications. Deficiencies, where identified, may be addressed through lifelong learning, professional experience, the application of ‘compensation measures’ or a combination of the above. The assessment is undertaken by the Competent Authority which is a role established in EU and Irish law for this purpose.

The Registration Board of the relevant profession will act as a “Competent Authority in Ireland” and will validate professional qualifications obtained in a country other than in the Republic of Ireland.

Please be aware that the recognition process can take some time. Once your file is complete (i.e. all required information has been provided), the process can take up to four months to complete. While we endeavour to process applications as quickly as possible, the assessment process is important and requires time to ensure all opportunities to demonstrate that you meet the standard are provided.

The outcome of an application is not guaranteed so you are strongly advised not to make travel or other arrangements (e.g. start a job) which depend upon your qualification being recognised by a Registration Board at CORU. If your qualification is recognised you must then apply for registration which will be a separate process.

Currently qualifications are being recognised for the following professions (select your profession below to apply for recognition):

Dietitians
Dispensing Opticians (General Division)
Dispensing Opticians (Contact Lenses Division)
Medical Scientists
Occupational Therapists
Optometrists
Physiotherapists
Podiatrists/Chiropodists
Radiographers and Radiation Therapists
Social Care Workers
Social Workers
Speech and Language Therapists

CORU will in time be the Competent Authority for the following professions designated for regulation under our legislation:

Clinical Biochemists
Orthoptists
Psychologists
Counsellors and Psychotherapists

The contact details for the Competent Authorities for these professions can be found here. Please keep up-to-date on our website for future updates on these professions.

If you have any further queries please contact recognition@coru.ie.

Application steps

Step 1

Read the general guidance notes and information on processing timelines.

(Please Note: If you are a Speech and Language Therapist you must also read the additional Speech and Language Therapist Guidance Notes.)

Step 2

Read the standards of proficiency and placement criteria for your profession as listed below.

Step 3

Applicants seeking recognition as a

Dietitian
Dispensing Optician
Medical Scientist
Occupational Therapist
Optometrist
Physiotherapist
Podiatrist/Chiropodist
Radiation Therapist
Radiographer
Social Care Worker
Social Worker
Speech and Language Therapist

are invited to apply via the CORU online recognition system, but may use the Recognition Application Form if preferred. Only note that only one method of application is to be used.

Please note applications via the Recognition Application Form will only be accepted up to and including the 31st January 2022 where we will only accept online applications after this date.

If you have an existing account, you can login to your account here.

All applicants are advised to read the guidance document before starting the online application process.

(Please Note: The application form/guidance notes contain further instructions as to these supporting documents.)

Note: Certain Physiotherapists can apply using the European Professional Card (EPC) route.

Step 4

Please Note: If you are applying for recognition of your international qualification please pay at the end of the application process using the link at section 10: https://recognition.coru.ie

A receipt will issue to you by email. Please retain your receipt and include a copy with your application.

Please Note: You will be redirected to the payment site and your application cannot be processed without fee payment.

If you apply via the online recognition system, you can pay the fee using the online portal.

Please Note: Payments via this page can only be carried out using payment methods which support the Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) standard.

This involves the use of two authentication factors for bank operations. Please ensure that the card used for this transaction is enabled for SCA with your bank before processing your payment with CORU.

Please pay the fee online only for the following

Recognition Aptitude Test €500
Registration (Recognition) Appeal - €250

Standards of Proficiency

Applications for recognition are measured against the standards of proficiency for the profession, the standards required of graduates from an Irish approved program for entry to the Register. The standards of proficiency are listed below:

If your profession is not listed here please see our page with information about other Competent Authorities.

If you have any further queries please contact us at recognition@coru.ie.

Further Information

You can find further information below:

Background information on the basis for these processes involved

European Commission information on free movement of professionals:

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/services/free-movement-professionals_en

If you encounter difficulties with the process set out here

SOLVIT:

http://solvitireland.ie/

Irish Point of Single Contact:

http://www.pointofsinglecontact.ie/

Ombudsman:

https://www.ombudsman.ie/