How to recognise my qualifications as a refugee?

Which steps you need to take to have your qualifications recognised will depend on:

• what you need the recognition for; and
• which country you would like to study or work in.

Where to begin?

Depending on the country, it will be the education institution (i.e. university), the ministry responsible for education or the ENIC-NARIC national information centre that will be responsible for the evaluation of your qualification. 

It is important to be aware that it can be challenging to assess qualifications held by refugees or people in a refugee-like situation and that some countries do not have a procedure in place yet for this kind of assessment. In addition, recognition policies can vary by country depending on your legal status.

Do you want to study?

You should contact the ENIC-NARIC Centre for information about admissions and recognition procedures in the relevant country. 

If you have already identified the education institution that you would like to seek admission to, contact the admission office at the institution to ask about admission requirements. The institution might refer you back to the national ENIC-NARIC Centre in case it is not familiar with your qualifications.

Do you want to work?

In those countries that offer recognition of qualifications held by refugees, you can apply for recognition with the competent authority. You will be asked to provide a number of documents and possibly to have some of them translated. 

If you are unable to provide documentation, you should be prepared to provide information about your qualifications using alternative methods. 

Recognising qualifications held by refugees can be demanding for the applicant and the organization responsible for the evaluation process. It is therefore important to understand that this procedure will be different from the standard recognition procedure in the country.

Before the evaluation, you may be told:

• how much the evaluation will cost (if there is a fee for the service)
• how long the assessment of your qualifications will take (several weeks to several months depending on the complexity of your file);
• what type of document you will obtain as a result of the evaluation (for example a full equivalency or a comparative report); and
• how to appeal the decision if you are not satisfied with the evaluation.

What to avoid?

Do not send any documentation (by email, regular mail, or fax) until and unless you have been asked to do so by the agent evaluating your qualifications. The documents required may not be the ones you think, or the service you are sending them to may not be responsible for the evaluation. You will be saving time and money and avoid the possible loss of confidential documents.

Do not provide original documents. In most cases, duly certified copies should be sufficient. In case of doubt, you may be required to show the original documents but do not send them by mail unless instructed to do so.

Do not have any document translated until you have been told that such a translation is needed and how to proceed with this. In this way, you will avoid unnecessary expenses.

Where do I find more information?

If you have a question about the recognition of your qualifications in one of the ENIC-NARIC countries listed in the right column, please click on the name of the country and contact the national information centre of that country for expert assistance.

You can also find information on policies and procedures for the recognition of qualifications on each ENIC-NARIC country page.

For more detailed information on academic recognition procedures in countries outside Europe, please visit the Recognition Conventions section and contact directly the national authority of the country of interest.