The sheet to print
Getting your diploma recognised: the sheet to keep
Six reflexes, from the first sort to the statement of comparability. Each carries the text that founds it.
File EU 2005/36
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Law as verified onJuly 29, 2026
- 01
Start with the sort: regulated or not, and in the host country
A profession is regulated when a specific degree, state exams or registration with a professional body condition its pursuit, and the list differs from country to country. The official regulated professions database answers for each country.
Section “What is a regulated profession” · Regulated professions: the definition, and how it differs by country · europa.eu - 02
Aim for the written outcome: practising under the same conditions as nationals
Recognition by the host Member State allows you to gain access to the same profession as the one you are qualified for at home, and to pursue it under the same conditions as nationals. That is the result the procedure owes you.
Article 4(1) · Directive 2005/36/EC (recognition of professional qualifications), Article 4 (Effects of recognition), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 03
Sectoral profession: lean on automatic recognition
Doctor, nurse responsible for general care, dental practitioner, veterinary surgeon, pharmacist, architect: compliant qualifications receive the same effect as national ones. Submit the proof of your qualifications and wait for permission before starting.
Article 21(1) · Directive 2005/36/EC, Article 21 (Principle of automatic recognition), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 04
Follow up with the written deadlines, not with counter weather
Acknowledgement of receipt within one month once the documents arrive, a decision within three months of receiving the certification papers. Those deadlines belong in a written follow-up, submission date attached.
Section “What is a regulated profession”, guided path · Regulated professions: the deadlines of the procedure · europa.eu - 05
Not regulated: set up shop, ask for nobody's leave
No permission, no administrative procedure: a non-regulated profession is practised under the same conditions as the nationals of the country. Just check that it is not attached, over there, to another regulated profession.
Section “What is a regulated profession”, guided path · Regulated professions: when the profession is not regulated · europa.eu - 06
For studying: check early, and prepare the statement of comparability
The statement of comparability is requested from the ENIC/NARIC centre of the country concerned, which either evaluates it itself or transfers it to the competent authority. Check in advance how much the service costs if there is a fee, how long the assessment takes, and what you can do if you disagree with it. There is no automatic recognition alongside it: the dedicated section of the official page says so in one sentence.
Section “Get your degree ‘compared’” · Recognition of academic diplomas: the statement of comparability and its checks · europa.eu
General information on the European baseline, not legal advice on your case. Independent educational site, unconnected to the institutions of the European Union. The redress links in this file point only to official bodies.
Sources checked on July 29, 2026. · https://depleindroit.odersa.org/en/fiches/faire-reconnaitre-son-diplome · Content licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What the law owes you
Every right with its amount or its deadline, the extract of the official text it rests on, and its address.
Two regimes never to be confused: working and studying
The recognition of professional qualifications serves to work in another country of the Union; it does not apply to the steps for going there to study. The same word “diploma” covers two procedures, two counters and two calendars.
The official text · Section “Professional qualifications”, warning
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/professional-qualifications/index_en.htm“This section is about getting your professional qualifications recognised to work in another EU country. It doesn't apply if you want to study in another EU country.”
Once recognised, you practise under the same conditions as nationals
The recognition of professional qualifications by the host Member State allows you to gain access to the same profession as the one you are qualified for in the home Member State, and to pursue it there under the same conditions as its nationals.
The official text · Article 4(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02005L0036-20251029“1. The recognition of professional qualifications by the host Member State shall allow beneficiaries to gain access in that Member State to the same profession as that for which they are qualified in the home Member State and to pursue it in the host Member State under the same conditions as its nationals.”
Automatic recognition for the sectoral professions
Doctor, nurse responsible for general care, dental practitioner, veterinary surgeon, pharmacist, architect, and the midwife in a neighbouring paragraph: for those qualifications meeting the minimum training conditions, each Member State gives them the same effect as the qualifications it itself issues. The proof gets filed, the permission gets waited for.
The official text · Article 21(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02005L0036-20251029“Each Member State shall recognise evidence of formal qualifications as doctor giving access to the professional activities of doctor with basic training and specialised doctor, as nurse responsible for general care, as dental practitioner, as specialised dental practitioner, as veterinary surgeon, as pharmacist and as architect, […] and shall, for the purposes of access to and pursuit of the professional activities, give such evidence the same effect on its territory as the evidence of formal qualifications which it itself issues.”
Written deadlines: receipt acknowledged within one month, a decision within three months
Once the documents arrive, the competent authorities have to acknowledge receipt within one month, may ask for additional documents, and have to take a decision within three months of receiving the certification papers.
The official text · Section “What is a regulated profession”, guided path
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/professional-qualifications/regulated-professions/index_en.htm“Once the relevant national authorities receive your documents, they: have to acknowledge receipt within 1 month may ask you for additional documents have to take a decision within 3 months of receiving your certification papers.”
Non-regulated profession: no permission to request
If your profession is not regulated in the host country, you have no permission to request and no administrative procedure to start, and you practise it under the same conditions as the nationals of that country. Just check that it is not considered part of another regulated profession.
The official text · Section “What is a regulated profession”, guided path
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/professional-qualifications/regulated-professions/index_en.htm“You don't need to request permission or start any administrative procedure. You can practise your profession in your new EU country under the same conditions as the nationals of that country. […] Your profession may not be regulated as such but be considered part of another regulated profession.”
The study diploma: no automatic recognition at European level
There is no automatic EU-wide recognition of academic diplomas: education systems remain the responsibility of the national authorities, which set the rules for recognising foreign qualifications. You check early, country by country.
The official text · Section “No automatic recognition”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/recognition/index_en.htm“There is no automatic EU-wide recognition of academic diplomas. […] Individual governments of EU countries remain responsible for their education systems and are free to apply their own rules, including whether or not to recognise academic qualifications obtained elsewhere.”
The statement of comparability, the tool of the academic side
In most cases, a statement of comparability assesses your degree against the system of the host country, via the ENIC/NARIC centre, which evaluates it or transfers it to the competent authority. To check beforehand: the cost, the duration, the type of document and the means of appeal in case of disagreement.
The official text · Section “Get your degree ‘compared’”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/education/university/recognition/index_en.htm“In most cases, you can obtain a "statement of comparability" of your university degree, stating how it compares to the diplomas delivered in the EU country you are moving to. […] the ENIC/NARIC centre will either evaluate them itself, or transfer them to the competent authority. […] how much the service will cost (if there is a fee) how long the assessment will take – it could be several weeks to several months depending on the country, the purpose, and the complexity of your file […] what you can do if you disagree with the assessment (how to appeal)”
This site is educational and independent: it is not an official site of the European Union, and this verdict is not legal advice on your case. The wordings and deadlines quoted are copied from the official text and the official pages, whose link appears under each right.
File EU 2005/36
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