Procedure for refugees to have a foreign diploma recognised by NARIC-Vlaanderen

If you are applying for recognition of your foreign diploma as a refugee, asylum seeker or person with a ‘protected’ status, you are exempt from paying for your application to NARIC-Vlaanderen. NARIC-Vlaanderen also takes a more flexible approach if you are unable to provide certain documents. You must attach at least one supporting document to prove that you have completed your course. If this is not possible, you can upload a statement with your application explaining that you do not have any supporting documents.

Do you have a foreign diploma?

Answer the questions in the NARIC-Vlaanderen application wizard and find out what you need to do.

Have you already submitted an application? Follow up on your file in the e-portal.

Whom this procedure applies to

Asylum seekers who have submitted their application for asylum to the Immigration Office. More info: asiel en migratie (in Dutch)
Recognised refugees who have received international protected refugee status from the competent federal authorities as described in the Geneva Convention. More info: Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons
People under subsidiary protection: those who are not eligible for the status of refugee but have a well-founded fear of persecution or serious and unjustified harm if they return to their country of origin. More info: Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons
Those under temporary protection: who have been granted temporary protection by the competent federal authorities (e.g. in the context of the crisis in Ukraine). More info: ‘What is temporary protection and how do you apply for it? (IBZ Immigration Office)

Your application is free of charge with proof of your status

Asylum seekers and people granted refugee status, subsidiary protection or temporary protection have a legal residence status. Upload proof of your status to show that you fall under one of these four categories and can submit your application for free.

What proof should you upload? You can find out by answering the questions in the NARIC-Vlaanderen application wizard. Once all the questions have been answered, you will see the list of required documents, including which document you need to submit in order to apply free of charge. Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering can help you start an application.

No diploma or certificate available? Upload a personal statement

If you are unable to provide a diploma, certificate or other official proof of graduation, NARIC-Vlaanderen will ask you to upload a personal statement under the ‘Diploma’ category when submitting your application via the e-portal (Go to the ‘Upload documents’ step > click on the name of your course > ‘Upload documents’ > ‘Mandatory documents’ > ‘Diploma’)

In this statement, please state as clearly as possible:

which course you followed
at which educational institution you studied
in which country the course was taken
when you completed the course
why you are unable to provide an official diploma or supporting document

Uploading a personal statement does not automatically replace the required diploma, but it allows us to investigate your application further.

Payment exemption exception

The payment exemption does not apply if you already applied for the same higher education diploma in the past. Example: you obtained a master’s degree in communication in France and start an application with us to have this degree recognised. This procedure is free of charge. Was this examination stopped because we did not receive a response from you? Or do you think that you could still obtain recognition for the same master’s degree through additional training? Then this application becomes payable. This measure is only applied in exceptional situations. Exceptional, because we do not simply close an application if you do not provide all information or documents; we continue to respect the 6-month deadline for responding and adopt a flexible approach if you indicate that you need more time to forward the information. The application for another diploma, such as an undergraduate diploma, is still free for the first application though.

Documents

Do you have all required documents? (Overview: Documents for your application at NARIC-Vlaanderen)

Yes. NARIC-Vlaanderen will handle your application under the normal procedure. Apply for recognition of your foreign study certificate via the application wizard NARIC-Vlaanderen.
No
- You need at least one document proving that you completed your education abroad. For example a diploma, a transcript of the final year of study, a provisional diploma or a duplicate of a diploma. You find out what proof you should upload by answering the questions in the NARIC-Vlaanderen application wizard. If you do not have any supporting documents, please include a statement with your application (see above: No diploma or certificate available? Upload a personal statement).
- Fill in the form with an overview of all your work experience and internships
- Submit an application for recognition of your foreign diploma using the NARIC-Vlaanderen application wizard.

More information for professionals

Wondering how you can set up pathways for refugees, displaced persons and persons in refugee situations as a higher education institution? including those who have no official documentation on their education? Discover the toolkit developed by ARENA, an Erasmus+ project whose aim is to improve mobility, employability and access to further education.