OFFICIAL RECOGNITION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC OF FOREIGN EDUCATION (SO-CALLED NOSTRIFIKACE)

 Introduction

This type of official recognition is intended for all graduates of foreign higher education institutions who need their foreign higher education to be officially recognised for purposes other than to study at AMU (e.g. to study at a different higher education institution in the Czech Republic, for employment in the Czech Republic, visa requirements, etc.).

Contact: Lucie Polišenská: +420 234 244 504, e-mail: lucie.polisenska@amu.cz

Information for citizens of Ukraine

Foreigners who have been granted temporary protection in the Czech Republic pursuant to the Act on Certain Measures in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine Induced by the Invasion of the Troops of the Russian Federation (Act No.65/2022 Coll., hereinafter referred to as the "Foreigner") may proceed in accordance with the provisions of Section 90(4) of the Higher Education Act.
Thus, Foreigners, when proving the attainment of previous higher education, may replace the document referred to in Section 48(5)(c) of the Higher Education Act (diploma and diploma supplement) with a Statutory declaration of such person on the facts otherwise proved by such document, if they do not have such documents for previous education.

Statutory declaration on completed higher education

Foreigners are also exempted from the obligation to pay the fee for acts related to the application for recognition of foreign education and qualifications pursuant to Section 90a(2) of the Higher Education Act with effect from 24 February 2022 to 1 September 2025 .
As part of the nostrification process, the foreigner shall also provide evidence of:
- a signed plain copy of the temporary protection status pursuant to Act No. 65/2022 Coll., with the date of the plain copy;
- a plain copy of the passport with the applicant's identification data;
- a completed Request to issue a certificate of general recognition of foreign higher education

All documents should be sent or delivered to the AMU address:
AMU 
Rector's Office
Malostranské náměstí 12
118 00 Prague 1

Basic information

The process of officially recognising foreign education, known in the Czech Republic as nostrifikace, involves recognising an individual’s foreign education (in whole or in part) and degree as equivalent to education completed in the Czech Republic. AMU is authorised to officially recognise foreign education (in whole or in part) and degrees only in cases where AMU offers a programme of study with analogous contents. AMU will issue a certification on the basis of knowledge of the level of the foreign higher education institution or on the basis of the extent of the knowledge and skills demonstrated by the relevant university degree.

An officially recognised document certifying foreign education is valid indefinitely for the territory of the Czech Republic and can be used generally, e.g. for purposes of employment, further studies or for public authorities.

The issuance of a certification of official recognition of previous education (“osvědčení o nostrifikaci předchozího vzdělání”) is currently subject to a fee; see below.

The applicant cannot submit requests for official recognition of the same foreign university degree at multiple higher education institutions concurrently.

Process of official recognition of foreign education at AMU

A proceeding shall commence on the basis of a written request by the graduate of a foreign higher education institution (hereinafter the “applicant”) submitted to the AMU Rectorate on a form; see link. The applicant shall send all documents in printed form (not via e-mail) to the following address: AMU Rectorate, Malostranské náměstí 12, 118 00 Prague 1. Documents sent will not be returned to the applicant.

Along with the request, it is also necessary to submit:

• an original or certified copy of the diploma, examination certificate or analogous document certifying completion of a programme of study issued by the foreign higher education institution;
• an original or certified copy of the diploma supplement, transcript of academic records, etc. issued by the foreign higher education institution;
• a receipt demonstrating payment of the administrative fee.

If not included in the above-mentioned documents, AMU may call upon the applicant to additionally submit the following:

• supplemental information documenting that the programme of study was administered by an institution authorised to provide education comparable with higher education pursuant to the Education Act;
• detailed information on the contents of the foreign higher education.

If the applicant’s situation so necessitates, he or she shall also submit the following documents:

• a power-of-attorney, if the applicant is represented by an agent (sample power-of-attorney);
• in the event of a change in the applicant’s name, a certified copy of a document demonstrating this (e.g. a marriage certificate);
• a certified copy of a decision granting international protection, if a person stipulated in Section 90(4) of the Higher Education Act requests such an assessment and wishes to exercise the option to substitute certain documents with an affidavit.

Applicants must submit the originals or certified copies of all documents, and all documents must be duly verified in accordance with the relevant international agreements; see Verification of documents demonstrating education. Official recognition of foreign higher education obtained in countries which have concluded a bilateral equivalence agreement with the Czech Republic (Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Germany, Hungary) is subject to special rules. More information.

For documents not issued in Czech, English or Slovak, a certified Czech or English translation must be provided. The translation must be prepared by a court interpreter certified in the Czech Republic (a list of certified court interpreters is available on the Ministry of Justice website in www.justice.cz, under “experts and interpreters” (“znalci a tlumočníci”)), or at the Czech embassy or consulate in the given country. If the certified translation is prepared by a translator who is not a court interpreter certified in the Czech Republic, the pages of the translation must be bound to the certified copies of the documents to which they correspond, so that the pages containing the translation cannot be subsequently exchanged. Translations bound to simple copies of documents will not be accepted. If the documents are issued in bilingual form and one of the languages is English, then it is not necessary to translate them.

Fee

The fee for acts connected with a proceeding on a request for official recognition of foreign higher education and qualifications (so-called nostrifikace) is CZK 3,000 in accordance with the provisions of Section 90a of the Higher Education Act.

The fee is due when the request is received. AMU bank account information is provided below.

Information for payments made in the Czech Republic or from countries outside the EU:

• Bank account no.: 19 – 5373180297/0100
• Variable symbol: 9400100902
• Specific symbol: 64922
• Message for beneficiary: Applicant’s surname
• Address of bank: Komerční banka, a s., Na Příkopě 33, čp. 969, Prague 1, 114 07

Information for payments from EU countries:

• IBAN: CZ5301000000195373180297
• SWIFT (BIC): KOMBCZPPXXX
• Variable symbol: 9400100902
• Specific symbol:  64922
• Message for beneficiary: Applicant’s surname
• Address of bank:  Komerční banka, a s., Na Příkopě 33, čp. 969, Prague 4, 114 07

Information for citizens of Ukraine - "Protected Foreigners"

Following the Decree of the Rector No 5_2022 that governs measures for the organisation of studies and decision-making at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (hereinafter “AMU”) which apply to foreigners who have been provided temporary protection in the Czech Republic pursuant to the act on certain measures in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine provoked by the invasion of forces of the Russian Federation (Act No. 65/2022 Coll., on Certain Measures in connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine Provoked by the Invasion of Forces of the Russian Federation) following Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing a case of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC and establishing temporary protection (hereinafter “Protected Foreigners”), effective from 24 February 2022, Protected Foreigners shall be exempt from the duty to pay the fee for actions connected with a proceeding on a request for official recognition of foreign higher education and qualifications (so-called “nostrifikace”) pursuant to Section 90a(2) of the Higher Education Act.

Assessment of the request

In the proceeding on official recognition of foreign education, AMU will compare the contents and extent of the foreign programme with the contents of an analogous (i.e. comparable) academic programme administered by AMU. At the end of the proceeding, AMU, in the event of a positive decision, will issue a certification of official recognition of the foreign higher education and degree with unlimited temporal validity for the territory of the Czech Republic. With official recognition of higher education, the academic title conferred upon the graduate by the foreign university shall be officially recognised as well. The holder of the foreign diploma shall thus have the right to use only the academic title conferred upon him or her by the foreign university.

The decision shall be issued within a basic period of 30 days from receipt of the application without defects. This period can be extended in complicated cases, e.g. by another 30 days.

In the event that AMU issues a negative decision, the AMU Rectorate shall be required by law to call upon the applicant to express his or her opinion on the source documents used for issuing the decision. The applicant (or his or her agent authorised by a power-of-attorney) may visit the AMU Rectorate in person to view his or her file, or may waive this option (e.g. if the applicant does not wish to submit any additional documents and wants to accelerate the proceeding) Here

This document must be sent by post to the AMU Rectorate; we will not accept the document if sent via e-mail. Subsequently, the request will either be assessed again or a negative decision shall be issued.

The applicant shall have the right to file an appeal within 15 days from the delivery date of the negative decision. Appeals should be submitted to the authority which issued the negative decision, i.e. to AMU. Appeals shall be decided by the Rector of AMU if they are granted, or they shall be forwarded to the Ministry of Education as the appellate body. The decision on the appeal shall be final.

If AMU is not materially competent to assess the foreign education in question, then the request and fee shall be forwarded to a public university which has the relevant accredited programme of study or an analogous programme of study.

The decision and the certificate shall be sent by registered post with personal delivery to the applicant, or to the applicant's agent, as the case may be; they can also be handed over in person to the applicant / the applicant’s agent at the AMU Rectorate by prior arrangement.

Verification of documents demonstrating education

Applicants must submit the originals or certified copies of all documents, and all documents must be duly verified in accordance with the relevant international agreements.

A) States which have concluded an agreement on legal assistance with the Czech Republic

• Originals are valid on the territory of contractual states without further verification. In the event that the applicant presents copies of such documents, these must be certified copies drawn up by a Czech or foreign notary at a Czech embassy or consulate abroad or drawn up through the Czech Point service.

List of states which have concluded an agreement on legal assistance with the Czech Republic, and thus require only an original or certified copy:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, France, Georgia, Yemen, Croatia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Cuba, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, North Macedonia / FYROM, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Austria, Romania, Russian Federation, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Syria, Spain, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

B) States which are signatories to the multilateral convention on the simplification of legalisation of foreign public documents,
i.e. the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (The Hague, 5 October 1961, published under No. 45/1999 Coll. international agreement), hereinafter the “Hague Convention”.

• For these states, a uniform method for verifying the authenticity of documents has been set out, the so-called Apostille, which is issued by the competent authority of the state in which the diploma was conferred, the so-called Apostille Office. A list of Apostille Offices is available on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law

Documents from the following states must be legalised by means of an Apostille:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burundi, Canada, Cook Islands, China including Hong Kong and Macao (super-legalisation required for documents from other territories in China), Chile, Denmark, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (from 15 July 2008), Dominica, Dominican Republic  (legalisation by apostille clause from 30 August 2009), Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, territories belonging to France (i.e. French Polynesia, French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, Guadalupe, Guyana, Comoro Islands, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna), Germany, Grenada (from 7 April 2002 – prior to this date listed under Great Britain), Guatemala, Honduras, India, Ireland, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Republic of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Colombia (an electronically issued Apostille is accepted), Republic of Korea (South Korea), Kosovo, Costa Rica, Lesotho, Liberia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niue, The Netherlands and their territories (i.e. Netherlands Antilles, Aruba), Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Philippines, Rwanda, El Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Surinam, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Switzerland, Eswatini, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay, the USA and its territories (i.e. American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands), Great Britain and its territories (i.e. Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, British Solomon Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands), Vanuatu and Venezuela.

C) Other states – documents demonstrating completion of studies must be superlegalised.

Super-legalisation involves verification of the authenticity of the signature and the stamp on the original documents:

• by the Foreign Ministry of the state in which the secondary school or higher education institution that issued the document is headquartered, or by the relevant foreign authority;
• and additionally by the relevant embassy or consulate of the Czech Republic.

! Requirements to submit duly certified documents will be fulfilled even if the applicant submits certified copies of documents which have been certified in the manner prescribed above for the relevant type of document submitted (e.g. in the case of a diploma from Egypt, the applicant shall submit certified copies of super-legalised documents).