The European Commission published a Notice
on 21 June 2018 in relation to the withdrawal of
the United Kingdom and the EU rules in relation
to the recognition of professional qualifications.
The Commission has advised that, subject to any
transitional arrangement that may be contained in
a possible withdrawal agreement with the UK, the
EU rules in relation to recognition of professional
qualifications will no longer apply to the UK.
This has the following consequences:
From 30 March 2019, (‘the withdrawal date’), the
UK will become a ‘third country’ and UK nationals will
be ‘third country’ nationals. Unless another date is
agreed with the UK, EU rules regarding recognition
of professional qualifications will no longer apply to
the UK as of the withdrawal date.
Decisions on the recognition of professional
qualifications obtained in the UK taken before
the withdrawal date will not be affected by Brexit,
meaning a pharmacist who qualified in the UK and is
now registered in Ireland remains registered.
As of the Withdrawal Date:
n The recognition of professional qualifications of
UK nationals in an EU-27 Member State will be
governed by the national policies and rules of
that Member State.
For EU nationals, qualifications obtained in
the UK as of the withdrawal date are third
country qualifications for the purpose of
EU law. Recognition will be governed by the
national policies and rules of each of the
EU-27 Member States.
Official EU Advice:
EU-27 nationals holding UK professional qualifications
obtained before the withdrawal date should consult
the relevant national authorities to assess whether it
is advisable to obtain, before the withdrawal date, the
recognition of those UK professional qualifications in
an EU-27 Member State.
In view of the uncertainties and, in particular, the
content of a possible withdrawal agreement, the
Irish Pharmacy Union, as the representative body
for community pharmacists in Ireland, urges Irish
pharmacists and pharmacy students in the UK, and
all UK pharmacists who may wish to work in Ireland
in the future, to take immediate steps to ensure
that their qualification is recognised post-Brexit
by registering with the Pharmaceutical Society of
Ireland (www.thepsi.ie) before the withdrawal date.