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Nostrification of a school certificate in Slovakia
Slovak legislation in the field of education does not allow universities to accept applicants for study whose school certificates have not been recognized. The nostrification procedure is important so that the host can make sure that the applicant has studied the entire set of necessary disciplines of the school curriculum and is ready to continue his studies in Europe. If an applicant studied in the European Union, his school leaving certificate does not need additional verification, since the European educational programs are very similar.
The process of document recognition (nostrification) in the Slovak Republic is quite simple. What documents should be prepared, what time frame to expect, and what else you need to know about the nostrification process – read below on the page.
Nostrification of a school certificate in Slovakia: process features
Unlike many countries of the European Union, the Slovak Republic offers a fairly simple procedure for the recognition of educational documents for future students. Residents of other countries need to go through two stages, at each of which the document received at the place of study is brought into line with the current standards. You do not need to take any exams, it is enough to arrange everything correctly and send it to the place of request within the prescribed time.
It is impossible to notify a document without a preliminary equivalent procedure. This is an intermediate stage, at which the applicant’s grades in the subjects mastered are translated into the assessment system adopted in the Slovak Republic.
When the equivalence is behind, for the recognition of the school certificate in Slovakia you need to go through one more step. Experts consider its equivalent adapted to state standards and issue a certificate that it is identical in importance to the local school education document. This is the nostrification of a certificate in Slovakia, which is required for admission to private and public universities in the country.
How the school certificate is recognized in Slovakia
To go through this simple two-step procedure, you must submit to the Ministry of Education or through Urad Bratislava:
- A copy of the certificate of complete secondary education with an apostille, certified by a Slovak notary.
- A copy of all annexes with an apostille, including the score sheet, also notarized.
- A copy of a valid international passport (without certification).
- An application written in the prescribed form.
The application is filled out in the state language of the Slovak Republic, it contains the applicant’s name, address, school name, place and time of graduation.
The apostille is affixed at the Ministry of Education on the territory of the state where the future student lives. It confirms the compliance of the documentation (including annexes) with the standards of the Hague Convention.
All copies in the applicant’s native language must be translated from the original into Slovak. This must be done in the territory of the Slovak Republic with a local court (sworn) translator. Otherwise, the translation will not be accepted by the Ministry of Education.
The average waiting time for the decision of the commission is 2-3 months, but it may vary depending on the complexity of the situation. It is very rare for an applicant to be refused. If this happens to you or your child, you can always turn to the International Union of Youth for help. Our experts will help you find a way out of this situation and draw up the necessary documentation for admission on time.
We also help all our students of MSM foundation language courses with the nostrification process in Slovakia.
