BACKGROUND: Physicians immigrating to Finland from countries outside the EU/EEA must pass a language test and three medical licensure examinations (MLE) in Finnish. Failing rates are high and remarkably variable.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: MLE examination papers were analyzed with linguistic criteria: writing skills and word frequency. Results of the linguistic analyses were compared with the MLE scores.

RESULTS: Better results in writing skills analysis correlate with higher scores in MLE. Also a higher portion of rare words correlates with higher scores in MLE.

CONCLUSIONS: The mandatory language test does not serve as a valid measurement tool for immigrant physicians.