Official accreditation ("homologación") of foreign higher education qualifications is only necessary in the following circumstances:

• If the student has completed secondary studies in a country other than the European Union, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or China and wishes to pursue a bachelor’s degree at a Spanish university; in this case the student must have his/her secondary education certificate officially recognized.
• If the student wishes to pursue a professional career in Spain; in this case he/she must have the university studies that he/she completed in another country officially recognized (with the exception of those carried out in an EU country).

In all other cases, foreign students do not have to their qualifications officially recognized in order to pursue university studies in Spain.
The official recognition of bachelor’s degrees may be carried out in two ways:

• Accreditation as one of the qualifications listed in the catalogue of official university qualifications: that is, official recognition that the training received to obtain a foreign qualification is equivalent to that required to obtain one of the Spanish qualifications that appear in this catalogue
• Accreditation at an equivalent academic level: that is, official recognition that the training received to obtain a foreign qualification is equivalent to that required to obtain one of the academic levels in which Spanish university studies are structured, rather than to a specific qualification.

The body responsible for supervising this procedure is the "Subdirección General de Titulos y Reconocimiento de Cualificaciones", of the Ministry of Education. The "Solicitud de Homologación" (the standard form for the accreditation of foreign degrees is available at www.educacion.es
 
Subdirección General de Titulos y Reconocimiento de Cualificaciones
Paseo del Prado, 28, 3ª planta
28014, Madrid
Spain
Tel. +34 902 218 500
Fax +34 917 018 600

 
Applicants may start the process at one of Spain’s diplomatic or consular representations abroad.

The applications should be accompanied by the following documents:

• A certified copy of the document accrediting the identity and nationality of the applicant, issued by the competent authorities in the country of origin or residence or by the Spanish authorities competent in matters concerning foreign nationals; in the case of Spanish nationals, a certified photocopy of the person’s identity card.
• A certified copy of the qualification that the applicant wishes to have accredited or of the document certifying the issue of the qualification.
• A certified copy of the academic certification of the studies carried out to obtain the qualification, indicating the official duration in academic years of the study plan undertaken, the subjects studied and the hours of study that each subject represents.
• Proof of payment of the corresponding fee.

The documents must meet the following requirements:
Documents issued abroad must be official and must be duly legalized either by an Embassy or Consulate or by an “apostille of the Hague” (with the exception of studies carried out in the European Union).

The documents must be accompanied by a corresponding official translation into Spanish. The official translation may be carried out by:

• A Sworn Translator duly authorized or registered in Spain.
• Any diplomatic or consular representation of Spain abroad.
• The diplomatic or consular representation of the applicant’s country of origin in Spain, or, if appropriate, of the country in which the document was issued.

The certified copies must meet the following requirements:
At the registry office whether the application is submitted, the applicant should present photocopies of all the original documents. The registry office will compare the documents and copies, will stamp or certify them, and will return the original documents.
If the photocopies are already legally certified by a notary or by the Spanish Consulate or Embassy in the country where the document was issued, the original document need not be presented.

The procedure of accreditation ("homologación") will be completed within six months of the date on which the application was received by the registry offices of the Ministry of Education.

For more information on how to obtain official recognition ("homologación" or "convalidación") of foreign academic qualifications, please consult the website of the Ministry of Education

Fees payable for the official recognition of qualifications
The current fee (2009) for the official recognition of university qualifications is 90.09€.

Place and form of payment of the fee:
Payment in Spain:
Payment will be made using the official 790 form (IMPORTANT: Each 790 form has 3 sheets and has a unique number of its own. Students wishing to present more than one application must download one 790 form for each application. www.educacion.es

The 790 form may be presented at any bank, savings bank, or credit union. The sum must be paid in cash.

Sheet nº 3 will be kept by the bank, and sheets nºs 1 and 2, bearing the stamp of the bank certifying payment, should be presented by the applicant in person or sent along with the application to the following address:

Subdirección General de Títulos y Reconocimiento de Cualificaciones
Paseo del Prado, 28, 3ª planta
28014, Madrid
Spain
 
Payment outside Spain:
Payment will be made via bank transfer to the Ministry of Education, in its account for fees paid abroad.

Payment of the fee does not exempt applicants from completing and presenting the official application form for accreditation or recognition, or from presenting the necessary documentation.

For more information, please consult the website of the Ministry of Education.