Official recognition and validation of degrees

Official recognition

Official recognition provides full equality for academic purposes between a foreign degree and a Spanish degree. Before a university degree can be officially recognised throughout Spain it must go through a process of legal validation.

In Spain, the Ministry of Education is responsible for awarding or refusing official recognition to foreign higher education qualifications or for validating non-university studies completed abroad.

The academic and scientific curriculum of the applicant must be presented along with the programmes of the subjects studied or the academic document accrediting that the student has passed the courses of study that are a prerequisite obtaining the degree that is to be officially recognised.

The Ministry of Education lodges the report with the Academic Committee of the Spanish University Coordination Council. The resolution granting official recognition to foreign higher education qualifications is made official by the accreditation issued by the Ministry of Education on payment of the relevant fee.

A fee is required for the official recognition and validation of foreign qualifications and courses of study in line with Article 28 of Law 53/2002 of 30 December concerning fiscal, administrative and social measures (Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) of 31 December 2002).

The fee is paid for beginning an official recognition or validation process and must be paid for the process to be undertaken. If the fee is not paid, the application will be rejected. In some cases, the student must pass certain additional exams for full official recognition.

The documents presented must be legalised and the procedure will be different according to the country in which the qualification was awarded. These documents must be presented in Spanish and an official translator must be found to provide the translation into Spanish.

Validation

The validation of non-university studies entails the declaration of the equivalence of these courses of study with the corresponding Spanish courses in order toenable the course of studies to be continued within a Spanish teaching centre.

In line with Royal Decree 1388/2008 of 1 August concerning the extension of functions and services transferred to the Government of Catalonia by Royal Decree 2809/1980 of 3 October concerning education: official recognition and validation of foreign non-university qualifications and studies, Article 1 states that authority in matters of official recognition and validation of foreign non-university qualifications and studies is transferred to the Government of Catalonia. This new authority will become the responsibility of the CatalanMinistry of Education from 01-01-2009.

However, if the student has had their qualification validated or officiallyrecognised by the Spanish Ministry of Education, this is equally valid.

Non-university studies carried out abroad can therefore be validated by the Catalan Ministry of Education, the Spanish Ministry of Education or the SpanishConsulate or Embassy in the country of origin.

The partial validation of foreign university studies for Spanish university studies is the responsibility of the Spanish university at which the student would like to continue their studies, in line with the criteria laid down bythe University Coordination Council of the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Where the relevant documentation must be presented:

Delegation of the Spanish Government in Catalonia Education Inspectorate

Catalan Ministry of Education Spanish Consulates and Embassies abroad

Agreements on the legalisation of documents by country:

• No legalisation is required for countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area:
  Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Switzerland is also included due to its bilateral agreement with the EU.

• For signatories to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, all that is required is the single or apostille legalisation of the document given by the competent authorities in the country: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Colombia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Granada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Macao, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, New Zealand, Niue, Panama, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Montenegro, Seychelles, Slovenia, South Africa, Suriname, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, USA. Extensions: Netherlands (Netherlands Antilles, Aruba); UK (Anguilla, Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands).

• Documents issued in countries that have signed the Andrés Bello Convention (Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain and Venezuela): according to Article 2, Para. 6, of Resolution 006/98, passed by the 19th Meeting of Ministers of Education of the Andrés Bello Convention, these documents must be legalised through diplomatic channels. When the country is also a signatory to the Hague Convention, the procedure established therein, which is simpler, may be used.

• Other countries: countries that are not included in any of the sections above must have documents legalised through diplomatic channels, going to the different authorities:
  - Ministry of Education of the country of origin for degrees and certificates of studies and to the corresponding ministry for birth certificates and certificates of nationality.
  - Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country in which the documents are to be issued.
  Spanish diplomatic representation or consulate in that country.
  Documents issued by diplomatic or consular authorities of other countries in Spain must be legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
  

Requirements for documents

• Documents must be official and have been issued by the competent authority in line with legal regulations in the country in question.

• They must be submitted legalised through diplomatic channels if required by theHague apostille. This is not necessary for documents issued by authorities inthe European Union or the European Economic Area.

• They must be accompanied by the corresponding translation into Spanish.

• The provision of certified copies is required under the provisions of Art. 8of Royal Decree 722/1999 of 7 May governing the presentation of applications,documents and communications to the Government.

Translation of documents

The official translation can be provided:

• By a sworn translator who is duly authorised or registered in Spain.

• By any Spanish diplomatic or consular representation abroad, provided that theyhave a sworn Spanish translator-interpreter.

• By the diplomatic or consular representation in Spain of the country of whichthe applicant is a citizen or, as applicable, of the country of origin of thedocuments, provided that they have a translation service with authorised, qualifiedstaff.

Last update: 09/11/2006 Reviewed: 09/11/2006

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