Degree homologation in Spain: who needs it, how much it costs and how long it takes

Homologation is required only for regulated professions: doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, teacher, engineer, architect and about thirty other positions. For all other jobs it is not needed at all: the employer assesses the foreign degree, and if you need to confirm your level of education formally, there is a separate procedure for that, the declaration of equivalence.

Below we explain how to tell which case applies to you, which documents you need, why Spanish at B2 level is not required for everyone, how much the fee is and what the ministry’s silence after six months means. Everything is based on the current rules, Real Decreto 889/2022, and on the ministry’s figures for 2025.

Four procedures that are constantly confused

In Russian-language texts the word “homologation” is used for everything, but in Spain these are four different procedures handled by different bodies at different prices. Which procedure applies is determined not by what you would like but by what you intend to do with your degree.

Procedure	What it gives you	Who decides	Fee
Homologation homologación	Makes the degree equivalent to a Spanish one that gives access to a specific regulated profession. The same rights as a Spanish graduate	Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities	€166.50
Equivalence declaración de equivalencia	Confirms the academic level (Grado or Máster) and field of study. Academic and administrative effects, but no access to a regulated profession	the same ministry	€166.50
Validation of credits convalidación	Recognition of subjects already completed so you can continue studying at a Spanish university and obtain a Spanish degree	The university itself, under its own rules	at the university’s rates
School certificate, college, FP educación no universitaria	Recognition of school-leaving certificates and secondary vocational education	Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport	€40, ESO certificate free

A fifth case stands apart: equivalence at doctoral level is granted not by the ministry but by a university, any one of your choice, under the procedure it sets itself. This is stated explicitly in the second additional provision of RD 889/2022. Applications for doctoral degrees sent to the ministry are simply not considered.

Who does not need homologation

Employment in a non-regulated profession requires no recognition at all. Programmer, marketer, designer, accountant at a private company, chef, translator, manager: here the employer assesses the degree and no public body gets involved. No Spanish law prohibits hiring someone with a Russian, Kazakh or Ukrainian degree.

• Homologation is not needed for a visa or residence permit. For the digital nomad visa the degree is either accepted as it is or replaced by three years of work experience; recognition through the ministry is not required. The same goes for the residence permit for highly qualified professionals.
• It is not needed to register as an autónomo either, provided your activity is not regulated. A psychologist seeing clients and a freelance developer are in different positions, even though both are autónomos.
• For public-sector competitions and civil service pay scales, equivalence is more often required than homologation. There you need to confirm your level of education, not the right to practise a profession, and this is a simpler procedure: the rules do not require Spanish for it.

The practical conclusion: first find out whether your profession is regulated, and only then gather documents. Half of all enquiries to lawyers about homologation end with the words “you don’t need this”, and that is the best possible outcome, because it costs zero euros and zero months of waiting.

Which professions count as regulated

The list is set out in the annex to RD 889/2022. The annex itself lists not professions but the orders approving the requirements for Spanish degrees, which is why articles usually summarise it inaccurately. Here is what it actually contains.

Group	Professions in the annex
Healthcare	doctor, dentist, pharmacist, vet, nurse, physiotherapist, speech therapist, optician-optometrist, podiatrist, occupational therapist, dietitian-nutritionist, general health psychologist
Education	nursery teacher, primary school teacher, teacher in secondary education, bachillerato, vocational training and language schools
Architecture	architect, technical architect
Engineering	industrial, aeronautical, agricultural, mining, forestry, telecommunications, naval, civil (roads and canals), ports, as well as technical engineers in the same fields, including surveying and public works
Lawyers	lawyer (abogado) and procurador: formally in the annex, but in practice the route is different; see the next section

If your profession is not on the list, homologation is neither available nor necessary for you: in that case you can only apply for a declaration of equivalence of level. This is not a refusal or a downgrade but a different procedure with a different purpose.

Lawyers cannot get homologation

This is the most common disappointment in this area, and the ministry states it plainly: under the current rules it is impossible to get homologation for a foreign law degree. A dedicated page on the ministry’s website covers exactly this case.

The route to the Spanish bar consists of four steps, and the first of them is study:

1. Validation of credits at a Spanish university and obtaining a Spanish Grado en Derecho. The university credits what you have already completed; how much is up to the university.
2. Máster de acceso a la abogacía. It cannot be combined with the credit validation: first the degree, then the master’s.
3. The state exam run by the Ministry of Justice.
4. Joining the bar association where you will practise; you cannot practise without it.

Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have a different, free route: professional recognition through the Ministry of Justice under Directive 2005/36/EC. If what you need is not your own status but help from a practising lawyer, we have an article on how to choose the right specialisation: lawyers in Spain.

Spanish at B2: the condition almost everyone forgets

Homologation requires proven command of Spanish, as stated in Article 9.4 of RD 889/2022. The logic is simple: homologation gives access to a profession in which you will be talking to Spanish patients, pupils and clients.

The rule names exactly four documents that prove this, and that matters: popular exams such as SIELE are not on the list.

• DELE at B2 level or above: the diploma in Spanish as a foreign language.
• An official B2 or higher certificate issued by a state language school (escuela oficial de idiomas).
• Certificado de Aptitud in Spanish for foreigners from the same school.
• A certificate from the university where you studied stating that at least 75% of the teaching was in Spanish. For graduates of Latin American universities this is the practical option.

No language requirement applies to equivalence. This is another argument in its favour for those who need a formal level rather than the right to practise: no certificate, no waiting for an exam.

Documents

The list of mandatory documents is set by Article 13 of RD 889/2022 and is the same for homologation and equivalence.

Document	What is checked
Passport or other proof of identity and nationality	residents in Spain can simply authorise a database check and do not need to attach a copy
Degree certificate or proof that it has been issued	must be official in the country of issue; a “diploma” from private courses will not do
Academic transcript	the key document: it must show the official length of the programme in academic years, the list of subjects and the workload for each in hours or ECTS credits. A transcript without hours is the main reason for a request to submit additional documents
Apostille or consular legalisation	required on the degree certificate and the transcript. Not required for documents from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
Official translation into Castilian Spanish	required for the same two documents
Proof of payment of the fee	the file does not move without it
Declaración responsable	a responsible declaration that the information is accurate and that you hold the originals, which can be requested at any time

A separate word about the apostille: it goes on the original document, not on the translation or a copy, and how you obtain it depends on the country that issued the degree. We explained how apostilles work for Russian documents using another document as an example, an apostille on an EGRUL extract: the sequence of steps is the same.

Apostille on a degree certificate: where the number is and how it is translated

Who affixes it. The apostille on a Russian degree certificate and academic transcript is affixed by the education authority of the region where the document was issued. Rosobrnadzor (the Russian Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science) keeps the federal register of apostilles on education documents, and since 2023, under Government Resolution No. 1865, there has also been an electronic apostille with a two-dimensional barcode and an extract about it via Gosuslugi (the Russian public services portal).

Time and cost. For education documents the law allows up to 45 working days from registration of the request — longer than for other documents, because the university has to confirm authenticity (Federal Law No. 330-FZ, Article 6). The state fee is RUB 2,500 per document, so a degree certificate and an academic transcript mean two fees.

Where it physically goes. By law, the apostille is placed on the document itself or on a separate sheet bound to it. Do not detach or laminate that sheet: once it is no longer bound, the apostille loses its link to the degree certificate.

Where the apostille number is. The form is the same for all Hague Convention countries: a square with sides of at least 9 cm, a heading that is always in French and ten numbered fields. The number is field 8, “No.”, in the lower part of the stamp after the place, date and authority; next to it are the seal (field 9) and the signature (field 10). The apostille is found in the register by this number.

Translating the apostille. A Russian apostille is filled in in Russian (Article 8 of Law No. 330-FZ), and Spain’s Ministry of Science explicitly requires the official translation to include legalisations too. So the sworn translator translates the degree certificate, the academic transcript and the apostille in full. Translations have no expiry date. In the translation, the apostille fields follow the official Spanish form of the Hague Conference:

Field	On the Russian apostille (English meaning)	In the Spanish translation
heading	APOSTILLE (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)	Apostilla (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)
1	Country	País:
—	This public document	El presente documento público
2	has been signed by	ha sido firmado por
3	acting in the capacity of	quien actúa en calidad de
4	bears the seal / stamp of	y está revestido del sello / timbre de
—	Certified	Certificado
5	at	en
6	the (date)	el día
7	by	por
8	No.	bajo el número
9	Seal / stamp	Sello / timbre:
10	Signature	Firma:

After each line the translator enters the details from the apostille: the country, the full name and position of the signatory, the name of the university, the city, the date, the authority and the number. The translation can be done by a sworn translator appointed by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or by an official translator of an EU country; a translator from a non-EU country only with a legalised signature.

Where to apply and how much it costs

Applications are electronic only, through the ministry’s e-office into its electronic register. This is set by Article 12 of RD 889/2022 and confirmed on the ministry’s page. A consulate can help with legalising documents, but you cannot apply for homologation through it.

The fee is €166.50, the same for homologation and equivalence. It is tasa 107, paid on form modelo 790 by card, through a bank or by transfer. The law itself, Article 28 of Ley 53/2002, sets a base amount of €160; the current figure is updated every year by the budget law, so check the fee page rather than the text of the law.

• The fee is not refunded if the application is not accepted, lapses or is refused. A refund is possible only if the procedure did not take place through no fault of yours.
• School certificates and secondary vocational education cost €40, and validation of individual school years €20.
• Two procedures are completely free: recognition of the lower secondary certificate (Graduado en Educación Secundaria) and recognition of a medical specialist qualification.

How long it takes and why silence means refusal

The rules give the ministry six months from the date the application enters the electronic register. Then comes the part of Article 18.3 that makes people lose their case: if there is no decision after six months, the application is deemed rejected by administrative silence. Not “still under review”, but rejected.

In practice this means that from the seventh month you are holding a refusal that can be appealed, administratively or in court. Waiting “a little longer” in this situation is worse than acting: the appeal deadlines run from the moment the silence became a refusal.

That said, the queue itself has shrunk noticeably over the last two years. The ministry presented a report on 14 April 2026, and here are its figures.

Indicator	Value
Cases decided in 2025	85,564, of which 49,906 homologations and 35,658 equivalences
Decided in 2024	39,975
New applications received in 2025	51,079
In the queue on 13 March 2026	72,337, 41.1% fewer than in October 2024
Positive decisions	76.3%, or 65,319 cases
Of which in medicine	30,303 positive homologations

Two conclusions from these figures are more useful than the figures themselves. First: a queue of 72,337 cases at a rate of 85,564 a year is about ten months of the ministry’s work. A six-month rule and a ten-month queue are not a contradiction but an explanation of why refusal by silence is so common. Second: fewer applications come in than are decided (51,079 versus 85,564), so the queue keeps shrinking and waiting times in 2026 will be shorter than in 2024.

It is also worth knowing where applications come from: 63% of applicants are from Latin America, including Colombia with 20%, Venezuela with 9% and Cuba with 8%. Another 22% are Spaniards themselves having a degree obtained abroad recognised. Russian-speaking applicants account for a fraction of a percent in these statistics, which means your case is atypical for the committee, so it is all the more important that your academic transcript is flawless.

Four outcomes and the main trap

A decision on a homologation application comes in four forms, and the danger lies not in refusal but in the third option.

Conditional homologation is a positive decision with a condition: completing additional training requirements (requisitos formativos complementarios). They are imposed when the committee sees gaps in knowledge, competences or practical training in your programme. It looks like good news, but the obligations it carries are serious.

• They can only be completed at a Spanish university, one or more of your choice, but only where the corresponding Spanish degree is actually taught at the moment.
• The deadline is four years from the date of the decision, and it has been extended. A resolution of 26 May 2025 added two more years for those whose four-year period had not yet expired. Six in total.
• If you do not complete them, the conditional homologation lapses. And here is the key point: you cannot apply for homologation of the same degree a second time. The rules close this door explicitly, even if you missed the deadline for a good reason.

Hence the practical rule: if you receive a conditional decision, treat it not as “almost homologation” but as enrolment at a Spanish university for several subjects. Work out whether you can physically get there and pay for them before celebrating the word “favorable”.

What works in your favour

Article 11 of RD 889/2022 lists the circumstances the committee takes into account, and two of them are worth using deliberately.

• Professional experience counts, for up to 15% of the credits of the Spanish degree you are seeking equivalence with. There is one condition: the experience must relate to the professional competences in the very order that approved the Spanish degree. So you need to prove not that you “worked in your field” but that you performed precisely the functions listed in the rules.
• Other education is also taken into account if it academically complements the degree you are having recognised. A second degree, a master’s, a medical residency: attach all of them rather than leaving them out “because they only asked about one degree”.
• Different programme lengths in different countries are not an automatic minus. The rules expressly require the focus to be on core knowledge and competences, not on the number of years.

And one procedural detail that is hardly ever mentioned: for homologation applications the ministry must request an opinion from the professional body, the general council or national college of the relevant profession. The opinion is non-binding and has a ten-working-day deadline: if there is no reply, the case moves on. It is worth knowing this because the professional body is not your opponent in the procedure and its opinion is not decisive.

Doctors and nurses: two stages instead of one

For medical professionals the procedure is twofold, and that is the main difference in their case. First comes homologation of the basic degree at the universities ministry, which gives the right to work as a doctor or nurse. Then, if you have a specialisation, it is recognised separately by a different ministry.

• The specialisation is recognised by the Ministry of Health under Real Decreto 459/2010; the procedure is called “recognition of professional effects” and is described on its website.
• A theoretical and practical exam is usually required. It is announced by specialisation, and not always: the exam is held once there are at least five applicants in a specialisation. The wait here is measured not in months of review but in waiting for enough applicants.
• There is no fee for recognising a medical specialisation. This is a direct exemption in the fees law.
• The alternative is Spanish MIR residency training from scratch, through a competitive exam. Sometimes this is faster than waiting for an exam in a rare specialisation.

The doctor’s case is covered in detail in a separate article, together with salaries, the MIR exam and the requirements of regional health services: working as a doctor in Spain. Architects have their own guide, working as an architect in Spain: the same homologation, but a different professional body and a different market.

School certificates, college and university admission

School certificates and secondary vocational education go to a different ministry, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport, under different rules: Real Decreto 104/1988 and the order of 30 April 1996, which sets the table of equivalences with Spanish levels.

• Homologation of a school certificate makes it equivalent to a Spanish one, ESO or Bachillerato, with academic effect.
• Convalidación is needed when school has not been completed: it makes the years completed equivalent to Spanish school years so that the child can continue at a Spanish school.
• Recognition of the ESO certificate is free; Bachillerato and Técnico Superior cost €40.

The ministry has a page on recognition of qualifications in Russian, for Russia, with a table of level equivalences. It is short, but it is the primary source, and it comes up first in Yandex search results for this topic.

If you need the school certificate not for its own sake but to get into a Spanish university, there is a separate procedure, and recognising the certificate is only part of it: details in our guide to Spanish universities. For families moving with children in the middle of the school year, another article is more useful: Russian schools in Spain.

What cannot be homologated at all

Article 4 of RD 889/2022 lists cases in which the application will be rejected however good the documents are. Check them before paying the fee, because it is not refunded.

• Universities’ own programmes: títulos propios, professional development courses, corporate MBAs without state status. It is not the university that has to be official but the degree itself.
• Levels other than Grado and Máster. Everything else goes through other procedures, including doctoral degrees.
• Spanish degrees that no longer exist or do not yet exist. If a programme has been closed or has not been opened at any Spanish university, there is nothing to make it equivalent to.
• Studies actually completed in Spain at an unauthorised centre, as well as a foreign university degree in a programme the university itself did not offer at the time of issue.

Recognition agreements: there are only seven

Russian-language texts often say that Spain has a “simplified procedure” with certain countries. The list is published by the ministry and is short: Germany, Italy, France, China, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine are not on it, so the general procedure applies to degrees from these countries. And the second point, which even people who know the list miss: the agreements supplement the homologation and equivalence procedures rather than replacing them. Even with an agreement you still have to apply.

Regions do not handle recognition

Another source of confusion was cleared up by the Supreme Court in 2025. In a judgment of 24 March 2025 it annulled the transfer of homologation of foreign university degrees to the Basque Country, holding that this is an exclusive competence of the state under Article 149.1.30 of the Constitution.

The practical meaning is simple: the regional government does not handle your case and cannot speed it up. Offers to “do it faster through the autonomous community” relate to something other than homologation.

Six mistakes that cost months

1. Applying for homologation when you need equivalence. Homologation is only possible for a degree in a regulated profession. For other fields it will not be granted, and that is not a refusal on the merits but the wrong choice of procedure.
2. An academic transcript without hours and credits. The rules require the workload for each subject. A transcript with subjects and grades but no hours guarantees a request for documents and lost months.
3. An apostille on a copy or a translation. It goes on the original; the translation is done afterwards and separately.
4. Getting a language certificate the rules do not name. There are four documents on the list, and SIELE is not one of them. Check your option before paying for an exam.
5. Waiting beyond the sixth month. Silence is a refusal, and the appeal clock is running. “I’ll call again in a month” works against you here.
6. Treating a conditional decision as a win. The additional requirements are completed at a Spanish university, the deadline is limited, and there will be no second attempt with the same degree.

Frequently asked questions

How much does degree homologation cost in Spain?

The government fee is €166.50, the same for homologation and equivalence. Recognition of a school certificate or secondary vocational education costs €40; the lower secondary certificate and medical specialisations are free. Other costs depend on you: the apostille, sworn translation and, if needed, a language exam.

How long does the procedure take?

Under the rules, no more than six months from the date the application is received. The actual queue on 13 March 2026 was 72,337 cases, and the ministry’s rate in 2025 was 85,564 decisions a year, so the queue is roughly ten months of work. If six months pass without a reply, the application is formally deemed rejected, and the appeal deadline runs from that moment.

Do you need Spanish?

For homologation, yes, because it gives access to a profession. It is proven with one of four documents: DELE B2 or above, a B2 certificate from a state language school, a Certificado de Aptitud from the same school, or a university certificate stating that at least 75% of the teaching was in Spanish. Under the rules, no language is required for equivalence.

Can you work in Spain without homologation?

Yes, if the profession is not regulated. At a private company the employer assesses the degree. Homologation is needed where the state controls access to the profession: medicine, education, engineering, architecture. Degree recognition is not required for a visa or residence permit either.

How is equivalence different from homologation?

Homologation makes the degree equivalent to a Spanish one and opens a regulated profession. Equivalence only confirms the level (Grado or Máster) and the field of study: that is enough for public competitions, a master’s or civil service pay scales, but it does not let you work as a doctor or teacher. The fee is the same, and equivalence has fewer requirements.

What should you do if you receive a conditional decision?

Read which subjects or practical training you are required to complete, and at which Spanish university that is possible. The deadline is four years from the date of the decision, extended by two more years by the resolution of 26 May 2025 for those whose period had not expired. If you do not complete them, the homologation lapses and you can no longer apply again with the same degree.

Is a Russian degree recognised in Spain?

Yes, under the general procedure: Spain has recognition agreements with only seven countries and Russia is not one of them, but the absence of an agreement does not prohibit anything. The degree must be official in the country of issue, the documents must carry an apostille and an official translation, and the academic transcript must show hours or credits for each subject.

Where is the apostille number on a degree certificate?

In field 8 of the stamp, “No.”, in the lower part after the place, the date and the authority that affixed the apostille. The form is the same for all convention countries; the apostille is looked up in the register by this number.

Do you need to translate the apostille into Spanish?

Yes. A Russian apostille is filled in in Russian, and Spain’s Ministry of Science requires the official translation to include legalisations. The degree certificate, the academic transcript and the apostille are translated together.

Do you need a lawyer or a gestor?

Not to apply: the procedure is electronic and you can complete it yourself. Help makes sense in two cases: when it is unclear which of the four procedures applies to you, and when you receive a conditional decision or a refusal you intend to appeal. Here the cost of a mistake is measured not in money but in years: the rules allow no second attempt with the same degree.