Recognition of higher education qualification (with study field comparison)
GENERAL INFORMATION ON AN EXTERNAL SERVICE (SERVICE NOT PROVIDED BY CRD)
The information on this page relates to persons (citizens and foreigners) who wish to have a foreign higher education credential (e.g. diploma, degree) recognised for further study or other purposes other than the pursuit of regulated professions, and who also require recognition of the equivalence of the field of study. The result is a decision on the recognition of the educational document as equivalent to a first, second or third degree in a specific field of study in the Slovak Republic.
If the applicant is interested in the recognition of a document of education in a specific field of study, the following shall decide on the recognition of a document of higher education issued by a recognised higher education institution in another Member State or in a third State for the purpose of continuing studies and other purposes, except for the exercise of regulated professions:
- a recognised higher education institution in the Slovak Republic, which carries out study programmes in the same fields of study or in related fields of study as those indicated on the document of education, or
- the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic, if the educational document is issued by a military university, or
- the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, if it is a document of education issued by a police college.
You can search for a university that runs accredited study programmes in the same fields of study at the Higher Education Portal.
Application submission
The procedure for recognition of a higher education document starts from the date of receipt of the application by the university or the relevant ministry.
The application shall contain the name and surname of the applicant, the address of the applicant's permanent residence or similar residence, the subject of the application, the name and address of the recognised higher education institution that issued the degree, the year of the applicant's graduation, and the applicant's signature.
The application shall be accompanied in particular by
- a copy of the identity document,
- certified copies of the educational qualifications,
- a transcript of courses taken and examinations passed,
- a certified copy of the addendum to the university diploma, if issued by the recognised university,
- information on previous education prior to the education applied for,
- proof of payment of the administrative fee (if the application is submitted electronically via the Central Portal of Public Administration, the payment order for the administrative fee will be generated automatically).
The applicant is required to submit a certified translation of the documents into the state language.
In addition to the above documents, the applicant may be required to submit other documents and information if necessary to assess the equivalence of the educational document.
Administrative fee
- EUR 7 if the educational document is covered by a bilateral agreement on mutual recognition of the equivalence of educational documents with the country in which the document was acquired (service code in the eKolok web and mobile application: 1723)
- EUR 40 if the educational document is not covered by any bilateral agreement (service code in the eKolok web and mobile app: 2218)
Options for payment of the administrative fee:
- eKolok with QR code, which can be purchased in the required amount at the branches of the Slovak Post, a.s., by means of a receipt for the payment of the administrative/court fee (eKolok with QR code)
- via the eKolok mobile application, which is available under the name eKolok on GooglePlay / App Store
- via the eKolok web application, also called Virtual Kiosk, which is available on the website https://m.ekolky.gov.sk
Deadlines
The university or the relevant ministry shall assess the application within 30 days of receipt of the application. If the application does not comply with the prescribed requirements, it shall suspend the procedure and invite the applicant to complete the missing documents or to remedy the deficiencies in the application within 30 days of receipt of the invitation.
The university or the competent ministry shall decide on the recognition of the educational document within two months of receipt of the complete application. The university or the competent ministry shall decide on
- the recognition of the evidence of education
- rejecting the application for recognition of the diploma; or
- the imposition of a compensatory examination