Get an evaluation for your foreign qualifications in Sweden

Transcripton of Arbetsförmedlingens Ny i Sverige-podd: Get an evaluation for your foreign qualifications in Sweden.

Host: Tara Khaffaf

Guest: Amelie Johansson

Vinjettmusik (FIRST STEP MUSIC)

TK: Have you come to Sweden from another country? Or have you studied in a country outside of Sweden? In that case, it can be good for you to know that you can apply to have your qualification recognised by the Swedish Council for Higher Education. And from now on, we will call them the UHR, which is a short form for the council's name in Swedish.

Vinjettmusik (FIRST STEP MUSIC)

TK: With me in the studio, I have Amelie Johansson from the UHR.

Hi, and most welcome to our studio, Amelie.

AJ: Hello, it's nice to be here.

TK: Thank you. How come it's important to have your foreign qualification evaluated and compared to a Swedish qualification?

AJ: Well, it makes it easier for people to understand what you have studied. You receive a recognition statement from us that can be useful when you apply for jobs or university courses or programs in Sweden,

for example.

TK: Sounds logical. I know that the UHR does this evaluation.

Does it cost anything?

AJ: No, it's free of charge.

TK: Okay. Great to know. So if I have a diploma from another country, what should I do in order to get the… an assessment from you?

AJ: Well, basically, you have two different options. You can either apply for an individual recognition statement, or you can use our qualifications assessment tool to get an instant overview or a comparison of the closest equivalent of your qualification in the Swedish educational system.

TK: Okay. So you said there's two ways that I can have my documents assessed. So if you can tell me more about the first way.

What is the recognition statement?

AJ: Yeah, a recognition statement is a document that shows what your qualification corresponds to in the Swedish education system. So it shows the level of your studies, basically. We will go through your individual documents, review them, and at the end of the process, if everything is okay, we issue a recognition statement. The recognition statement is a digital document, so we will send it to you via email.

TK: Okay, so what do I want if I have... if I want an evaluation from you, what do... what should I do?

AJ: Well, it's easy, you apply on our website, UHR.se. You fill out an application form and then you upload your supporting documents.

In most cases, you need to submit your diploma or certificate and also grade transcripts, although of course it varies from one country to another exactly what documents you need to submit.

TK: Okay, talking about documents, shall I send my original documents or certificate, or it's okay to send a photocopy or scanned documents by email, maybe?

AJ: Well, normally you don't need to submit originals. In some cases we need to see them, but if so we will ask you. The easiest way to submit documents is to scan them and upload them in a PDF format on our website when you do your application. You can also send photocopies by regular mail. You'll find the address on our website, of course.

We accept documents issued in English, French, Spanish, German or one of the Nordic languages. But if your documents are in another language, you also need to send us a translation into one of the languages that I just mentioned.

TK: Okay, I see. You mentioned earlier another way to get an assessment. Can you tell us more about this second way?

AJ: Yeah, sure. We have what we call a qualifications assessment tool.

Or in Swedish it's called bedömningstjänsten. It's the way to get an instant overview or comparison of what your qualification corresponds to in the Swedish education system. And it's in the form of a comparison between your qualification and the corresponding Swedish qualification.

And this document or comparison you can then download it and save it to your computer or you can even print it and you use it when you are applying for a job together with your educational documents.

TK: Well, that's very practical. So that brings us to the other question that I have on my mind. Do you have all countries in the world represented in your qualification assessment tool?

AJ: No. At the moment, we have about 50 countries in the assessment tool, but we're adding countries continuously. But of course if your country isn't available, you can always apply for an individual recognition statement instead.

TK: So is there a difference between the two ways? You said that recognition statement and the comparison on the website.

Can you tell us more about the difference between these two ways?

AJ: Well, yes. Both the recognition statement and the comparison from the qualifications assessment tool can be shown to employers when you're applying for jobs, for example. The difference is that when you apply for a recognition statement, we at UHR, we review, go through and evaluate your individual documents. Whereas the qualifications assessment tool,

it gives you a general idea of what a certain qualification corresponds to in the Swedish system, without us actually having looked at your individual documents. So, that's the difference.

TK: Okay, interesting. So, you talked a little bit about employers and showing documents to employers. So, if I'm... Let's say if I'm applying for a job here in Sweden but... I could use and show these documents, but what if I want to use my foreign diploma in order to study further, what should I do?

AJ: Yeah, well, the first thing to know maybe is that you don't need a recognition statement from UHR in order to apply for higher education here in Sweden. You can always apply directly through antagning.se or universityadmissions.se and then your qualifications will be assessed during the admission process. However, if you're interested in studying at bachelors level here in Sweden, it's a good idea I think to apply for recognition of your upper secondary or high school diploma because it can help you plan and prepare for your studies. The recognition statement that we issue gives you important information in this case, such as if you're eligible for university studies, that is if you have what we call in Swedish grundläggande behörighet. It will show your grade point average and also it will show the subjects that you're qualified in, what we call särskild behörighet. I should also maybe add that a recognition statement for postsecondary vocational qualifications or higher educational qualifications will not show if you're eligible for admissions to, for example, masters level studies.

TK: Well, impressive how much you can get help from the UHR.

But is there any qualification that you cannot assess?

AJ: Well, we evaluate and recognise all formal qualifications at upper secondary, postsecondary and vocational and university level if the qualification is completed and a degree has been awarded. What we don't do is that we don't issue certifications or licenses to work in a regulated profession, though. For example if you want to work as a teacher, a nurse or a doctor or any other regulated profession, you need a specific certificate or a licence which you cannot get from us.

TK: Okay. So let's say I want to work in a regulated profession in Sweden. What should I do, where should I turn?

AJ: Well, you need to contact the authority that's responsible for the regulated profession in question. For example, when it comes to being a teacher, you apply to the national agency for education, Skolverket.

Or if you want to apply for a licence in healthcare occupation, you contact the national board of health and welfare, Socialstyrelsen. We also have quite a bit of information about the regulated professions and the different authorities on our website.

TK: Well, that's great to know. So, let's say another example. If I, for example have... I'm a teacher and I... I didn't have... I don't have my certificates or my diploma here with me in Sweden, what should I do?

Can I still apply for school jobs in Sweden?

AJ: Well, if you have your documents you can send them to us and we can evaluate and recognise your qualification. For example, if you have a degree in pedagogy then, you know, you submit the documents to us and we... we can evaluate this degree and issue a recognition statement which you can use, for example, when you apply for a temporary position at a school, for example. But it's important to understand that our recognition statement is not equivalent to a teaching certification, lärarlegitimation, which can... which can only be issued by the national agency for education, not by us.

TK: Okay, very good to know. That brings me to my last question, Amelie. Some of the people that turn to us, they would come from countries with special situation that meant they cannot get... They’ve maybe completed their education or their studies, but they don't have their diplomas and documents because of different, you know, reasons. They might not be able to get it right away or right now, so can UHR do anything for these people?

AJ: Yes, this is a very good question actually. And we know that there are some people that are missing their... their documents. And so if you've completed your education program, you have your degree, but you're missing some documents, for example your transcript or your diploma or maybe both, we may still in some cases be able to assist your qualification. We have some more information about this on our website, and of course you can always also contact us if you have questions.

TK: That's great to know and I'm sure that will help many people. Well, Amelie, thanks for all the helpful information you shared with us today. And thanks for being with us in the studio.

AJ: Thank you.

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TK: You were listening to the New in Sweden podcast from the Swedish public employment office, with Amelie Johansson from the UHR and me, Tara Khaffaf. And from the studio, Andreas Damgaard.

So for more information, contact podcast@arbetsformedlingen.se.

This episode was produced in October 2020.

Vinjettmusik (FIRST STEP MUSIC)