Recognition of foreign education

Have you studied abroad? Your academic education earned abroad may be recognized by us.

Procedure with verifying signatures and stamps using the so-called Superlegalization

In the case of diplomas issued in states with which the Czech Republic does not have a legal aid agreement, nor does it belong to a group of States which have concluded the so-called Hague Convention, verification of the authenticity of signatures and impressions of stamps printed on a diploma is required, carried out as a rule by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State in which the foreign university which issued the document is located, with subsequent higher verification of the foreign document (the so-called superlegalization) by the competent representative office of the Czech Republic for the country in which the foreign university is situated.

It is also possible to present certified copies (made by a Czech or foreign notary, the Czech embassy authority abroad or made through the Czech Point service) of documents verified in the required manner (see above).

The question of the legalization and superlegalization of diplomas and evidence of graduation abroad can be consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Department of the legalization of documents of the consular department, address: Hradčanské náměstí č.5, 125 10 Praha 1, tel. 224 182 153. The addresses of embassies abroad and foreign attorneys in the Czech Republic can be found on the Internet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

1. Application

Vysoká škola báňská – Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO) is a substantive competent recognizing authority only if it is a recognition of education and qualification in a field which is similar in content to one of the study programmes accredited at VSB-TUO.

The application must be completed electronically, printed and signed by hand and, together with the required annexes, sent in printed form to the address: Vysoká škola báňská - Technická univerzita Ostrava, útvar 9220 – Správa a rozvoj vzdělávání, tř. 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba, PSČ 708 00.

Annexes to the application (mandatory):

Diploma – a certified copy (or the original) of the diploma or similar proof of proper completion of the Higher education issued by a foreign university with the requisite verification of the authenticity of signatures and stamps, the so-called Superlegalization.
Diploma Supplement – a certified copy (or the original) of the diploma supplement (“Diploma Supplement") or a certified copy of (or the original) the statement of completed subjects with the required authenticity verification of signatures and stamps by so-called Superlagalization.
Official translation of these documents into the Czech or English language. The translation shall be drawn up by a court interpreter (the list of court interpreters is available on the website of the Ministry of Justice) or a Representative Office of the Czech Republic in the country. Translations are not required for documents issued in the English or Slovak language. Where an officially certified translation is made by a non-Czech court interpreter, the translation sheets shall be accompanied by certified copies of the documents to which they relate, in such a way as to prevent any additional exchange or substitution of the sheets containing the translation. Translations attached to simple copies of documents will not be accepted.

If necessary, the following shall be submitted:

At the request of the university, additional information that the study programme was provided by an institution entitled to provide a university degree or information on specific contents of a university study programme.
Power of attorney – the original or a certified copy of the written power of attorney containing the verification of the signature of the applicant, where the applicant is represented in the proceedings by another person (Power of Attorney).
Marriage certificate, birth certificate – the original or certified copy of the marriage certificate, or other proof of a change of name, if the name is given in the diploma and the existing name of the applicant are different.
A decision on international protection in the form of asylum or subsidiary protection — an original or certified copy of a decision on international protection in the form of asylum or subsidiary protection, where recognition is sought by the person who has been granted such status.
Information on the change of the name of the university (if different from the name given in the documents).

Annexes to the application (recommended):

Copy of identity card (ID card or passport).

All information given in the documents submitted must be comprehensible (officially translated into the Czech or English language). Translations are not required for documents issued in the English language.

2. Fee for operations relating to the application procedure

The applicant is obliged to pay a fee of 3000 CZK (article 2 § 90a Act No. 137/2016 Coll. amending and supplementing Act No. 111/1998 Coll. On Universities and amending and supplementing other laws (Law on Higher Education Institutions), as amended).

Upon receipt of the request from the VSB-TUO, the applicant shall be sent a letter confirming receipt of the application and contact details for payment of the fee.

If the fee is not paid on time (within 10 days), the applicant will be asked to pay the fee within the prescribed period. Failure to do so, the proceedings in the case of the application will be suspended by an order in accordance with the provisions of § 66 paragraph 1. 1 (a) d) Act No. 500/2004 Coll. Administrative Code and VSB – the Technical University of Ostrava will not further address this request.

The suspension of the application procedure due to deficiencies in the application not removed by the applicant even after the invitation (most often the absence of documents decisive for the examination of the application) is not a reason for the reimbursement of the fee.

Refusal of an application does not entitle the applicant to a refund of the fee.

3. Deadline for handling the application

The deadline for the application for the recognition of foreign higher education and qualification is 30 days from receipt of the application without defects; in more complex cases 60 days from the date of receipt of the complete application including the annexes. The period for which the proceedings are interrupted is not included in the deadlines.

4. Decision

The rector of the VSB-TUO decides on the recognition of education. The result of the process is the decision to issue a certificate of recognition of foreign higher education and qualification with unlimited validity for the territory of the Czech Republic or a decision rejecting the application. Both the decision and the certificate shall be sent by registered letter to the applicant's own hands.

5. Remedies

Against the decision, the applicant has the right to appeal to the Ministry of Education through the rector of VSB-TUO within 15 days of service of the decision. The rector of the public university shall either satisfy the applicant in its entirety or refer the matter to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports within 30 days of the receipt of the appeal.

Terms of appeal

The following information is necessary for the appeal:

The name and surname of the applicant and, where appropriate, his representative, on the basis of an officially certified power of attorney submitted,
Date of birth of the applicant,
Permanent residence address of the applicant (if the applicant is not domiciled in the Czech Republic, the address abroad),
Address for service of documents,
Reference number and date of issue of the contested decision,
Grounds for appeal: to what extent does the applicant challenge the decision and in what way does the conflict with the law or the incorrectness of the decision or procedure,
Date and handwritten signature of the applicant or his representative on the basis of an officially certified power of attorney submitted.

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