Recognition of foreign higher education qualifications in Spain

If you want to have your academic degrees officially recognised in Spain, you will need to follow some formalities. You can apply for the recognition (homologación, equivalencia or reconocimiento) of your higher education qualifications or degrees as equivalent to those in Spain by addressing to the Ministry of Science., Innovation and Universities (university qualifications).

They will ask you to submit some documents that must be translated into Spanish. Here you can see the main documents required to start the recognition process:
  • Certified copy of the document proving the applicant's identity and nationality
  • Certified copy of the academic certificate/diploma (or the document authorising its issue)
  • Sworn translation into Spanish of the academic certificate/diploma
  • Certified copy of the academic transcript. It should include the duration of the programme in academic years, the courses completed and the credits and marks obtained
  • Sworn translation into Spanish of the academic transcript
  • Proof of payment of the corresponding fee
  • Accreditation of the linguistic competence in Spanish to exercise a regulated profession in Spain

All these documents must be authenticated by the corresponding authorities. If your copies are not certified, you can submit your documents to the following authorities so that they can be certified according to the Spanish legislation:
  • Registry of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities
  • Government delegates and subdelegates' offices
  • Spanish embassies and consulates
  • Notaries' offices 

Legalisation is required for any documents issued by non-EU countries.


How can I apply for this recognition?

Your onlin
e application can be submitted via the website of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Although the description given for this procedure is in English, the application is only available in Spanish.

Processing time
6-12 months