I.- GENERAL REPORT ON RATIFICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS OR CONVALIDATION OF STUDIES

GENERAL INFORMATION

The ratification of Foreign qualifications in Spain is acknowledged as a right by law, thereby implying the recognition in Spain of the official validity of the academic, qualifications obtained abroad.

Qualifications obtained abroad, be they university degrees or otherwise, can be convalidated automaticly, as long as there is an equivalent qualification recognised by an official Spanish body, and that the course is still in function, in a Spanish University, at the time of the request or ratification.

The body authorized to acknowledge this is the Ministry of Education and Culture.

II.- NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION AND REQUIREMENTS FOR RATIFICATION

a) Certified validation of the nationality of applicant, processed by the appropriate authorities of the stated country, or certified copy of the official identity card, in the case of Spanish residents.

b) Either the original certificate of graduation of the qualification to be validated, or an original approved certification of its issue.

c) Academic proof of the studies completed by the applicant in order to obtain the qualification in question, whereby is stated, amongst other requirements, the length of the studies in academic years and the course and subjects taken.

d) Attached program of the subjects in question in which can be seen the contents and range with which they were covered.

e) The workload involved in the course of the studies.

These documents must be official, having been processed by the appropriate authorities, and legalised by diplomatic means. This is not necessary if the country where the degree was obtained has undersigned the Agreement of The Hague, in which case, the granting of the appropriate apostille by the authorities in question will be suficient.

These documents must be acompanied, in the necessary circumstances, by a Spanish translation, by an official translator.

III.- EUROPEAN QUALIFICATIONS

A) ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL RATIFICATION

In this case, we refer to the same requirements and documents to be submitted as to the non-European studies.

B) PROFESSIONAL AUTHORISATION

The Treaty of the Eurpean Economic Community establishes the adoption or certain guidelines for the recognition of Diplomas, certificates and other studies and qualifications.

The purpose of these guidelines, which can be either in general, or in certain sectors of a professional field, in acknowledgement of the qualifications, is that a resident of a member state can have the freedom to practice his or her profession without any obsticles, in another country.

If you wish to have the necessary authorisation to practice your profession all you need is:

a) Degree or Diploma of the qualification required or the adaquate qualification.

b) Documentation of proof of nationality of one of the member countries of the Europeam Union, or the countries which have underwritten the Agreement of European Economic Space.

c) Official Academic certification of the studies completed in order to obtain the qualification in question, stating the duration of the course in academic years, and the subjects covered.

The necessary documents will vary according to the guideline describing the professional activity, be it General or Sectorial.

IV.- PARTIAL CONVALIDATION OF STUDIES

It is also possible to partially convalidate studies, be they academic or nom academic. This can be achieved through an administrative procedure, by means of the Ministry for Education and Culture. This requires the same or similar documentation as required for the ratification of qualifications.