Getting a university degree recognised in Spain yourself: homologación, equivalencia and professional recognition

Degree recognition: a 15-step plan

1. Decide whether you need recognition at all

   Not everyone needs their degree recognised. You can do without it if the profession is not regulated in Spain and the employer accepts the foreign degree as it is; for master’s admission, the university usually checks the level itself. For the DNV, a degree proves your qualification on a par with experience: details in the article do you need a degree for the DNV.

   • Noted my goal: working in my profession, a public competition, study, residence permit
   • Checked whether the employer or university requires a recognised degree
   • If the only goal is a master’s: checked the requirements of that specific university

   Where: the applicant, the employer or the universityTiming: before you start gathering documentsCost: free

   When to get help: you need the degree both for work and for an employment or highly qualified residence permit, and you want to avoid an unnecessary procedure.

2. Choose the procedure

   Real Decreto 889/2022 separates the procedures by effect. Homologación gives the same effects as an official Spanish degree, including access to a regulated profession. A declaración de equivalencia confirms Grado or Máster academic level without professional effects. EU citizens with a degree from an EU country can take a third route: reconocimiento de cualificaciones profesionales under Directive 2005/36/CE (RD 581/2017). The ministry does not recognise Doctorado level: equivalencia a doctor is decided by a university.

   • Regulated profession: homologación
   • Only Grado or Máster level needed: equivalencia
   • EU citizen with a European degree: checked the reconocimiento route
   • Candidate of Sciences or PhD: chose a Spanish university for equivalencia a doctor

   Where: RD 889/2022, articles 2 and 5; RD 581/2017Timing: one evening of readingCost: free

   When you need help: you are an EU citizen with a degree from a third country, or with degrees from several countries. Then the right path depends on the details.

3. Check whether your profession is regulated

   The list of professions that require an official university degree in Spain is in the annex to RD 889/2022 (article 8). These are medical, technical and teaching professions: doctor, nurse, pharmacist, architect, engineers in certain fields, teacher. Some professions have special rules: according to the Ministry, a foreign law degree cannot be homologated for abogado or procurador.

   • Found my profession in the annex to RD 889/2022
   • Checked whether it has special requirements (language, master’s degree)
   • For a medical specialist, checked the Ministerio de Sanidad procedure separately

   Where: BOE, RD 889/2022, annexTiming: before applyingCost: free

   When you need help: your field has a different name from the Spanish one, or the profession is regulated only in part (for example, certain types of engineering work).

4. Gather the documents

   Article 13 of RD 889/2022 requires a document proving identity and nationality, the degree and an academic transcript showing the official length of the programme, the subjects, and the hours or ECTS credits. For homologación you also need Spanish at B2 level or higher unless you come from a country where Spanish is an official language: DELE B2, a certificate from an official language school, proof that at least 75% of the programme was taught in Spanish, or previous education in Spanish.

   • Passport and, if you have one, NIE or TIE
   • Degree and diploma supplement with hours or credits
   • B2 language certificate (homologación only)
   • For Ukrainians with temporary protection: checked the easements in the transitional provision of RD 889/2022

   Where: the university that issued the degree; a language centreTiming: from a few weeks if you need a duplicateCost: university and exam centre rates

   When you need help: the university has closed, changed its name or is in a territory where documents are hard to obtain.

5. Get an apostille in the country of issue

   The degree and academic transcript must be legalised or carry a Hague Convention apostille; the only exception is documents from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. The apostille is issued in the country where the degree was awarded. In Russia this is done by the executive authorities of the region under Government Resolution No. 1890 of 10.11.2023, and you can apply through Gosuslugi. In Ukraine, education documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Education and Science through the state enterprise “Information and Image Centre”, including via its online account. In Belarus and Kazakhstan, the authorised education body apostilles education documents: check the exact office on your country’s government portal. More details: apostille on diplomas and certificates.

   • Apostille on the degree
   • Apostille on the supplement or academic transcript
   • Checked that the apostille is on the original or on an acceptable copy

   Where: the country that issued the degreeTiming: according to that country’s authorityCost: fee of the issuing country

   When you need help: you are outside the issuing country and cannot apply in person, or the degree was issued by a state that no longer exists (for example, the USSR).

6. Order an official translation

   RD 889/2022 requires an official Spanish translation of documents not issued in Spanish. In practice this means a traducción jurada, a translation by a sworn translator appointed by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The apostille is translated too. The procedure is covered in the route card sworn translation.

   • Found a translator on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list of traductores jurados
   • The translation covers the degree, the supplement and the apostilles
   • Received the translation in a form I can upload to the sede (with an electronic signature or as a scan)

   Where: traductor juradoTiming: as agreed with the translatorCost: translator’s rate

7. Pay tasa 107

   The fee for homologación or equivalencia is €166.50 under tasa 107, charged separately for each procedure. You can pay by card or direct debit when applying online, with form modelo 790-107 at a partner bank, or by transfer from abroad to the Ministry’s account. Someone else can pay as long as the payment shows the applicant’s name and document number.

   • Chose a payment method
   • Kept proof of payment
   • For a transfer from abroad, checked that the full amount arrives with no commission deducted

   Where: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, tasa pageTiming: before or when you applyCost: €166.50 per procedure

8. Apply through the sede electrónica

   Applications are made online only, at the sede of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (universidades.sede.gob.es), with separate procedures for homologación and for equivalencia. You do not have to be in Spain. Upload scans with the apostille and translation, and give the files clear names. Keep the registration number.

   • Chose the right procedure in the sede
   • Uploaded all documents and the proof of payment
   • Saved the dated justificante de registro

   Where: universidades.sede.gob.esTiming: at any timeCost: tasa 107

   When you need help: you are applying for both homologación and equivalencia for the same degree and are not sure whether one application will affect the other.

9. Set up access: certificate or Cl@ve

   Signing the application and then reading notifications is easiest with a certificado digital or Cl@ve. Cl@ve requires a DNI or NIE and a Spanish mobile number; you can register by video identification in the app, by video call, with an invitation letter or in person. Log in the same way throughout the procedure.

   • Got a certificado digital or registered with Cl@ve
   • Checked that I can log in to the sede
   • Gave an email address for notifications

   Where: clave.gob.es, FNMT sedeTiming: depends on the registration methodCost: free

   When you need help: you do not have an NIE yet and a representative is applying for you with a poder (authorisation). See certificado digital and representatives.

10. Note the deadlines and the silence rule

    Under article 18.3 of RD 889/2022, the Ministry must decide and notify the decision within six months of the application being registered. If there is no decision, the application can be treated as refused (silencio desestimatorio). The clock stops while you respond to a request for documents.

    • Wrote down the registration date and the date the six months end
    • I check my sede account once a week
    • I understand that silence means refusal, not approval

    Where: RD 889/2022, article 18.3Timing: up to 6 monthsCost: free

11. Answer the requerimiento

    If the file is incomplete, the Ministry will send a requerimiento de subsanación. Under the general rule of Ley 39/2015 (article 68.1) you have 10 days to fix it; RD 889/2022 allows an extension if there are objective difficulties. If you do not reply in time, the application is treated as withdrawn.

    • Read the whole request and listed what is missing
    • Replied through the same sede account
    • If short of time, asked in writing for an extension before the deadline

    Where: sede, notifications sectionTiming: 10 days, extension on requestCost: free

    When you need help: the request concerns the content of the programme (hours, subjects), not a formal document. See how to respond to a requerimiento.

12. Be ready for compensatory measures

    For homologación, the Ministry may issue a conditional decision: requisitos formativos complementarios (article 19 of RD 889/2022). These are a placement, a prueba de aptitud, a project or courses at a Spanish university that teaches the corresponding degree. You have up to four years to complete them, otherwise the conditional homologación lapses. On the EU route, medidas compensatorias apply under article 22 of RD 581/2017: an adaptation period of up to three years or a prueba de aptitud, usually chosen by the applicant.

    • Found out exactly which requirements were set
    • Found universities where I can complete them
    • Wrote down the four-year deadline

    Where: a Spanish universityTiming: up to 4 years (RD 889/2022)Cost: university rates

    When you need help: you disagree with the extent of the requirements and are thinking of appealing the conditional decision.

13. Receive the decision and the credencial

    The decision can be positive, negative or conditional; for homologación you get a credencial, for equivalencia a certificado (article 20 of RD 889/2022). The credencial has the same effects as an official Spanish degree throughout Spain. Keep the electronic file and make certified copies.

    • Downloaded the decision and the credencial from the sede
    • Checked the details: full name, degree title, profession
    • Saved several copies

    Where: Ministry sedeTiming: after the decisionCost: free

14. Join the colegio profesional

    For many regulated professions the degree alone is not enough: under article 3.2 of Ley 2/1974 de Colegios Profesionales, membership of a colegio is compulsory when a state law requires it. One territorial colegio where you mainly practise is enough, and it lets you work anywhere in Spain. In Barcelona this is the colegio for your profession in the province of Barcelona or in Catalonia.

    • Checked whether colegiación is compulsory for my profession
    • Found out my colegio’s document list and fees
    • Applied with the credencial

    Where: the colegio profesional for your professionTiming: before you start workCost: colegio fees

    When you need help: you plan to work as an employee in a public institution or as an autónomo and are not sure what obligations that adds.

15. If refused: recurso or study in Spain

    You can file a recurso de reposición against the Ministry’s decision within one month, or go straight to the contencioso-administrativo court within two months of notification (article 21 of RD 889/2022). If the refusal is by silence, reposición can be filed at any time (article 124 of Ley 39/2015). The alternative: equivalencia for the academic level plus a master’s degree in Spain, or convalidación of subjects at a university and completing the remaining studies.

    • Wrote down the notification date and the appeal deadlines
    • Compared appealing with another route
    • Looked at master’s programmes that give access to the profession

    Where: the Ministry, the contencioso-administrativo court, a universityTiming: 1 month (reposición), 2 months (court)Cost: reposición has no fee; for court, the lawyer’s fees

    When you need help: always if you go to court, and preferably for reposición, since the arguments rest on comparing programmes. See appeals: reposición, alzada, court.