European Mobility Directive

(Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive)
The purpose of the Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC

General Information
UK Registered Engineers Information
Incoming European Union Engineers Information

The EU has made provisions for the recognition of professional qualifications (a combination of academic qualifications and professional training and experience) to enable movement of workforce between Member States. The basic principle behind the Directive is: if you are qualified to practice a profession in your home country then you are qualified to practice the same profession in any other EU/EEA country.

Requirements are placed on both the individual seeking to work in another Member State and on the host State's responsible for processing the individual applications. Engineers and technicians seeking to utilise the Directive to work in another /EUEEA State may be required to undertake further training if the host State identifies a significant (but attainable) difference between your training and that required by the host State.

What does recognition under these Directives mean?

You are entitled to work and be recognised as a professional engineer or technician in another EEA Member State under the Directive if your professional qualifications (education and professional experience) provide you with recognition in your home EEA Member State . For UK engineers this means being either a registered Chartered Engineer (CEng), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Engineering Technician (EngTech).

The host country (the one in which you are seeking to be established in order to work) has four months in which to reply to your application. If your application is refused you must be given detailed reasons why, and are entitled to appeal against this decision. Failure of the host country to respond within four months is considered an implicit refusal

You may be required to undergo an aptitude test or adaptation period if there are substantial differences between your training and that required by the host country. The choice of aptitude test or adaptation period is given to the migrant.

Once your qualifications have been recognised you are entitled to work in the host country under the same conditions as persons with the qualifications of the host country. You have the same rights and obligations as nationals of the host country.

The directive also covers the procedures required to gain sufficient professional recognition to work temporarily, for example as a consultant, in EU/EEA countries other than your original country.

If a UK engineer or technician encounters difficulties in being recognised then EC UK may be able to help and its advice should be sought (email international@engc.org.uk ). Help can also be obtained through the SOLVIT system, a Europe wide mediation service aimed at reconciling difficulties between citizens and national organisations.

UK Registered Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians

Engineering in the UK is a regulated profession by virtue of the definition in Article 3 paragraph 2. This describes a profession as being regulated where there is an organisation recognised in a special form by member states, which awards formal qualifications to its members, monitors their code of conduct and confers the right to use titles.

The Engineering Council UK fulfills the above requirements and is listed in Annex 1 of the Directive. This means that all Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians have the protection of the Directive. Directive 2005/36 applies to all levels of qualifications and under it Chartered Engineers are at Level E, Incorporated Engineers at Level D and Engineering Technicians at Level C.

In a number of EU/EEA countries migrating UK engineers and technicians will find there is no restriction on working. But in some countries engineering occupations will be restricted to nationally registered professionals and in others holding national registration, although not mandatory, will be advantageous. To obtain this national registration the UK professional has to apply to the competent authority for engineering in that country. The assumption is that the relevant national registration will be granted to Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians without further assessment or further training.

If the UK engineer or technician is only migrating for a short period in order to provide engineering services, for example consultancy, then in countries where a national registration is required in order to carry out that work the directive allows for a special process to grant temporary recognition.

Incoming EU/EAA Engineers
The engineering profession in the United Kingdom is regulated by the ECUK through engineering Institutions who are licensed to put suitably qualified members on the Register. The Register has three sections: Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician. These titles are protected by the ECUK's Royal Charter and may only be used by Registrants.

In general there is no restriction on the right to practice as an engineer in the UK . However there are a small number of areas of work, generally safety related, which are reserved by Statute to licensed or otherwise approved persons. These areas of work include:

• Reservoir Design and Inspection
• Ships Officers
• Quarry Management
• Aircraft Maintenance
• Gas Fitting
• Railway Signalling
• Vehicle Maintenance
• Pressure Vessel Design

Registration, which is renewable annually on payment of a fee and provided that there has been no violation of codes of professional conduct, is recognised as desirable in many fields of engineering employment and provision of engineering services but is not mandatory. To register with ECUK, you must also be a member one of ECUK's licensed engineering institutions. Registration will enable a suitably qualified member of an institution to gain the protected title which is appropriate to the nature of engineering work undertaken by the individual.

Under the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive someone who is recognised as an engineer or a technician in another EU/EEA country may apply to the relevant UK engineering institution for membership and registration with EC UK . The Institution to which you apply will offer you an application processing route which complies with the Directive and will provide the information which you need to make the application.

The Directive does not guarantee automatic recognition (although this is usually the case), as there may be significant differences between the qualifications and experience of the applicant and those required for recognition by the Institution. In the event of this, you will be requested to complete either a period of adaptation or an aptitude test. You will be asked to choose which you wish to undertake. You may appeal against this decision and there are conciliation services available.

Note that if you are only coming into the UK on a temporary basis to provide services, for example consultancy, then there is no requirement for engineers or engineering technicians to obtain temporary registration and this facility is not available from EC UK .

21 Aug 2008

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