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Recognition of foreign qualifications in Colombia

Last activity 05 July 2017 by binrag

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Priscilla

Hello everyone,

Were your professional qualifications recognised in Colombia? What country did you complete your qualifications in? What profession are you in?

Did you have to go through any formalities to get your qualifications recognised, such as to have them translated?

If your qualifications weren't recognised, were there any additional tests or exams you had to complete before you were able to practice your profession in Colombia or continue with your studies?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Priscilla

binrag

hi priscilla,
i am a veterinarian (degree from India) with a MSc (from India) and a PhD (from USA) working as scientist in Colombia. I had to get all my degrees including bachelor's, apostillated in country of study then get them translated (including the apostillation) and then submit them to ministry of education, Colombia for convalidacion. the submission and payment for same can be done online. they say it will take not more thsn 4 months. while that was true for my bachelor's degree, i am still waiting for news on my phd and it has been 8 months. luckily, my employers agreed to go with the assumption that it will be approved. also you have to get translations from an official translator. you can find a list on the min of edu website. of course you will need some Spanish skills to be able to do all this. took me a month and more even with colombian friends helping! Also, if you have a thesis or dissertation based degree or diploma, you will need to get the abstract translated, too. here is the link to the min of edu website. you can read it in english by opting for it on the page. www.mineducacion.gov.co/1759/w3-article-355508.html

hope this helps. feel free to ask me for further clarifications and I will try my best to help.
good luck!

OsageArcher

The main site for the Ministry of Education is:

http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/portal/

Here is some information on the steps necessary for the recognition of degrees from foreign institutions:

http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1759/w3- … 96471.html

cccmedia

binrag wrote:

i am a veterinarian (degree from India) with a MSc (from India) and a PhD (from USA) working as scientist in Colombia....

they say it will take not more than 4 months. while that was true for my bachelor's degree, i am still waiting for news on my phd and it has been 8 months....

feel free to ask me for further clarifications and I will try my best to help.


Dear Binrag,

Welcome to the Colombia forum.

So, on what visa-basis are you staying legally in the country while these 'formalities' are dragging on?

Did the ministry give you an extension of time during which you can stay in Colombia?  Were you granted the coveted salvoconducto?  Did your employer help you obtain a provisional visa?

Or did you find another strategy?

cccmedia in Medellín

binrag

nothing illegal... i have a TP4 visa. The visa officials aren't worried about recognition of your qualifications. only your employers are. all that the visa guys care about is that you have a job and your company provides all the papers required to confirm your professional and financial status (as well as theirs) in colombia. Fortunately my company is aware of the delays in convalidacion of degrees in Colombia. its not restricted to foreigners. even Colombians, esp those who studied abroad, face the same issues. So my company has for now assumed things will proceed well. it helped that the ministry of education informed us there were no 'issues' with my application. it is just pending the 'approved' stamp for the past 2 months! maybe if i went to their office in Bogota every week, it might be hastened. but i live near the Caribbean coast and if my company is ok with the delay, i for one will avoid running behind officials!

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