Is a recognition statement the same as accreditation?

No. A recognition statement compares your qualification to a local level. Accreditation concerns the standing of an institution or programme in its own system.

Does a comparison guarantee admission?

No. Institutions apply their own admissions policies, and may require more than the comparison indicates.

How long does a comparison take?

It varies by country and service level, commonly from a few working days to several weeks. Apply well ahead of any deadline.

Country qualification recognition: how foreign awards are compared

Recognition questions are always specific: a particular award, from a particular system, for a particular purpose in a particular country. This page sets out the general machinery, and how to find the answer for your own combination.

Reviewed by Prof. David Marrani · Last reviewed July 2026

Short answer

Comparison is done by national recognition bodies — UK ENIC in the United Kingdom, and the ENIC-NARIC centres across Europe — which map a foreign award onto the local framework level. Institutions and employers use those comparisons, but each institution applies its own admissions policy on top, so the same qualification can be treated differently by two universities in the same country.

Who issues a recognition comparison

Most countries operate a designated recognition information centre. In the UK this is UK ENIC; across Europe the ENIC-NARIC network performs the same role nationally. These bodies issue statements comparing a foreign award to a local framework level.

A comparison statement is an expert opinion on level, not a licence to practise and not an offer of admission. Regulated professions are governed separately by their professional bodies.

What varies between systems

Degree length and credit volume. First-cycle degrees range from three to five years and from 180 to 300 ECTS across systems, which is the single most common source of confusion in postgraduate admissions.

Award titles. The same title can denote different levels in different countries, and quite different titles can denote the same level.

Grading. Conversion tables are institutional and differ; there is no universal mapping.

Sub-degree and vocational awards vary most of all, because vocational systems are nationally designed and rarely align cleanly.

What to check for your own qualification

Confirm that your awarding institution appears on the official register of recognised providers in its own country. This is the foundation of everything that follows.

Establish the framework level of your award in its home system, then look for its comparison in the target system.

Check credit volume and duration against the target programme's stated prerequisite, and identify any subject-specific requirement you may need to bridge.

Arrange certified copies and certified translations early; verification is the most common cause of missed deadlines.

Where MYUNI can and cannot help

We can explain how your award is normally positioned, identify the questions to put to an institution, help assemble documentation and advise on which routes are realistic to explore.

We cannot issue recognition statements, and we do not decide admission or credit. Those are decisions of recognition bodies and institutions respectively. MYUNI does not provide immigration or visa advice.

Country-specific guidance

We publish country-specific guidance only where there is enough genuine, jurisdiction-specific detail to be useful rather than repetitive. If your combination of country and qualification is not yet covered, the free assessment will still give you a preliminary indication, and you are welcome to ask us to cover it.

Check how your qualification may be positioned

See a free preliminary indication of how an award from your system is normally benchmarked, and what to verify before applying. MYUNI Academic Consultancy provides independent academic guidance. Admission, credit and recognition decisions are made by the relevant institution, and MYUNI does not provide immigration or visa advice.

Check how your qualification may be positioned

Primary sources

UK ENIC — the UK's national agency for international qualification comparison — issues Statements of Comparability used by many UK institutions and employers
ENIC-NARIC network — the network of national recognition information centres across Europe
Council of Europe / UNESCO — Lisbon Recognition Convention — the treaty obliging signatory states to recognise foreign qualifications unless a substantial difference is shown
European Qualifications Framework (Europass) — the eight-level reference framework used to compare qualifications across Europe
European Higher Education Area (Bologna Process) — the intergovernmental framework behind comparable degree cycles in Europe

Frequently asked questions

Is a recognition statement the same as accreditation?: No. A recognition statement compares your qualification to a local level. Accreditation concerns the standing of an institution or programme in its own system.
Does a comparison guarantee admission?: No. Institutions apply their own admissions policies, and may require more than the comparison indicates.
How long does a comparison take?: It varies by country and service level, commonly from a few working days to several weeks. Apply well ahead of any deadline.