The Lisbon Recognition Convention

The Lisbon Recognition Convention provides guidelines for the mutual recognition of qualifications giving access to higher education, periods of study and higher education qualifications.

You can find the Lisbon Recognition Convention, its Explanatory Report and a chart of signatures and ratifications here:

The Convention is based on the following two overarching considerations:

  1. Any applicant should have appropriate access to an assessment of his/her foreign qualification.
  2. A foreign qualification should be recognised unless substantial differences can be demonstrated in regard to the length of study, curriculum contents etc.

Denmark signed the Convention in 1997 and ratified it in 2003.

The Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee oversees the implementation of the main provisions of the Convention. For more information, please see the 2016 monitoring report:

Recommendation on procedures and criteria

As a follow-up to the Convention, the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee has adopted a recommendation on procedures and criteria:

Further information: