Recognition of Primary and Secondary Education
Recognition of Diplomas (Tertiary Education)
Automatic Recognition of Previous Education for Academic Purposes

The Slovak Republic is bound by the Directive 2005/36/EC on recognition of professional qualifications. The Directive divides the recognition of documents on previous education according to the purpose of recognition into:

• recognition of previous education for academic purposes (i.e. recognition of previous education in order to continue in education in the Slovak Republic) or for pursuing a non-regulated profession;
• recognition of previous education for pursuing a regulated profession in the Slovak Republic (e.g. dentist, doctor, primary school teacher, psychologist, auditor, lawyer, carpenter, etc.).

 

The Centre for Recognition of Diplomas (CRD), operating under the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, acts as an assistance centre for the recognition of professional qualifications according to the EU Directive. The Centre is part of the ENIC (European Network of Information Centres) and the NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre) networks. In case of foreign documents attesting completed education, the CRD deals with:

• professional recognition of evidence of formal qualifications and/or professional qualifications obtained abroad for the purpose of the pursuit of selected regulated professions in the SR, 
• academic recognition of the level of higher education from the countries with a mutual bilateral agreement or members of the European higher education area for the purpose of continuation of studies or general purposes in the SR,
• conversion of grades from a foreign elementary or secondary school to Slovak classification scale.

Contact:

Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic
Centre for Recognition of Diplomas
Stromová 1, 813 30 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
E-mail: sudv@minedu.sk
Tel: +421–2–5937–4923, +421–2–5937–4939
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 14:00

More information is available at the website of the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas – www.minedu.sk.

Recognition of Primary and Secondary Education

According to the legislation in force, qualifications obtained outside Slovakia giving access to higher education in Slovakia are recognised by the Department of Education of the respective District Office seated in the respective region of the Slovak Republic. At present, there are more than 4 dozen District Offices seated in 8 regions in Slovakia. Each District Office has the competence to decide on the recognition of education and one must choose the respective District Office according to the place of his/her residence in the Slovak Republic.

Subjects of nostrification (recognition of education) are leaving certificates and diplomas issued by primary or secondary schools outside Slovakia.

The recognition process is initiated after filing the application together with all the required documents.

The application consists of the applicant's full name and surname, permanent residence address or address of similar stay, subject of the application, full name and address of applicant's primary or secondary school which issued the document for nostrification, year of the completion of applicant's education and applicant's signature. If the applicant is underage, the application is filed by his/her legal guardian. Together with the application, the following documents must be submitted:

• copy of an identification document;
• certified copy of the leaving certificate or diploma obtained outside Slovakia;
• transcript of completed courses and exams;
• in case of vocational secondary education, a confirmation issued by the secondary school on the scope of practical education;
• evidence of payment of the administrative fee.

Signatures and seals at the documents issued by primary or secondary schools outside Slovakia must be certified (apostille or superlegalisation) by the competent body of the country, where the documents were issued unless an international agreement states otherwise.

Apart from the aforementioned documents, the applicant may be requested to submit other additional documents or information, provided these are necessary for assessing the content and extent of the education acquired outside Slovakia.

Submitted documents must be translated by a sworn translator into Slovak language (list of sworn translators is available at

https://obcan.justice.sk, section “Prekladatelia" – in Slovak only). Documents submitted in the Czech language do not require translation.

After submitting the application with all the required documents, the respective District Office shall decide within two months to:

• recognise the leaving certificate or diploma;
• refuse to recognise the leaving certificate or diploma;
• award a supplementary examination (the examination is meant to verify the knowledge and skills of the applicant in subjects, or in their parts, which were not studied by the applicant in the school outside Slovakia, and which have a direct relation to the applicant’s profile or the field of study pursued).

Contact:

Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic
Centre for Recognition of Diplomas
Stromová 1, 813 30 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
E-mail: sudv@minedu.sk
Tel: +421–2–5937–4923, +421–2–5937–4939
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 14:00

More information is available at the website of the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas – www.minedu.sk.

Recognition of Diplomas (Tertiary Education)

Due to the character of this publication, we will concentrate on the recognition of previous education only for academic purposes (i.e. recognition of previous education in order to continue in education in the Slovak Republic). In case that you would like to find out more about the recognition of previous education for pursuing a regulated profession in the Slovak Republic, please, consult the website of the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas.

The recognition of previous education for academic purposes is in the competence of:

• higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Slovak Republic – in case that the respective HEI in Slovakia offers the same or similar study programme like the one completed outside Slovakia (at the website portalvs.sk/en/studijne-odbory you can find a list of HEI in Slovakia divided according to the fields of study);
• Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (Centre for Recognition of Diplomas) – in case there is no similar study programme offered by one of the HEIs in Slovakia as the one completed outside Slovakia;
• Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic – in case of higher education completed at a military HEI outside Slovakia;
• Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic – in case of higher education completed at a police force HEI outside Slovakia.

The recognition process is initiated after filing the application together with all the required documents.

The application consists of the applicant's full name and surname, permanent residence address or address of similar stay, subject of the application, full name and address of applicant's HEI which issued the document for nostrification, year of the completion of applicant's education and applicant's signature. Together with the application, the following documents must be submitted:

• copy of an identification document;
• certified copy of the diploma or degree obtained outside Slovakia;
• transcript of completed courses and exams;
• certified copy of the diploma supplement, if issued by the HEI;
• information about the previous achieved level of education (i.e. education achieved prior to the education which is the subject of the application);
• evidence of payment of the administrative fee.

Signatures and seals at the documents issued by secondary schools or HEIs outside Slovakia must be certified (apostille or superlegalisation) by the competent body of the country, where the documents were issued unless an international agreement states otherwise.

Apart from the aforementioned documents, the applicant may be requested to submit other additional documents or information, provided these are necessary for assessing the content and extent of the education acquired outside Slovakia.

Submitted documents must be translated by a sworn translator into Slovak language (list of sworn translators is available at https://obcan.justice.sk, section “Prekladatelia" – in Slovak only). Documents submitted in the Czech language do not require translation.

When applying at the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas, the Centre accepts documents issued in Czech and Latin language without requiring a translation into the Slovak language. In case of documents issued in English, French, German, Hungarian or Russian languages, the Centre accepts translations of the required documents into the Slovak language made by the applicant. In case of doubts related to the translation of the documents, the Centre may require a sworn translation of the documents.

After submitting the application with all the required documents, the respective HEI or ministry shall decide within two months to:

• recognise the diploma or degree;
• refuse to recognise the diploma or degree;
• award a supplementary examination (the examination is meant to verify the knowledge and skills of the applicant in subjects, or in their parts, which were not studied by the applicant in the school outside Slovakia, and which have a direct relation to the applicant’s profile or the field of study pursued).

Contact:

Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic
Centre for Recognition of Diplomas
Stromová 1, 813 30 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
E-mail: sudv@minedu.sk
Tel: +421–2–5937–4923, +421–2–5937–4939
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 14:00

More information is available at the website of the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas – www.minedu.sk.

Automatic Recognition of Previous Education for Academic Purposes

Leaving certificates and diplomas issued by recognised education institutions from countries that have signed a bilateral agreement on mutual recognition of education with the Slovak Republic (China, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine) or HEIs from member states of the European Higher Education Area (Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vatican City) are automatically recognised for academic purposes.

The recognition process is initiated after filing the application together with all the required documents.

The application consists of applicant’s full name and surname, permanent residence address or address of similar stay, subject of application, full name and address of applicant’s primary or secondary school or higher education institution which issued the document for nostrification, year of the completion of applicant’s education and applicant’s signature. If the applicant is underage, the application is filed by his/her legal guardian. Together with the application, the following documents must be submitted:

• copy of an identification document;
• certified copy of the leaving certificate or diploma obtained outside Slovakia;
• evidence of payment of the administrative fee.

Signatures and seals at the documents issued by schools outside Slovakia must be certified (apostille or superlegalisation) by the competent body of the country, where the documents were issued unless an international agreement states otherwise.

Submitted documents must be translated by a sworn translator into Slovak language (list of sworn translators is available at https://obcan.justice.sk, section "Prekladatelia" – in Slovak only). Documents submitted in the Czech language do not require translation.

When applying at the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas, the Centre accepts documents issued in Czech and Latin language without requiring a translation into the Slovak language. In case of documents issued in English, French, German, Hungarian or Russian languages, the Centre accepts translations of the required documents into the Slovak language made by the applicant. In case of doubts related to the translation of the documents, the Centre may require a sworn translation of the documents.

After submitting the application with all the required documents, the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas, the respective HEI or District Office shall make its decision within 15 days. The decision will contain information with which education document is the submitted document equal in Slovakia.

Contact:

Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic
Centre for Recognition of Diplomas
Stromová 1, 813 30 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
E-mail: sudv@minedu.sk
Tel: +421–2–5937–4923, +421–2–5937–4939
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 11:30 and 12:30 to 14:00

More information is available at the website of the Centre for Recognition of Diplomas – www.minedu.sk.