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If you have qualifications from another country
Last updated: 15/11-2024
Do you have a foreign qualification and plan to apply for a job or to study in Sweden? When you apply for a job, it is important that others can understand your qualifications. Here, you can learn more about how you can get help to translate your grades from previous studies or have your foreign qualification evaluated and recognised.
Translation of foreign grades or other documents
If documentation of your education is in a language other than English, French, Spanish, German or one of the Nordic languages, you will need to have it translated.
Documents must be translated into Swedish or one of the languages listed above by an authorised translator. You can find a directory of authorised translators on the website of the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (Kammarkollegiet).
If you are registered as a job seeker, the Swedish Public Employment Service will help you with translating documents.
Have your qualifications evaluated
The Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) offers a service called the Qualifications Assessment Tool where you can get your foreign qualifications evaluated. This involves a comparison to see which Swedish qualification your foreign qualification is equivalent to. UHR will then issue a document explaining the comparison that you can show to prospective employers or education provider. The service is free of charge.
Apply for a recognition statement from UHR
Not all countries are covered by UHR’s Qualifications Assessment Tool. If your homeland is not covered, you can apply for a recognition statement from UHR.
The statement is a document showing how your qualification compares to a Swedish qualification. Before issuing a recognition statement, UHR will review your documents. It is free of charge to apply for a recognition statement from UHR.
You need a licence to practice certain professions in Sweden
Certain professions are regulated in Sweden. This means that you need a license or authorisation to work in that profession. Teacher, doctor and nurse are examples.
If you want to work in a regulated profession, you need to contact the authority with responsibility for that profession. The National Board of Health and Welfare issues licenses for doctors and nurses. The Swedish National Agency for Education certifies teachers.
On the UHR website, you will find a list of professions that are regulated in Sweden. The list also shows which authority you need to contact before you can begin practicing the profession in question.
Supplement your education
You may need to supplement your education before you can use your foreign qualification to work in a regulated profession in Sweden.
Once you have done so, you will have the necessary knowledge and skills to practice the profession and can then obtain a license, certification or other authorisation.
What should I do if I do not have any documents or certificates from my previous education?
The Swedish Public Employment Service will help you to validate your knowledge and competence.
Validation involves explaining and demonstrating your practical and theoretical knowledge through interviews, tests and work samples. You will be helped to assess your knowledge and competence and whether you need additional training before you can work in a given occupation.
The Swedish Public Employment Service documents your validation in a certificate or a rating that is formally recognised on the Swedish labour market.
Commenced higher education
If you have begun an academic education outside of Sweden that you would like to finish in Sweden, credit for parts of your education can be transferred. This means that you will not have to study the same thing again in Sweden.
It is the university or university college you apply to that determines what parts of your previous education credit can be transferred for. They also determine whether you are qualified to apply for the education programme in question.
Contact the institution, which has the education you are interested in, for guidance.
