EU Pharmacists: Registering as a pharmacist in Ireland

To practice as a pharmacist in Ireland, all community pharmacists must be registered with the Pharmaceutical Society Ireland (PSI). 

There are different routes of registration, depending on where you obtained your Pharmacy Diploma. If you are a pharmacist graduated in the EU / EEA area, you can apply automatic recognition of your professional qualification in accordance with the European directives.

On the European route of registration, there are two different options:

• Qualification Recognition and Registration directly with PSI
• Qualification Recognition through the European Professional Card System

Regardless of which path you choose, you will need to prove your proficiency in the English language. Unless you qualify as a pharmacist in a country that has English as its official language or have lived and worked full time as a registered pharmacist for three of the previous five years in a country that has English.

At the moment, there are four English certificates accepted by the PSI:

• IELTS (Academic)
• OET (Pharmacy)
• TOEFL (Internet based test iBT)
• CAE (C1 exam)

Any of the English exams mentioned above must have been taken no more than two years prior to the date of submission of your application with PSI and all exam components (writing, speaking, listening and writing) must meet or exceed the minimum scores required by PSI.

Learn everything you need to know about the language requirements on the PSI website here. 

Qualification Recognition and Registration directly with PSI

Through this route, in addition to the application form, you will need to provide copies of the following documents:

• Birth certificate
• Passport or ID card
• Qualification certificate awarded to you by the University
• Registration certificate (if applicable)
• Language competence certificate

There are specific dates for registration with PSI throughout the year, so before starting the registration process, please pay attention to the registration dates to make sure that all of your documentation will arrive on time and check the registration fees. 

At the final stage of the registration process, the PSI will invite you to a face-to-face meeting in Ireland.  

Qualification Recognition through the European Professional Card System

The European professional card (EPC) is an electronic procedure that EU professionals can use to obtain recognition of their professional qualifications in another EU country. Since the Pharmacist profession is a regulated profession, you can apply for recognition using the EPC.

Through this process, your home state facilitates the verification of your information with the PSI that will decide to recognise or not your qualifications.

This process serves only for the recognition of qualifications, you will still have to apply for registration with the PSI.

Learn everything you need to know about the EPC here.

Below, you can also find some of the most frequently asked questions by our candidates: 

• What type of experience do I need to work as a pharmacist in Ireland? See video explanation here.
• How does working as a pharmacist in Ireland differ from my country and what are the advantages? See video explanation here.
• Do EU pharmacists need to do an adaptation period? See video explanation here.
• Is there any training I can do to learn more about the Irish pharmacy? You can learn the Basics of Irish Pharmacy with Excellent Pharmacist Academy. See information here.

In addition to this information, you can find other interesting articles on our website in the Jobseekers / Pharmacy tab.

If you have any additional questions or are interested in working as a Pharmacist in Ireland, feel free to contact us at [email protected].