Recognition of completed studies at primary and secondary schools abroad

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This website applies to persons (nationals, foreigners) who would like to have their secondary school or primary qualification (high school diploma, vocational certificate and similar) recognized for further studies (at a higher education institution and others) or other purposes, excluding the practice of regulated professions.

Recognition of leaving certificates and diplomas issued by a primary or secondary school in another state is performed at the Regional Office of School Administration (Regionálny úrad školskej správy) in the region of the permanent residence of the applicant or the region of the university location. Please direct your application to one of the regional offices below, not the CRD/Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic:

PLEASE NOTE: The application is submitted to the respective Regional Office, not the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic. By sending your application to the address of the ministry, you will cause a delay in the handling of your application. The application form can be found on the websites above, the address of the Regional Office is on the application form or in the Contacts section.

Since the websites of the regional offices are Slovak only, we publish some additional information about the process here.

The recognition process is initiated with the receipt of the application.

The application is submitted on the application form or by own signed letter that includes the first name and surname of the applicant, permanent address or address of similar stay of the applicant, full name and address of the issuing primary or secondary school, year of completion of the education, the type of Slovak document it should be compared with, and applicant’s signature. If the applicant is underage, the application is filed by his/her legal guardian.

Application forms in both English and Slovak can be found on the respective website of the Regional Offices above. The application is sent to the address of the Regional Office.

The application includes the following documents:
a. for documents which are subject to a bilateral mutual recognition agreements signed with Slovak Republic

copy of identification document,
certified copy of the leaving certificate or diploma,
proof of payment of the administrative fee.

b. for all other documents

copy of identification document,
certified copy of the leaving certificate or diploma,
transcript of completed courses and completed exams,
in case of vocational secondary education, a confirmation issued by the secondary school about the scope of practical education,
proof of payment of the administrative fee

The application fee for the recognition

5 EUR (7 EUR from 01. 04. 2024 onwards) if the qualification is covered by a bilateral agreement signed between the Slovak Republic and the country of origin (code in the web and mobile application eKolok: 7262)
30 EUR (40 EUR from 01. 04. 2024 onwards) if the qualification is not covered by any of the bilateral agreements (code in the web and mobile application eKolok: 7263)

Application fee payment options:

via Receipt of Payment of Administrative / Judicial Fee (eStamp or eKolok), which can be purchased at selected offices of Slovenská pošta, a.s. (Slovak Post) in the required value
via eKolok Mobile Application which is available at GooglePlay / App Store
via eKolok Web Application, also called Virtual Kiosk, available at https://m.ekolky.gov.sk

The applicant is also obligated to present certified translation of the educational documents into the official language.

Regional office considers the application within 30 days after its receipt. If the application doesn’t include all the required documentation, the district authority interrupts the process and prompts the applicant to submit the missing documents or to correct any found deficiencies.

After the receipt of the complete application, the district office in the county decides within two months with the following possible results:

recognition of the educational document,
refusal of recognition of the educational document,
prescription of a differential exam.

In case of a document, which is subject to one of the bilateral mutual recognition agreements signed with Slovak Republic, the regional office considers the application within 30 days after its receipt. If the application doesn’t include all the required documentation, the district authority interrupts the process and prompts the applicant to submit the missing documents or to correct any found deficiencies. After the receipt of the complete application, the district office in the county decides within one month. The decision will contain the name of the equal qualification in the Slovak Republic.