Murcia Región Europea Homologation of Degrees and Recognition of Qualifications

To facilitate the mobility of professionals among its Member States, the European Union has established a framework for the recognition of professional and academic degrees and the recognition of professional qualifications.

The NARIC Network
The NARIC network (National Academic Recognition Information Centres) was created in 1984 at the initiative of the European Commission. It is made up of national centres from EU countries, the European Economic Area (EU, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), and associated countries.

The NARIC centres operate under their respective national Ministries of Education, and their aim is to improve the academic recognition of degrees and study periods between different countries. The network has information points in all EU countries.

Its main mission is to guide citizens when they wish to have their degree recognised or obtain professional recognition in another EU country.

The NARIC network will be useful if you want to know how to have your university degree officially recognised so that it is accepted in another European Union country.

Since recognition systems differ in each EU Member State, the best thing you can do to understand the process and find out what documents are required is to contact the NARIC Centre of the country where you would like your degree to be recognised.

They are responsible for guiding you through the entire recognition and administrative process.

Professional recognition
When you want to work in another European Union country and want your qualification to be recognised for professional purposes only (and not academic ones), the best way to do so is by requesting professional recognition. Since each Member State has its own system for professional recognition, again, the best approach is to contact the NARIC Centre of the country where you would like to practise your profession. In addition, this type of recognition does not require the payment of fees.

New Professional Qualifications Framework
There is legislation that allows qualified professionals to obtain recognition throughout the EU. This enables professionals to work permanently or temporarily in other EU countries of which they are nationals. This is important for facilitating access to the job market.

The legislation has recently been updated with the support of the Council and the European Parliament, and the new regulatory framework will enter into force in January 2016. The revised Directive on professional qualifications will make it easier for professionals to move within EU territory and will strengthen guarantees for consumers and patients.