Customer Service Rules at Education Office 

1. During the COVID-19 epidemics, Customers are served by means of remote communication (e.g. epuap platform, e-mail komunikacja@kuratorium.waw.pl) or by means of post.
2. Customers may also submit their documents by means of the document box located at the Education Office in Warsaw at the ground floor next to the reception.
3. The document box is locked and secured by the staff of the Education Office in Warsaw. 
4. The documents submitted by means of the box are removed on each working day and recorded in the office log with the date of their submission.
5. Submission of documents by means of the above-mentioned box is not confirmed to a Customer. If requested, a Customer may receive a confirmation that s/he had submitted documents by means of the document box. The confirmation will be sent to the designated e-mail address attached to the submitted documents.
6. Access of Customers to the Education Office in person is limited and only possible where necessary and upon prior appointment.
7. Customers who have not received confirmation of their visit will not be allowed in the Education Office.
8. The Office may only be accessed by Customers not suffering from fever, cough or other flu symptoms. 
9. Should a customer bear COVID-19 symptoms, s/he may be required to undergo a temperature check by means of a non-contact thermometer. Lack of consent to a temperature check or a temperature check indicating a fever will make the Office visit impossible. 
10. Individuals other than customers will not be allowed in.
11. Unless the law specifies otherwise, while in the Office the customer must be wearing his/her own mask covering the mouth and nose. 
12. Before entering the Office, each Customer must disinfect hands in the specified place with provided disinfecting liquid. 
13. Within the Office grounds, social distance must be kept (1,5/2m). 
14. Removal of a mask or other mouth and nose protection may only take place upon a clear request of an Office employee in order to confirm the Customer’s identity. 
15. While on the Office grounds, the Customer must follow the movement indicators. 
16. Customer service may only take place in designated areas. Customers may not visit other Office rooms and facilities than indicated service desks. 
17. Regardless of the rules set herein, Customers must follow the procedures specified by the building administrator. 
18. Customers must be in possession of all documents specified by the Office employee while making an appointment and a document confirming their identity. 
19. An Office visit confirmation does not constitute grounds for interrupting a quarantine or other form of isolation that the Customer may be required to undergo in relation to COVID-19. 
20.  A violation of the above rules will make the Office visit impossible. 
21. There may be introduced limitations on use of office toilets.

Customers may submit the documents to the document box located at the main entrance without prior appointment (the office may confirm the receipt of documents – the rules). In all other cases, the customer may submit the documents in the office log only upon prior appointment.

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.).  

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 or its duplicate 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, 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.

 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