Professional Qualifications Directive, vehicle roadworthiness test inspector

Variants of the professional role

If you want to work as a roadworthiness test inspector in Sweden you have to be certified. A certified vehicle roadworthiness test inspector is employed by an accredited inspection agency to perform inspections on vehicles. Certification may take place for one or more authorization classes according to the Swedish Transport Agency's regulations (TSFS 2017:53) and general advice on requirements for training and competence for inspection technicians as well as police officers and car inspectors. The eligibility classes also refer to different forms of control (control, registration and suitability inspection) and different vehicles, for example light vehicles, heavy vehicles or motorcycles.

What applies to you who want to come to Sweden to work as an inspection technician?

It is possible for you who work as an vehicle roadworthiness test inspector in an EEA country or in Switzerland to temporarily or permanently come to Sweden and take a job as an inspector.

Tillväxtverket is the designated authority as an entry point for those who come to Sweden to practice their profession permanently. More information can be found via www.verksamt.se, under "Your industry", ”Do you need a permit?”, ”Find permits”, "Categories of industries or businesses" and then ”Inspection and certification”.

What applies to you who temporarily want to come to Sweden to work as an inspector?

In order to temporarily practice the profession of inspector in Sweden, different conditions apply (depending on whether the profession is regulated or not in your country of establishment).

If the inspector profession is regulated in the country (within the EEA or in Switzerland) where you work, or have been professionally active, as an inspector, you must be legally established in that country (meet all the requirements to practice the profession). You must also have continuously practiced the profession for at least one year in an EEA country or in Switzerland during the last ten years.

If the inspector profession is not regulated in the country (within the EEA or in Switzerland) where you work as an inspector, you must have worked as an inspector for at least one year in an EEA country or in Switzerland during the last ten years. Exceptions from professional experience apply if the training for inspectors is regulated in the country where you are established.

There is still no assessment of how long "temporary professional practice" is. This question must be decided by the practice of the courts.

The application is sent to an accredited inspection body which examines the above. The accredited inspection body ensures that other conditions relating to their own accreditation can be met. This means that they can request additional information to process the application.

What applies to you who want to permanently come to Sweden to work as an inspector?

To work as an inspector in Sweden, you must be certified. Submit an application to the Swedish Transport Agency to have your professional qualifications validated at the same time that the prerequisites for passing a certification will be assessed. After your professional qualifications have been assessed, they can either be recognized directly or conditional on compensatory measures (tailored supplementary training). Once the professional qualifications have been recognised, or that you have carried out the decided compensation measure, the requirements for gaining access to the inspector profession are tested.

That test consists of a certification that includes both practical and theoretical tests. The certification is carried out according to the requirements of TSFS 2017:53, for the authorizations and vehicles referred to. The certification is valid for four years at a time. An inspector must then annually notify the responsible certification body about his professional activities and about completed continuing education, with the aim of maintaining the certificate and developing.

What applies to you who want to temporarily employ a person with professional qualifications from another EEA country or from Switzerland?

Accredited inspection bodies have the option of temporarily hiring inspectors from another EEA country or Switzerland. If you temporarily employ an inspector, you are responsible for ensuring that the inspector meets the requirements of Section 6 of the Act (2016:145) on the recognition of professional qualifications.

This means that you must ensure the following:

If the inspector profession is regulated in the country (within EEA countries or in Switzerland) where the temporary inspector works, he or she must be legally established in that country, i.e. meet all the requirements to practice the profession and continuously practice the profession.

If the inspector profession is not regulated in the country (within the EEA or in Switzerland) where the temporary inspector works, he or she must have worked as an inspector for at least one year in another EEA country or in Switzerland during the last ten years. Exceptions to professional experience apply in cases where the training for inspectors is regulated in the country where the temporary inspector is established.

The temporary inspector is also covered by the other requirements placed on the accredited inspection body and is also covered by the supervisory activities.

You should also note that according to ch. 2 Section 1 of the regulation (2016:157) on the recognition of professional qualifications, the temporary practitioner must practice the profession under the professional title of the state of establishment and then in an official language of the state of establishment. The intention is to avoid confusion with the Swedish professional title.

Processing time

In the case of applications for recognition of professional qualifications, the Swedish Transport Agency must make a decision within three months of the receipt of a complete application. However, the processing time may be extended by one month, if there are special reasons.
If a decision could not be made within the above-mentioned time limits, the applicant has the option of filing a delay action at a general administrative court, in this case the Administrative Court in Falun. The action for delay means that the applicant can request that the administrative court orders the authority handling the case to make a decision on the case as soon as possible.