EHOs who qualified outside Scotland

All applications from EHOs who qualified outside Scotland will be assessed on an individual basis. The Institute provides advice for EHOs who qualified:

• in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• in the European Union or in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland
• overseas (other than in the European Union or in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland)

The Institute currently has a reciprocal agreement with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), the organisation which governs the Profession in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Any EHO who holds the CIEH/EHRB Certificate of Registration may automatically and without assessment work in that capacity in Scotland.
Note: The CIEH/EHRB has, in recent months, introduced a range of Certificates of Registration covering generalist level competencies in specific areas of Environmental Health. REHIS has requested clarification on the introduction of these certificates and awaits a response. April 2011.

This Institute currently has a reciprocal agreement with the Republic of Ireland and recognises the Irish Environmental Health Officer qualification. EHOs from countries outside the UK, and this includes the Republic of Ireland, require to have their qualifications assessed by this Institute before they can work as an EHO in Scotland.

The Institute is a UK Competent Authority under Regulation 4 of the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007 for the Profession ‘Environmental Health Officer’ and shares the responsibility for validating non-national professional qualifications in Environmental Health with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. If you wish to have your qualifications assessed with the intention of working in the United Kingdom you will require to submit the following documentation to either Institute to allow an evaluation of your qualification to be undertaken.

• a copy of your birth certificate
• a copy of any degree (or equivalent) certificate from the relevant educational institute along with full details of the syllabus of the course of education and training which you undertook. You should include full details of the subjects taken in each year, the subject content and the number of hours allocated to each subject.
• a copy of any professional qualification certificate and/or any documentation which indicates that your qualification entitles you to practise as an Environmental Health Officer in the country where you qualified. Please also include details of the type of training practise undertaken e.g. shadow or pro-active participatory training and if training was supervised, if training was structured or un-structured, if any assessment of professional competence was formal or informal, and include an indication of the duration of the training practice
• details of which organisation, if any, provided and supervised any training practice
• evidence of post-qualification professional experience
• documentation which provides evidence of your nationality/citizenship.

If your documentation is in a language other than English, you must supply photocopies of this documentation in the original language and certified English translations (prepared and certified by an accredited translator). This does not apply to your passport. The Association of Translation Companies (ATC) www.atc.org.uk/ can advise you about translation companies.

Please note that all submitted documentation must be notarised as true copies of the originals.

The Institute reserves the right to charge an assessment fee for any application.

Once the Institute is in possession of all the necessary documentation to assess your application you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and your application will be assessed. The outcome of your assessment will be notified to you in writing with the minimum delay and will be one of the following:

• approval without further study and examination or a period of prescribed adaptation
• approval subject to further study and examination
• approval subject to following a period of prescribed adaptation
• outright refusal.

If you receive conditional approval or outright refusal you will be informed in writing if you have a right of appeal. Any appeal must be submitted in writing within 21 days and the grounds for your appeal must be specified.

For further advice please contact the Institute’s office.