The Commission proposes faster recognition of non-EU diplomas: about 4 months instead of 14 for seven professions

In brief

• On 15 September 2026 the Commission presented the draft of the first EU directive on the recognition of qualifications of third-country nationals.
• Recognition currently costs EUR 1,500 and takes 14.2 months on average. 70.4% of applicants surveyed called the length a big or very big problem.
• Automatic recognition is proposed for doctors, general care nurses, dentists, midwives, veterinary surgeons, pharmacists and architects. By the Commission's estimate the time will fall to about 4 months.
• For all applicants: a decision within 3 months of a complete file, remote filing and the right to appeal an authority's silence.
• No decision has been taken. Once adopted, EU countries will have two years to transpose the rules into national law.

How diplomas of third-country nationals are recognised today

The general EU directive on professional qualifications does not apply to third-country nationals. A doctor from Kazakhstan or an architect from Serbia applies for recognition in the country where they want to work and goes through it under national rules. The procedure, the list of documents and the deadlines differ from country to country.

There are exceptions. Equal treatment with EU citizens in recognition is granted to family members of EU citizens, EU long-term residents, single permit holders, EU Blue Card holders, seasonal workers and refugees. For them recognition follows rules close to those for EU citizens.

In 2023 the Commission already recommended that EU countries speed up the process: decide within 2 months of a complete application, and within 4 weeks for shortage professions, ask for the same number of documents as from EU citizens, and allow people to work right after applying. The recommendation is not binding, and the average time has stayed at 14.2 months. The new directive is meant to make the deadlines binding.

Finding the right authority is a separate difficulty. The Commission runs the regulated professions database and has promised to help member states fill it with details of the authorities that recognise third-country qualifications.

What this means for you. Today recognition time depends on the country and the authority. If you hold one of the statuses with equal treatment, check which rules apply to you: it can shorten the path.

What the Commission proposed

EU citizens already have a common mechanism for recognising professional qualifications; third-country nationals do not. Each country decides for itself which documents are needed, how long to wait and whether an application can be filed from abroad. The draft closes this gap. It covers two kinds of recognition: access to a regulated profession and qualification checks when applying for a visa or residence permit, such as the EU Blue Card.

The main novelty is automatic recognition for seven professions: doctors, general care nurses, dentists, midwives, veterinary surgeons, pharmacists and architects. The condition is that the university training programme is reviewed by a designated body and entered in an EU register. The Commission will also be able to recognise countries whose education systems provide sufficient guarantees and simplify the review for their universities.

For these professions the Commission expects to cut the time from 14.2 months to about 4 months. That is an estimate, not a binding deadline. The binding deadline in the draft is different: 3 months for a decision after a complete file is submitted.

What this means for you. If the draft is adopted as it stands, recognising a diploma will no longer mean months of uncertainty. Deadlines will become uniform and binding on authorities in every EU country.

Who it concerns

Above all, medical staff. According to the Commission, nearly half of the third-country nationals who started recognition wanted to work in a regulated healthcare profession. This is a sector with acute staff shortages across the EU. For a doctor or nurse with a diploma from India, the Philippines, Brazil or Ukraine, recognition is now the main barrier to working in their field.

The second group is specialists who move on a work visa or Blue Card. Where a qualification is checked as part of a residence application, the draft requires the check to be built into the migration process itself, without a separate application or extra fees. The level of education will be assessed against the European Qualifications Framework.

There is also a rule for those already living in the EU. If you applied for recognition at least 4 months before your residence permit expires and are looking for work in your profession, the country must keep or extend your permit for the duration. Delays caused by the authority should not affect your status.

What this means for you. Recognition of a diploma does not by itself give a visa or residence permit. Each country still issues them under its own rules, and language and professional conduct requirements remain national.

What recognition costs and what applicants say

The Commission relied on a survey of applicants and an assessment of costs. Recognising the diploma of a third-country national currently costs EUR 1,500 on average and takes 14.2 months. Translations and certifications come on top of the fees, and when a person moves to another EU country the check often has to be repeated.

Of the applicants surveyed, 70.4% called the duration a big or very big problem. For an employer a long process means an empty vacancy: the Commission estimates that common rules will cut its administrative costs of hiring such specialists by up to half. The Commission values the whole labour mobility package, of which the directive is part, at EUR 5 billion in benefits by 2040.

For an applicant these figures matter for planning. Until the directive is adopted, allow more than a year for recognition and a budget for translations, an apostille or consular legalisation, and fees. It is worth applying before the move and keeping the originals ready: many authorities still require them on paper.

What this means for you. The average of 14.2 months is today's reality. If your move is tied to a start date at work, make recognition the first step.

When the new rules could apply

The draft has taken only the first step. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament must agree on the directive, and the text may change along the way. Once adopted, EU countries will have two years to transpose the rules. Even with quick agreement, the new deadlines will not apply for several years.

Until then, recognition follows each country's current rules. There is no point waiting for the directive to start: the documents needed under the new rules are needed now too.

What this means for you. The directive changes nothing yet for those filing in 2026 and 2027. Plan according to the current procedure of the country you choose.

Diploma recognition and the EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card applies in 25 EU countries, all except Denmark and Ireland. It requires a higher qualification, an employment contract or binding job offer for at least six months, and a salary above a threshold each country sets between 1 and 1.6 times the average gross annual salary. In certain fields, above all information and communication technology, professional experience can replace a degree.

In many countries assessing a diploma for the Blue Card is currently a separate step with its own deadline and fee. The Commission proposal changes the order: the check is built into the migration procedure, with no separate application or extra fee, and the level of education is assessed against the European Qualifications Framework.

If the profession is regulated, for example a doctor, pharmacist or architect, the Blue Card alone is not enough: recognition for access to the profession is also needed. The two processes are then best run in parallel. If a company is relocating its specialists, recognition fits into the overall plan we run as part of business and team relocation.

What this means for you. For a Blue Card in a non-regulated profession an assessment of the diploma level is usually enough. A regulated profession also needs access to practise, and its timing has to be planned separately.

What to do with your diploma now

1. Check whether your profession is regulated in the EU country you have chosen. For unregulated professions recognition is often not needed to work; a level assessment is enough.
2. Gather your diploma with the transcript listing subjects and hours. Without the transcript the programme can hardly be compared.
3. Obtain an apostille, or consular legalisation if the issuing country is not party to the Hague Convention. Details are on the page on the apostille.
4. Order a sworn translation into the country's language. The draft is expected to cut the need for certified translations by about a third, but today they are needed in full. Details are on the page on sworn translation.
5. Collect proof of work experience. Experience helps bridge differences in the programme without extra exams.
6. Apply for recognition before or together with your residence application, not after the move. That way you do not lose months without work in your field.

How work visas function we covered using the examples of Portugal, Italy and Hungary. Programmes for specialists are collected on the page talent residence permits.

What else the Commission proposed on 15 September

The directive on diplomas of third-country nationals is part of a fair labour mobility package of five legislative proposals. For regulated professions within the EU, such as doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers, the Commission proposes a mandatory digital recognition procedure: five weeks instead of three months. This mainly concerns EU citizens moving from one member state to another.

Automatic recognition will be extended to other professions through common training frameworks. A preliminary list covers 10 shortage professions, and the first framework, for physiotherapists, was adopted by the Commission on the same day. Diplomas and certificates will be issued digitally and stored in the European digital identity wallet, and a free EU tool will let people compare qualifications using national databases.

The timelines after adoption differ: simpler recognition of third-country qualifications within two years, digital diplomas in the wallet and easier recognition for regulated professions within three years. Until then the current rules apply, and documents are prepared under them. If your residence permit expires before recognition is complete, residence permit renewal has to be planned separately: the rule on keeping status will only work once the directive is transposed.

For an applicant from a third country the digital part of the package matters too. If a diploma is issued or confirmed digitally, checking its authenticity becomes easier, and the Commission expects the number of certified translations to fall by about a third.

What this means for you. The Commission package changes the rules for everyone who works in the EU on the strength of a diploma. For third-country nationals the key points are binding deadlines and remote filing.

How this piece was prepared

This piece is based on the draft directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the recognition of qualifications of third-country nationals, presented by the European Commission in Strasbourg on 15 September 2026 and transmitted to the Council of the EU on 28 September 2026, and on the Commission's skills portability materials of 15 September 2026. Figures on the cost and length of recognition are the Commission's estimates from the explanatory memorandum. The draft may change during negotiations. It is not a legal opinion on your diploma.