Service 01

Homologation and credit recognition

This is the procedure that cost me two years of university. Not because it is hard, but because nobody explained in time which of the three routes applied to me, or what choosing wrong would cost.

75 € session plus report

Sixty minutes going through your record, a written report with your steps, and two months of follow up questions by message.

The problem it solves

You arrive in Spain with a secondary school certificate, or with a degree already started, and you discover that the paper you are holding is not enough on its own. It has to be converted into the Spanish system, and there are three different routes to do that, which are not interchangeable.

The mistake I see again and again is applying through the wrong route. Months of processing are lost, sometimes a whole academic year, and when the decision arrives you have to start over. The right decision takes one afternoon if you know what to ask.

The three routes, briefly

Homologación. For qualifications that give access to a regulated profession. It makes your qualification equivalent to the Spanish one for every purpose, including professional practice. It is the long route and the one that demands the most paperwork.

Equivalencia. It recognises the academic level and field of study, but does not give access to a regulated profession. It works for continuing your studies or for proving your training.

Convalidación parcial. Decided by each university, not by the Ministry. It recognises specific subjects from a degree started abroad, above a minimum number of credits, and lets you continue in Spain without repeating everything.

Which one applies depends on what qualification you hold, what you want to do with it and where you are in the process. Not on what worked for someone you know.

How we work on your case

We start with your actual record: what you have studied, where, for how many years, with what marks, and which documents you already have in hand. With that on the table we settle the route and the timeline.

Then I prepare a written report with the full sequence: what to apply for first, which documents need legalising and in what order, where each one is filed, and what timescales are realistic. You leave with a document you can follow on your own.

Legalisation is the part that drags on longest and the one most people do backwards. If your country is in the Hague Convention you need an apostille; if it is not, as is the case for Syria, the route is diplomatic legalisation. And the sworn translation comes after the stamp, never before, because the stamp gets translated too.

What this is not

This is informed guidance, not an official filing service and not legal representation. I do not file your papers for you and I am not a lawyer. What I do is save you the mistakes that cost me two academic years, with the information ordered and checked against official sources.

If your case needs a lawyer, I say so and point you towards who to talk to.

What it includes

Sixty minutes of video call going through your record with you
A decision on which route applies to you, and why
A written report with your steps, documents and realistic timescales
A list of documents to legalise and the right order to do it in
Two months of follow up questions by message while you move through the procedure
Arabic, Spanish or English, whichever you are most comfortable in

Frequently asked questions

How long does homologation take?

The legal deadline for a decision is six months, and administrative silence counts as a refusal. In practice timescales vary a great deal with the Ministry's workload and with the quality of the file you submit. A complete file from day one is the only part of this that is in your hands.

Can I study while it is being decided?

In many cases yes, because there are mechanisms to register conditionally for the access exams while the procedure is still open. It is one of the points we check for your specific case, because it depends on your situation and on the academic year.

My country is not in the Hague Convention, what do I do?

Syria is not a member, so the apostille does not apply and documents have to be legalised diplomatically: the foreign ministry of your own country, then the Spanish consulate, then the sworn translation. Oman and Morocco are members, so they go through the apostille.

Does this help if I already started a degree outside Spain?

Yes, and that is exactly where there is most to gain. That is where partial credit recognition comes in. It is decided by the university and it can save you whole years if it is requested properly and in time.

Let us start with your record

Tell me what you have studied and where, and in the first conversation I will tell you which route applies to you.

Message on WhatsApp

If you want to understand the differences before writing to me, I explain them in full in homologación, equivalencia and convalidación are not the same thing. And if your file is already open and has stalled, see administrative appeals.