Why do foreign diplomas have to be recognised? What are the characteristics of the Dutch courses?
The government has an important task in terms of guaranteeing and monitoring the quality of care and patient safety. Diplomas are important in that respect because people can use their diploma to demonstrate that they are sufficiently qualified. If you want to work in the Netherlands on the basis of a foreign professional qualification, that will only be possible if the content and level of your knowledge and skills is equivalent to that in the Netherlands.
All Dutch training institutions and some others within the EU are recognised by the government. Consequently these diplomas are automatically recognised. Many foreign educational institutions are not recognised in the Netherlands. Consequently, we do not know what the level of these foreign courses is. Because the level of these courses is unknown, these foreign diplomas are recognised separately. This involves looking at the content and level of your knowledge and skills. The CIBG performs this task on the Minister's instructions.