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RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS

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Conventions and Agreements

The recognition of educational documents in Ukraine is based on the Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications in the European Region (Lisbon, April 11, 1997) and international agreements on mutual recognition and equivalence of educational documents and scientific titles.
The Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications (the Lisbon Convention) was jointly developed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO in order to promote recognition of qualifications awarded in one country (Party of the Convention) by another country (Party of the Convention).
The guiding principles of the Lisbon Convention are:

  • qualification holders should have adequate access to the qualification assessment
  • any discrimination against the applicant is prohibited
  • each Party of the Convention ensures the transparency, consistency and reliability of the procedures and criteria used in the assessment and recognition of qualifications
  • each Party to the Convention ensures that its education system is provided with adequate and clear information
  • decisions on recognition of qualifications are made within a reasonable period, which is determined in advance by the competent authority for recognition of qualifications and is calculated from the time of receipt of all necessary information on a specific request
  • recognition decisions are taken on the basis of relevant information on those qualifications, recognition of which is requested
  • in case of a negative decision or non-decision, the applicant should be able to appeal within a reasonable time.
The Lisbon Convention also addresses such important issues as the recognition of qualifications that give access to higher education, the periods of study recognition, recognition of qualifications awarded to refugees, displaced persons and persons in refugee situations, exchange of information on recognition of qualifications.
The full text of the Lisbon Convention in the Ukrainian and texts in the original languages (English, French, German, Italian, Russian).

Ukraine also signs a number of bilateral agreements on mutual recognition and equivalence of educational documents and scientific titles. In particular, agreements were signed with the following countries:

  • The Argentine Republic;
  • The Republic of Azerbaijan;
  • The Republic of Belarus - was denounced by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on April 9, 2022, № 417;
  • The Republic of Bulgaria;
  • The Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
  • Georgia;
  • The Republic of Equatorial Guinea;
  • Estonia;
  • The Republic of Kazakhstan;
  • The People's Republic of China;
  • The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (State of Libya);
  • Mongolia;
  • The Republic of Peru;
  • The Republic of Poland;
  • russian federation - was denounced by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on March 24, 2022, № 355;
  • Romania;
  • The Slovak Republic;
  • Turkmenistan;
  • Hungary;
  • The Republic of Uzbekistan;
  • Republic of Lithuania.

Some international agreements determine the equivalence of qualifications set out in education documents and allow recognition under the simplified procedure. However, part of such agreements contains certain conditions for the recognition of qualifications as equivalent. In such case, the procedure follows the general rules. Availability of agreement does not eliminate the need for a formal recognition decision.