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Recognition of certificates or the level of education or rights to continue education

Legal basis: Article 93 and Article 93 a-h of Polish Education Act of 7^th September 1991 (t.j. Dz.U. z 2020 r., poz. 1327) and a Decree of the Minister of National Education (rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 27 marca 2015 roku w sprawie postępowania w celu uznania albo potwierdzenia wykształcenia lub uprawnień do kontynuacji nauki uzyskanych w zagranicznym systemie oświaty (Dz. U. z 2015 poz. 447 ze zm.).  

Please submit all required documents (which are mentioned below). We would like to inform that if you submit incomplete documents, the procedure of recognition will be extended. If you have any questions please contact with us by phone number or by e-mail (e-mail must include your name, surname and postal adress at the teritory of Mazovian voivodeship).

I. Recognition of a certificate or the level of education is done by the Education Superintendent appropriate for the place of residence of the Applicant, and if there is no such place, for the official seat of the institution where the Applicant is going to submit the certificate.

II. Recognition of a certificate or a level of education or the right to continue education is not necessary in case of:

1. certificates or other documents issued by schools operating in educational systems of EU, OECD or EFTA members, which allow access to higher education institutions in those countries (at present: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Canada, Colmbia, South Korea, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Mexico, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, USA, Hungary, Great Britain, Italy).
2. IB diplomas (International Baccalaureate) issued by International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva
3. EB diplomas (European Baccalaureate) issued by European Schools in accordance with the Convention drawn up in  Luxembourg on 21 June 1994;
4. certificates issued in countries with which Poland has signed bilateral agreements concerning the recognition of education (certificates issued under the agreements which expired will still be recognized on the basis of those agreements).

If a certificate or other document qualifies the holder to apply for admission to only certain departments (in certain fields of study) in the country of issuance, also in Poland he / she can apply to the same or similar departments.

III. If the international agreements do not provide otherwise, a certificate issued abroad can be recognised by means of an administrative decision as a document confirming the following levels of education in Poland: primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, basic vocational or the right to continue education, including the right to continue education at higher education institutions taking into consideration the scope of rights appertaining.

IV. Documents that must be submitted for recognition of a certificate:

         1. Application for recognition of a certificate or other document (appendix 1)

         2. Original certificate legalised by:

               1) Polish consul in the country where certificate was issued or in the country in which educational system a school operates;

               2) educational authorities in the country where a certificate was issued or in the country in which educational system a school operates;

               3) an embassy or consulate of the country where certificate was issued or in the country in which educational system a school operates located in Poland or in other EU, EFTA or OECD country;

               4) if a certificate was issued by a country – party to the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, an original certificate, its duplicate or a notarial copy with an Apostille placed on it or attached to any of those documents must be submitted.

         3. If on the certificate there is no information about the course/process of education the following documents must be attached:

               1)transcript of grades obtained during the final exam which enables completing school

or a certain level of education;

               2)  a list of subjects taught with grades

               3)  information about  the number of years studied, grading scale

               4)   information concerning the right to continue education at the next level in the country

      in which educational system a school operates, including the right to apply to higher

      education institution and the scope of rights appertaining;

The aforementioned documents should be issued or certified by the school or

educational institution which issued the certificate or they should be certified by educational authorities of the country which issued the certificate or in which system of education the school operates.

If the certificate or other document is not sufficient to recognise or confirm the level of education or the right to continue education, the Education Superintendent can ask for additional documents e.g. information concerning curriculum (its content)  or arrange an interview in order to  assess the level of education of the applicant. The Education Superintendent determines the scope of the interview. The applicant bears the costs of the interview.

         4. Translation into Polish of all documents presented in a foreign language done by:

               1) a Polish sworn translator (The list of sworn translators), or

               2) a sworn translator registered in any of EU, EFTA or OECD country, or

               3) a Polish consul in the country where the certificate was issued, or

               4) an embassy or consulate of the country which issued the certificate or in which educational system the school operates located on the territory of Poland;

If it is impossible to have the documents translated by any of the above mentioned persons, the School Superintendent may accept translation done by other reliable entity.

         5. A copy of an ID document (ID card, passport, residence card).

         6. A letter of authorisation from the certificate holder if an applicant is not the owner of

the certificate (appendix 2)

V. If the Applicant:

1) enjoys the status of a refugee or subsidiary protection or has the residence permit granted as a refugee or person with subsidiary protection, or

2) suffered as a result of armed conflicts, natural disasters or other humanitarian crises caused by a human being or nature,

and submitting the original certificate or its duplicate encounters obstacles impossible to overcome, the level of education (primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, basic vocational) or the rights to continue education, including the right to apply to higher education institutions, can be confirmed by means of an administrative decision. In such case the Applicant is obliged to submit:

                                      1) a statement describing the level of education or the right to continue education and schools completed abroad or other documents on the basis of which it will be directly or indirectly possible to determine the level of education, in particular documents confirming vocational qualifications, employment, apprenticeships or probation periods;

                                      2) statements or documents confirming the information enlisted in point IV.3;

                                      3) translation into Polish of all documents presented in a foreign language done by a person enlisted in point IV.4;

                                      4) a document proving the status of a refugee;

VI. If the certificate or other document is not sufficient to recognise or confirm the level of education or the right to continue education, the Education Superintendent can arrange an interview in order to  assess the level of education of the applicant. The Education Superintendent determines the scope of the interview. The applicant bears the costs of the interview.

VII. School certificates (from grade to grade) are not subject to the above procedure. They constitute the basis for continuation of education in the Polish educational system. The school headmaster takes the decision to admit the student to school.

The list of sworn translators (official website of the  Ministry of Justice)

 Appendices:

1. Application form
2. Letter of authorisation
3. Decree of the Minister of National Education (rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej w sprawie postępowania w celu uznania albo potwierdzenia wykształcenia lub uprawnień do kontynuacji nauki uzyskanych w zagranicznym systemie oświaty (Dz. U. z 2015 poz. 447 ze zm.))
4. The Hague Convention