Download — Application form.
Graduates of foreign schools, who have received a certificate confirming completion of primary, secondary or higher vocational education, may apply to the Regional Authority having jurisdiction for the place of residence of the applicant, to issue — a certificate recognising the equivalence of the foreign certificate in the Czech Republic in cases where the Czech Republic, on the basis of its international obligations, has committed to recognise a particular foreign certificate as equivalent to a certificate of education issued in the Czech Republic, or — a decision recognising the validity of a foreign certificate in the Czech Republic (nostrification), if the Czech Republic is not bound by an international treaty to recognise the foreign certificate as equivalent to a certificate of education issued in the Czech Republic.
The following documents shall be attached to an application to recognise the equivalence of or to validate a foreign certificate:
- an original or certified copy of the foreign certificate,
- a document setting out the content and scope of the education completed in the foreign school,
- a document proving that the school is recognised by the state under whose legislation the foreign certificate was issued as part of its educational system, if this fact is not evident from the foreign certificate (in the case of nostrification),
- a certified copy of the documents referred to in Czech, executed by an interpreter registered in the Czech Republic in the list of official experts and interpreters (using the link www.justice.cz in the “Experts and Interpreters” section); documents prepared in Slovak do not need to be translated into Czech,
- the authenticity of signatures and stamps on the originals of foreign certificates and the fact that the school is recognised by the state under whose legislation the foreign certificate was issued must be verified by the relevant embassy/consulate of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country under whose legislation the foreign certificate was issued, or a notary operating on the territory of such a state, unless stipulated otherwise in an international treaty binding on the Czech Republic (information on legalisation through a simplified certification form, the “apostille”, is available through the link www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41),
- a document attesting to the payment of an administrative fee for acceptance of the application amounting to CZK 1,000.
To download the application form:
The Regional Authority will only recognise a certificate confirming the level of education received at a foreign school if the content and scope of the studies completed correspond to studies at a primary school, secondary school or higher vocational school with a similar framework curriculum in the Czech Republic.
In the nostrification proceedings, the Regional Authority compares the content and scope of the studies completed in the foreign school with studies under a similar framework curriculum in the Czech Republic. If the content and scope of the studies in the foreign school differs in part, the Regional Authority will order the applicant to take a nostrification examination. If the content and scope of the studies in the foreign school is substantially different, or the applicant does not pass the nostrification examination, the Regional Authority shall reject the application to recognise the education received abroad.
The nostrification examination is intended to verify that the knowledge and skills of the applicant correspond to the objectives and content of education provided under the relevant study programme. An applicant who is not a citizen of the Czech Republic is not required to take a nostrification examination in Czech language and literature. Nostrification examinations are generally given in Czech (pursuant to the provisions of Section 16 paragraph 3 of Act No. 500/2004 Coll., the Code of Administrative Procedure, as amended), and anyone who declares themselves unable to speak the language used in the proceedings has the right to an interpreter registered in the list of official interpreters, although this will be at his/her own expense.
The deadline for processing the application is 30 days, provided all the necessary documentation has been submitted, or after completion of the nostrification examination; in more complex cases, this deadline may be extended.
Regulations governing the procedure: Act No. 561/2004 Coll., on preschool, primary, secondary, higher vocational and other education (the Education Act), as amended Decree No. 12/2005 Coll., on the conditions for recognition of equivalence and the nostrification of certificates issued by foreign schools Act No. 500/2004 Coll., the Code of Administrative Procedure, as amended Act No. 634/2004 Coll., on administrative fees, as amended international treaties on the recognition of the equivalence of certificates of education and on legal assistance binding on the Czech Republic
The list of international treaties is available using the link: http://www.msmt.cz/mezinarodni-vztahy/seznam-mezinarodnich-smluv