News article by Kateryna Ilechko, Lawyer - International Atlantic Services

You have studied abroad and would like your diploma to be recognized in Portugal?

Applying for qualification recognition can be used for continuing studies, looking for a job or any other purpose that may require recognition of your foreign diploma.

If you want to enroll your child at a Portuguese school or get your Master´s or PhD degree at a Portuguese University, or you would like to exercise a qualified professional activity in Portugal, you will certainly need to complete the procedure of recognition of your school certificate or higher education diploma.

If you want to enroll your child at a Portuguese school or get your Master´s or PhD degree at a Portuguese University, or you would like to exercise a qualified professional activity in Portugal, you will certainly need to complete the procedure of recognition of your school certificate or higher education diploma.

It is very important to mention that the document(s) subject to further recognition should be duly legalized (apostilled or legalized at the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Embassy) and translated into Portuguese.

You may request equivalence of foreign qualifications from primary and secondary education at a primary and secondary school in the area of residency. Usually, this process is exempt from governmental charges, but some schools may establish a fee to be paid.

The recognition of higher education degrees and diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions is regulated by Decree-Law, which standardizes the procedures for the recognition of foreign qualifications, making them more transparent, equitable, and simple, clarifying concepts, and widening the recognition to short cycle higher-education diplomas that have identical levels, objectives, and nature to Portuguese professional higher education technical courses. Simplified procedures are introduced, namely by establishing a system of precedence for the Level Recognition process, which guarantees a more automatic process for the decision, avoiding repetition, and reducing costs and response times for recognition decisions.

There are three types of recognition in Portugal:

• Automatic recognition:

This form of recognition generically recognizes a higher education foreign degree or diploma with identical level, objectives and nature to the Portuguese degrees of Bachelor, Master and Doctor and the short cycle professional higher technical diplomas, that are included in the list of degrees and diplomas approved by the commission for the recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas.

• Level recognition:

This form of recognition allows to recognition by comparability, in an individualized way, a degree or diploma of foreign higher education as having a level corresponding to an academic degree or Portuguese higher education diploma.

• Specific recognition:

This form of recognition allows the recognition of a degree or diploma from a foreign higher education to be identical to a Portuguese academic degree or higher education diploma, through a casuistic analysis of the level, duration, and programmatic content, in a certain area of formation, branch of knowledge or specialty.

Automatic recognition can be requested at any Public Higher Education Institution or online at the Directorate-General for Higher Education.

Level recognition and specific recognition can only be requested at Portuguese public universities or Portuguese public polytechnic institutes and consist of longer and more complex procedure that requires specific documents to be presented. The cost should be confirmed in each case individually.

Some professional activities, namely physicians, lawyers, accountants, etc., require even more specific procedures to be accomplished. For example, lawyers must apply for a 2-year traineeship at the Portuguese Bar Association and complete a complex professional exam at the end of it. Physicians should complete Portuguese language tests and complex professional exams (theory and practice) to be able to provide medical services in Portugal.

To find the best solution for each case, it is necessary to evaluate the specific situation of the client and the goals to be achieved. This will help elaborate a complete list of the documents that should be prepared for the case and structure the procedure, dividing it into concrete, definite steps that would lead to a successful conclusion.

It is also important to mention that one of the measures from the “Action Plan” for immigration, recently announced by the Portuguese Government is related to the procedure of recognition of foreign diplomas and qualifications, which will be subject to improvement and simplification. This measure aims to expand the job market in Portugal, making it more attractive for highly qualified professionals who want to exercise their activity in Portugal.