About the recognition

The recognition scheme is voluntary and you can apply for work in Norway without this recognition.

About the recognition procedure

You can apply for recognition if you have tertiary vocational education from abroad. Norwegian tertiary vocational education is placed between vocational education and training (craft and journeyman’s certificates) and higher education (bachelor, master).

Your education is assessed against Norwegian tertiary vocational education. Your education will be approved if it meets our criteria.

If you have higher education, e.g. bachelor, master or ph.d. you must apply in a different recognition scheme.

What is Norwegian tertiary vocational education?

Norwegian tertiary vocational education is named fagskoleutdanning or høyere yrkesfaglig utdanning in Norwegian. Norwegian tertiary vocational education gives students the practical skills they need in order to function in a profession from day one.

Norwegian tertiary vocational education institutions offer short practically oriented vocational programmes within specific fields. The programmes build on secondary education programmes.

The admission requirements are secondary vocational education (craft or journeyman’s certificate) or general secondary education, or equivalent experience. The programmes emphasize practical skills that can be related to working life, and have less emphasis on research and academic learning. The programmes last from six months to two years (in some cases three years).

Why apply for recognition?

Our recognition procedure of tertiary vocational education is voluntary and is intended to help those who wish to enter the Norwegian job market.

Applying for recognition is free of charge. You may need to pay for the translation of your documents.

About our assessment

In this recognition procedure we assess whether your education can be approved as comparable to Norwegian tertiary vocational education. If your education is recognised, you will receive an assessment that describes the scope and level of the education.

We do not carry out an assessment of the vocational content, but we will give a brief description of the vocational profile of the education in the country in which it was taken. The legal basis for the scheme can be found in the Vocational Education Act (fagskoleloven) § 7 (lovdata.no) and in forskrift om høyere yrkesfaglig utdanning (fagskoleforskriften) kap. 9 (in Norwegian) (lovdata.no).

Minimum requirements for recognition

1. The education must be sufficiently documented by the school or education authorities in the country where it was awarded. The education must be completed at the time of application.
2. The education must be at the same level as accredited Norwegian tertiary vocational education (fagskoleutdanning). The education must be placed on a level above upper secondary education, or equivalent prior learning, and must provide competence that can be used in the labour market in the country where it was awarded, without further training.
3. The education must have a content and scope equivalent to at least half a year.
4. The education is normally recognised on the basis that one year of nominal study time in the country where the education was awarded, is equivalent to one year of nominal study time in Norway.

In order to work in a regulated profession, you need authorisation. An overview of regulated industries/professions and information about where to apply for authorisation, can be found in the list of regulated professions.

What we take into consideration in the assessment

• The education’s status in the country of origin.
• The authenticity of the documents.
• The level of the education.
• The scope of the education.