Studying in Czechia: Getting your diploma recognised
Czechia is becoming increasingly attractive for international students, and numbers are growing fast, but the bureaucratic challenges faced by prospective students can be daunting. We bring you tips and advice on how to get your diploma recognised.
To many people the word nostrification is unknown until they become students abroad. In essence, this is the official process of comparing and matching foreign high school or university qualifications to the local system. Contrary to its simple explanation, the nostrification process in the Czech Republic can be long and complicated, especially for undergraduate students who have completed their secondary education outside the country or the European Union as a whole.
The good news is that nostrification is not a compulsory process for all higher education institutions in Czechia. On the other hand, the students who have completed it successfully can enjoy many benefits, such as the possibility of enrolling in a Czech-accredited university program and being seen as real university students under Czech law, according to Romana Marková, the nostrification specialist at the Anglo-American University in Prague. She adds that if they are only accredited under the American system, students are part of the Lifelong Learning Program but are not fully seen as university students in Czechia.
Nostrification is particularly useful for non-EU students. Brooklyn Ferenc, a third-year International Relations & Diplomacy student in Prague, says that the nostrification certificate can be extremely helpful for obtaining a student visa and being able to work legally in Czechia. Moreover, it is much easier to reapply for a visa at a later stage since the applicant’s status is already recognised in the eyes of the Czech authorities.
Holding a foreign high school diploma does not always mean the student needs to go through nostrification. The Czech Republic automatically recognizes the diplomas issued by a few European states, namely Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, plus the European Baccalaureate diploma. More information on these bilateral agreements can be found on the official website of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports or in the Google Drive document, published by the same institution. However, prospective students holding foreign high school or university diplomas from other countries, who wish to finish their university studies with Czech or dual accreditation, need to go through nostrification. It must be underlined that the student’s citizenship does not matter. What is important is the country that issued their documents. Also, there are two types of nostrification: 1) general and 2) for admission to a particular course. Most big public universities, such as Charles University in Prague, offer both options. The difference is that with a successfully completed general nostrification a student can transfer to other programs, faculties, and universities within the Czech Republic and their nostrification certificate will still be valid, whereas with the second option the process is only valid within the university. However, this option is cheaper, faster, and with no exams, which makes it more appealing for students. Nevertheless, on rare occasions, students have to go through general nostrification even if they study at a public university. Please also take into account that this article looks only at undergraduate nostrification.
Collect the Required Documents
The list of required documents may vary for each applicant. The main ones include a high school diploma, high school transcript, instructional study hours document (a list of the courses taken and the hours spent studying them in class), proof of state recognition (a document proving that the student’s high school is real if their high school diploma is not issued by the Ministry of Education), proof of the student’s address in Czechia, if they already reside there, in the form of a notary-witnessed copy of a rent agreement, housing confirmation, or a copy of the student’s ID if it contains their Czech address, and, finally, a power of attorney if the student wishes somebody else to act on their behalf throughout the process. Bear in mind that no printed and digital copies of the documents are accepted.
Legalize the Public Documents
The public documents are the high school diploma and the transcript. This step is normally done in the country that issued them. There are three types of legalization which the Czech authorities can demand from nostrification applicants: 1) no verification required, 2) an apostille certificate, or 3) superlegalization. The list of requirements for each country differs and you will need to check. Even though the first category does not require a notary-witnessed verification, it is recommended that the student prepares a notary-made copy of the documents so that they can keep the originals. Take into consideration that once the nostrification process is successfully completed, the submitted documents will not be returned to the applicant. It is preferable to do it in the Czech Republic, either with a notary or at any post office offering CzechPoint services. The apostille certificate is attached to a document, verifying the signatures and the seals on it. It is usually issued by various institutions in the country of origin. Superlegalization is the highest form of legalization and thus more complex than the previous two. First, the student should obtain a verification of the document and the signatures on it by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country of origin and then a verification of the signature from the previous step by a Czech Embassy or Consulate with a sticker and a stamp. A list of the Czech Diplomatic Missions Abroad can be found on the website of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Translate the Nostrification Documents
The nostrification documents, mentioned in the first step, must be translated into Czech by a legally certified translator or with the help of a Czech Embassy that can verify the translation’s authenticity. Bear in mind that translations of already translated documents are not accepted. Also, the student is free to choose whether they wish to use their university’s assistance or prefer to do it themselves. Translations can be requested through agencies or by directly contacting a legally certified translator.
Submit the Application
After fulfilling all the previous steps and requirements, the student is ready to submit their application to the deciding authority, which is usually a Department of Education under the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, determined by the student’s permanent address in the Czech Republic. If they are still abroad, the student is free to submit the application in whichever Department of Education they choose. Also, the applicant is allowed to assign their school to do it on their behalf with a power of attorney. In addition to the required documents, however, the student or the institution with a power of attorney needs to fill in the application form and sign it. Finally, everything must be submitted either in person or by post.
Receive the Official Decision
After a period of between 30 and 60 days, or 90 in exceptional cases, the student or the institution receive the decision either as a registered letter via Czech Post (Česká pošta), where only the recipient is allowed to pick it up, or as a digital letter via a secured databox. Email is never used for announcing official decisions as it is not deemed secure. There are four possible outcomes: 1) a nostrification certificate with no other requirements, 2) an order to take a nostrification exam, 3) temporary suspension of the application, and 4) rejection of the application. The first means that the student obtains a nostrification certificate directly. When the applicant receives an examination order, they must take and pass between 1 and 5 exams in subjects that have not been taught sufficiently according to the Czech educational framework or are absent in the student’s transcript. The temporary suspension is a result of failed exams or small inconsistencies, discrepancies, missing information, or different wording in the submitted documents. The student is given a certain period of time to fix the issues and reapply. It is recommended that the student contact the respective Department of Education to find out what precisely is wrong. If the applicant fails to do so in a timely manner, this may lead to the rejection of their application. Finally, rejection can also be assigned if the committee determines that the student’s education severely differs from the Czech framework. Rejections for this reason are rare. Students tend to struggle most with the exams and compiling documents that are non-standard to their countries such as the instructional study hours document and the proof of recognition.
Common Problems and Challenges
Nostrification is a process different for every applicant. Payton Metzger, a second-year International Relations & Diplomacy student at the Anglo-American University and the Student Coordinator of the AAU Student Council, says from her experience with students that everything is individual. In practice it is usually EU students who face the fewest problems and those from Africa and Asia the most, while those from the Americas and the UK are somewhere in the middle.
For many students, having to deal with so many different documents is one of the most challenging parts. Nicte Castro, a third-year Humanities student at in Prague, is a Mexican citizen but completed her high school education in Austin, Texas, USA. She said that after graduating from high school, she had a lot of trouble with her documents because the authorities required her signature for many procedures. However, once she arrived in Prague, she did not have any major issues with her documents. International Relations student, Brooklyn Ferenc faced a bigger problem, because it turned out that the State of California, USA, where she completed her high school education, did not apostille diplomas the way the Czech Republic demands. As a result, no lawyer in Czechia could sign off that her diploma was real.
Foreign students also have to deal with the language barrier. If they do not speak Czech or Slovak, communicating with Czech officials can be a challenge.
Exams are among the toughest parts for many students, especially if they are in subjects that the applicants have never taken. Since they are required to be in Czech, students who want to take them in another language can request an interpreter, who is expected to be with them during the whole exam. Nicte Castro says that she had an unpleasant experience with her interpreter when she had to take a Computer Science exam. The first interpreter she was assigned, cancelled the arrangement two days before the exam and redirected her to another one from his agency but he never responded to her messages. Moreover, she had to take the exam with another girl from her school and to her surprise, the interpreter did not help both equally. When she did receive help at some point, she realized the interpreter did not know the basic terminology related to computers.
“If I hadn’t known the little Czech that I know, I don’t think I would’ve been able to pass,” concluded Ms. Castro, adding that the price she paid for the interpreter was not worth it at all.
The lack of sufficient preparation materials for the exams is a problem, addressed by all the interviewees for this article. Nicte Castro, for example, was disappointed to discover that she had to prepare for the exam on her own. The only reliable resources were provided by students who had already passed or by professors teaching in the field, but even they lacked depth.
Nostrification is not always cheap. According to Romana Marková from the AAU, the overall amount of money that one has to pay for the legalization, the translation, the administrative fee and the exam interpreter can vary between CZK 2,000 and CZK 10,000.
A final problem is the burden of work for university employees, who often do not have enough time to help students through nostrification.
Advice
The cogs of Czech bureaucracy do not always turn quickly. All the interviewees for this article advised new applicants to be patient and prepared to wait for a long time until their documents are ready, or their official decision arrives.
The most common problems arise when applicants are preparing the documents required to prove their high school education. It is best to start preparing everything as soon as you have graduated from high school or even earlier. If you have a further qualification, in addition to your school-leaving certificate, such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) or A-Levels, this may mean that you do not have to take the exams.
It is a good idea to get extra copies of everything and to have 10 to 15 passport pictures, as they will always prove useful!
Everyone interviewed for this article, also encouraged future and current applicants to talk to their classmates or older students who have already gone through the whole process successfully.
HOW TO COPE WITH THE NOSTRIFICATION PROCESS IN CZECHIA
To many people the word nostrification is unknown until they become students abroad. In essence, this is the official process of comparing and matching foreign high school or university qualifications to the local system. Contrary to its simple explanation, the nostrification process in the Czech Republic can be long and complicated, especially for undergraduate students who have completed their secondary education outside the country or the European Union as a whole.
The good news is that nostrification is not a compulsory process for all higher education institutions in Czechia. On the other hand, the students who have completed it successfully can enjoy many benefits, such as the possibility of enrolling in a Czech-accredited university program and being seen as real university students under Czech law, according to Romana Marková, the nostrification specialist at the Anglo-American University in Prague. She adds that if they are only accredited under the American system, students are part of the Lifelong Learning Program but are not fully seen as university students in Czechia.
The Czech Republic automatically recognizes the diplomas issued by a few European states, namely Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, plus the European Baccalaureate diploma.
Nostrification is particularly useful for non-EU students. Brooklyn Ferenc, a third-year International Relations & Diplomacy student in Prague, says that the nostrification certificate can be extremely helpful for obtaining a student visa and being able to work legally in Czechia. Moreover, it is much easier to reapply for a visa at a later stage since the applicant’s status is already recognised in the eyes of the Czech authorities.
Holding a foreign high school diploma does not always mean the student needs to go through nostrification. The Czech Republic automatically recognizes the diplomas issued by a few European states, namely Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, plus the European Baccalaureate diploma. More information on these bilateral agreements can be found on the official website of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports or in the Google Drive document, published by the same institution. However, prospective students holding foreign high school or university diplomas from other countries, who wish to finish their university studies with Czech or dual accreditation, need to go through nostrification. It must be underlined that the student’s citizenship does not matter. What is important is the country that issued their documents. Also, there are two types of nostrification: 1) general and 2) for admission to a particular course. Most big public universities, such as Charles University in Prague, offer both options. The difference is that with a successfully completed general nostrification a student can transfer to other programs, faculties, and universities within the Czech Republic and their nostrification certificate will still be valid, whereas with the second option the process is only valid within the university. However, this option is cheaper, faster, and with no exams, which makes it more appealing for students. Nevertheless, on rare occasions, students have to go through general nostrification even if they study at a public university. Please also take into account that this article looks only at undergraduate nostrification.
Collect the Required Documents
The list of required documents may vary for each applicant. The main ones include a high school diploma, high school transcript, instructional study hours document (a list of the courses taken and the hours spent studying them in class), proof of state recognition (a document proving that the student’s high school is real if their high school diploma is not issued by the Ministry of Education), proof of the student’s address in Czechia, if they already reside there, in the form of a notary-witnessed copy of a rent agreement, housing confirmation, or a copy of the student’s ID if it contains their Czech address, and, finally, a power of attorney if the student wishes somebody else to act on their behalf throughout the process. Bear in mind that no printed and digital copies of the documents are accepted.
Legalize the Public Documents
The public documents are the high school diploma and the transcript. This step is normally done in the country that issued them. There are three types of legalization which the Czech authorities can demand from nostrification applicants: 1) no verification required, 2) an apostille certificate, or 3) superlegalization. The list of requirements for each country differs and you will need to check. Even though the first category does not require a notary-witnessed verification, it is recommended that the student prepares a notary-made copy of the documents so that they can keep the originals. Take into consideration that once the nostrification process is successfully completed, the submitted documents will not be returned to the applicant. It is preferable to do it in the Czech Republic, either with a notary or at any post office offering CzechPoint services. The apostille certificate is attached to a document, verifying the signatures and the seals on it. It is usually issued by various institutions in the country of origin. Superlegalization is the highest form of legalization and thus more complex than the previous two. First, the student should obtain a verification of the document and the signatures on it by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country of origin and then a verification of the signature from the previous step by a Czech Embassy or Consulate with a sticker and a stamp. A list of the Czech Diplomatic Missions Abroad can be found on the website of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Translate the Nostrification Documents
The nostrification documents, mentioned in the first step, must be translated into Czech by a legally certified translator or with the help of a Czech Embassy that can verify the translation’s authenticity. Bear in mind that translations of already translated documents are not accepted. Also, the student is free to choose whether they wish to use their university’s assistance or prefer to do it themselves. Translations can be requested through agencies or by directly contacting a legally certified translator.
Submit the Application
After fulfilling all the previous steps and requirements, the student is ready to submit their application to the deciding authority, which is usually a Department of Education under the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, determined by the student’s permanent address in the Czech Republic. If they are still abroad, the student is free to submit the application in whichever Department of Education they choose. Also, the applicant is allowed to assign their school to do it on their behalf with a power of attorney. In addition to the required documents, however, the student or the institution with a power of attorney needs to fill in the application form and sign it. Finally, everything must be submitted either in person or by post.
Receive the Official Decision
After a period of between 30 and 60 days, or 90 in exceptional cases, the student or the institution receive the decision either as a registered letter via Czech Post (Česká pošta), where only the recipient is allowed to pick it up, or as a digital letter via a secured databox. Email is never used for announcing official decisions as it is not deemed secure. There are four possible outcomes: 1) a nostrification certificate with no other requirements, 2) an order to take a nostrification exam, 3) temporary suspension of the application, and 4) rejection of the application. The first means that the student obtains a nostrification certificate directly. When the applicant receives an examination order, they must take and pass between 1 and 5 exams in subjects that have not been taught sufficiently according to the Czech educational framework or are absent in the student’s transcript. The temporary suspension is a result of failed exams or small inconsistencies, discrepancies, missing information, or different wording in the submitted documents. The student is given a certain period of time to fix the issues and reapply. It is recommended that the student contact the respective Department of Education to find out what precisely is wrong. If the applicant fails to do so in a timely manner, this may lead to the rejection of their application. Finally, rejection can also be assigned if the committee determines that the student’s education severely differs from the Czech framework. Rejections for this reason are rare. Students tend to struggle most with the exams and compiling documents that are non-standard to their countries such as the instructional study hours document and the proof of recognition.
Common Problems and Challenges
Nostrification is a process different for every applicant. Payton Metzger, a second-year International Relations & Diplomacy student at the Anglo-American University and the Student Coordinator of the AAU Student Council, says from her experience with students that everything is individual. In practice it is usually EU students who face the fewest problems and those from Africa and Asia the most, while those from the Americas and the UK are somewhere in the middle.
Foreign students also have to deal with the language barrier. If they do not speak Czech or Slovak, communicating with Czech officials can be a challenge.
For many students, having to deal with so many different documents is one of the most challenging parts. Nicte Castro, a third-year Humanities student at in Prague, is a Mexican citizen but completed her high school education in Austin, Texas, USA. She said that after graduating from high school, she had a lot of trouble with her documents because the authorities required her signature for many procedures. However, once she arrived in Prague, she did not have any major issues with her documents. International Relations student, Brooklyn Ferenc faced a bigger problem, because it turned out that the State of California, USA, where she completed her high school education, did not apostille diplomas the way the Czech Republic demands. As a result, no lawyer in Czechia could sign off that her diploma was real.
Foreign students also have to deal with the language barrier. If they do not speak Czech or Slovak, communicating with Czech officials can be a challenge.
Exams are among the toughest parts for many students, especially if they are in subjects that the applicants have never taken. Since they are required to be in Czech, students who want to take them in another language can request an interpreter, who is expected to be with them during the whole exam. Nicte Castro says that she had an unpleasant experience with her interpreter when she had to take a Computer Science exam. The first interpreter she was assigned, cancelled the arrangement two days before the exam and redirected her to another one from his agency but he never responded to her messages. Moreover, she had to take the exam with another girl from her school and to her surprise, the interpreter did not help both equally. When she did receive help at some point, she realized the interpreter did not know the basic terminology related to computers.
“If I hadn’t known the little Czech that I know, I don’t think I would’ve been able to pass,” concluded Ms. Castro, adding that the price she paid for the interpreter was not worth it at all.
The cogs of Czech bureaucracy do not always turn quickly. All the interviewees for this article advised new applicants to be patient and prepared to wait for a long time until their documents are ready, or their official decision arrives.
The lack of sufficient preparation materials for the exams is a problem, addressed by all the interviewees for this article. Nicte Castro, for example, was disappointed to discover that she had to prepare for the exam on her own. The only reliable resources were provided by students who had already passed or by professors teaching in the field, but even they lacked depth.
Nostrification is not always cheap. According to Romana Marková from the AAU, the overall amount of money that one has to pay for the legalization, the translation, the administrative fee and the exam interpreter can vary between CZK 2,000 and CZK 10,000.
A final problem is the burden of work for university employees, who often do not have enough time to help students through nostrification.
Advice
The cogs of Czech bureaucracy do not always turn quickly. All the interviewees for this article advised new applicants to be patient and prepared to wait for a long time until their documents are ready, or their official decision arrives.
The most common problems arise when applicants are preparing the documents required to prove their high school education. It is best to start preparing everything as soon as you have graduated from high school or even earlier. If you have a further qualification, in addition to your school-leaving certificate, such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) or A-Levels, this may mean that you do not have to take the exams.
It is a good idea to get extra copies of everything and to have 10 to 15 passport pictures, as they will always prove useful!
Everyone interviewed for this article, also encouraged future and current applicants to talk to their classmates or older students who have already gone through the whole process successfully.
Related
-
Studying in Czechia
Czechia is becoming increasingly attractive for international students, and numbers are growing.
-
The five best universities in Czechia
Why is Czechia a good choice to study? Will you get a high quality education? Is the study program available in English? Find out in a new mini-series on Radio Prague Int.
