Will my UK qualifications be recognised?

Since Brexit, UK qualifications are treated like those from any non-EU country. If your job is regulated in Spain, you will need your degree officially recognised before you can work, and that takes months.

Homologation or equivalence?

If your job is not regulated, the employer decides whether your UK degree is enough, though a visa or public job may still ask for proof of its level.

Since Brexit

For a while, UK qualifications kept the EU recognition rules: Real Decreto-ley 38/2020 applied them to UK nationals who started their studies before 1 January 2021 and applied within 5 years of the decree, so roughly by the end of 2025. Some official pages still describe that window. For new applications, expect the non-EU route below, and check with the authority for your profession.

How homologation works

1. Apply online through the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities’ electronic office. Applications are dealt with strictly in order of arrival
2. Pay fee 107 (form 790). You can pay online if you have a Spanish tax number (NIE). Check the current amount on the fee page
3. Upload your degree certificate and a transcript showing subjects, hours and credits. Documents from the UK must carry an apostille (the UK’s official legalisation stamp) and an official translation into Spanish
4. For regulated professions, prove your Spanish: a DELE certificate at B2 or above, an official language school certificate, or proof that most of your studies were in Spanish
5. The ministry must decide within 6 months. If you hear nothing, the law treats the application as refused
6. The decision may require extra training: a course, a placement or an aptitude test, before homologation is granted

Non-university qualifications go to the Ministry of Education instead, with its own fee (079) and forms. Recognition does not by itself let you practise. In health, for example, you must also join the professional association (colegio), hold liability insurance and work in a centre authorised by the region.

Health professionals

The Ministry of Health handles specialist titles from outside the EU, such as consultant or GP specialist qualifications, through a separate procedure that checks your skills and training, and may require supervised practice or extra training. Degrees themselves go through the Ministry of Universities’ homologation. Joining the colegio is compulsory before you start work.

Teachers

• Permanent civil servant posts (funcionario), which include most state school teaching posts, are open to Spanish and EU nationals and certain family members, not to most Britons
• Legal residents can be hired by public bodies on employment contracts (personal laboral)
• Private and international schools set their own requirements. Ask the school what recognition it needs
• Teaching a regulated subject in a Spanish school needs your degree recognised first

Timeline and costs

• Allow 6 months or more for homologation, plus any extra training
• An FCDO apostille costs £45 per paper document (£35 for an e-Apostille), and official translations are charged per document
• The application is online, so you can start before you move
• If your job offer depends on recognition, tell your employer early