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 that having registered Chartered
Engineer (CEng), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Engineering
Technician (EngTech) status provides you with the protection of the
Directive.
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 fulfills
these requirements and is listed in Annex 1 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.
Applying to work outside the UK
The host country (the one in which you are seeking to be
permanently 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. If a UK engineer or technician
encounters difficulties in being recognised then the Engineering
Council will provide advice (contact us at: 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.
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.