The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) have stated that it is a legal requirement to register with the council before engaging in any type of veterinary work in Ireland.
Anyone found to be practising while un-registered will be guilty on an offence of the Veterinary Practice Act 2005 and face prosecution.
Qualifications
In order to qualify as a registered veterinary practitioner, you must initially apply by creating and logging in to an online registration account. The VCI website offers a list, by country, of the qualifications that are automatically registrable in Ireland as well as additional documentation that is required.
Unless you have graduated from a veterinary medicine qualification in Ireland, the following documentation will need to accompany the application:
- Academic qualification;
- Transcript;
- ID page of passport.
As well as this, you will need to arrange that the competent regulatory authority that you are currently registered with issues the registrar of the veterinary council with a letter of good professional standing on your behalf.
A pre-registration declaration is required in respect of a language assessment process, which applies to applicants who did not study veterinary medicine in Ireland or the United Kingdom.
Registration meeting
The completed application will then be reviewed by a member of the veterinary council and the applicant is required to attend a registration meeting in person. This does not apply to those who studied in Ireland and will attend a graduation ceremony at their university.
The registration fees vary, dependant on the time of registration. The full list of fees can be found here.
