Recognition of foreign education in Norway

Each Nordic country recognises secondary education qualifications from the other Nordic countries. If you have completed a general upper secondary education programme (gymnasutdanning) in another Nordic country, and this education gives you a general entrance qualification for admission to universities and university colleges in that country, you meet the requirements for a higher education entrance qualification (generell studiekompetanse), and can apply for higher education in Norway. Some higher educational programmes and courses have special academic requirements in addition to the general higher education entrance qualification.

If you are still uncertain about whether you have a higher education entrance qualification, you can ask for your education to be assessed by The Norwegian Universities and Colleges Admission Service, NUCAS (Samordna opptak). You should do this in good time before you apply for higher education in Norway, as assessment of the education can take a long time.

In general, Nordic vocational educational programmes that correspond to Norwegian vocational educational programmes are equivalent. If you have a corresponding Nordic vocational education, there is generally no need for special recognition in Norway in order to practice the profession. However, remember that certain professions have regulations on recognition.

If you want to work in Norway with a vocational education from another Nordic country, you should contact the employer directly and apply for a job. The employer is free to assess whether you have the necessary skills. If the employer does not know what your education corresponds to in Norway, or you discover that you are lacking skills, you can contact the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills  (Direktoratet for høyere utdanning og kompetanse). 

The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills  can award general recognition of higher education qualifications from other countries. The Directorate  assesses whether a higher education qualification from another country is equivalent to a Norwegian university/university college degree, and how many study credits the qualification corresponds to. 

Some educational qualifications from the Nordic countries are automatically recognised by the Directorate. If you have one of these educational qualifications, you can choose to download a document showing that your degree is regarded as automatically recognised and that you can immediately use it for universities, employers, etc. Automatic recognition is a confirmation that a foreign degree is equivalent to a Norwegian degree in terms of level and scope.

You can also choose to apply for recognition of your higher education qualification in the usual way. If your educational qualification is recognised, you will be sent a recognition document that you can use when you are applying for jobs in Norway.  

Universities and university colleges can also award professional recognition (faglig godkjenning) of foreign higher education that is equivalent to the degrees and study programmes they themselves offer. For more information, contact the universities/university colleges that are relevant for you.