تیم One Way Ticket
A degree is one of your main assets when relocating — but it doesn't "work" automatically. A programmer rarely needs recognition at all, a doctor is legally required to have it, and an engineer sits somewhere in between. Here is how nostrification works in the key EU countries, what it costs, and how not to lose a year to it.
The key distinction: regulated profession or not
For non-regulated professions (IT, marketing, design, most private-sector engineering roles) the decision belongs to the employer — formal recognition is rarely needed, mostly for visa purposes. For regulated professions — doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers, lawyers, architects — working without official recognition of your qualification is prohibited by law.
- •Non-regulated: recognition is optional, but a credential evaluation strengthens a Blue Card file and your salary negotiations
- •Regulated: a mandatory procedure at the competent authority or chamber, often with an exam and a B2–C1 language requirement
- •Academic degrees: separate rules govern using the title "Dr." — in Germany, unlawful use carries liability
Germany: anabin and ZAB
Step one is checking your university and program in the anabin database (anabin.kmk.org). H+ status means the institution is recognized — usually sufficient for a Blue Card. If your university is missing or rated H+/-, order a Statement of Comparability (Zeugnisbewertung) from the ZAB: a €208 fee, up to 3 months, filed entirely online. Regulated professions go through the separate Anerkennung procedure via professional chambers; since 2024 there is also the "recognition partnership" — a visa that lets you complete recognition while already working in Germany in your field.
Czechia, Poland, Spain, France
- •Czechia: nostrifikace is performed by a public university with a comparable program (fee CZK 3,000); significant curriculum gaps trigger a nostrification exam
- •Poland: automatic equivalence agreements exist with several countries; otherwise — nostryfikacja at a university (up to ~PLN 3,200) or a free NAWA agency opinion for employers
- •Spain: homologación via the Ministry of Universities — historically the slowest procedure (6 months to 2 years; the 2022 reform is gradually shortening it); for non-regulated professions an equivalencia suffices
- •France: the attestation de comparabilité from France Éducation International (ENIC-NARIC) — €70, filed online, about a month; often not needed at all outside regulated professions
💡 Pro tip: start with the translation and apostille of your diploma before you move — it is the one stage that almost always requires action in the issuing country. An apostille on the diploma and transcript saves months of corresponding with your university's archive from abroad.
Medical professions: a league of their own
Doctors and nurses face the longest road: in Germany — Approbation with the Kenntnisprüfung exam and C1 medical German (Fachsprachprüfung); in Spain — homologación plus language validation; in France — the EVC procedure for specialists from outside the EU. A realistic timeline from filing to the right to practice is 1–3 years, and it belongs in your relocation plan from day one.
«Your diploma doesn't expire when you move — what expires is the time of those who start recognition after relocating instead of six months before.»
We assess whether you need nostrification at all, build the dossier for the specific authority and run the procedure in parallel with your visa process — so that by moving day, your degree is already working for you.