# Foreign Degree Recognition in Portugal: 2026 Guide Foreign degree recognition in Portugal now runs through IES, I.P. (formerly DGES). Automatic recognition costs a flat €32.20 and takes about 30 working days. Canonical: https://unlockportugal.co/daily-life/foreign-diploma-recognition-portugal/ Updated: 2026-09-19T00:00:00.000Z Language: en --- To get a foreign university degree recognized in Portugal, you apply to the **Instituto para o Ensino Superior, I.P. (IES, I.P.)**, the institute that absorbed DGES (Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior) in 2025, under **Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018**. There are three recognition types: automatic, level, and specific. Automatic recognition is the cheapest and fastest, a flat €32.20 fee and up to 30 working days, if your exact degree is already on the approved list. If it isn’t, level or specific recognition can take up to 90 working days and the fee depends on which institution evaluates it. **Key Takeaways:** - Foreign degree recognition in Portugal is now handled by IES, I.P., which legally succeeded DGES’s powers after Decreto-Lei n.º 109/2025 restructured the ministry’s agencies. - There are three recognition types, automatic, level, and specific, and which one applies to you depends on whether your exact institution and course are on the pre-approved list. - Automatic recognition costs a flat €32.20 and has a 30-working-day legal deadline; level and specific recognition cost varies by institution and can take up to 90 working days. - Academic recognition is not the same as being licensed to practice a regulated profession, engineers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers need separate registration with their professional Ordem. - If you’re missing original documents because of a genuine humanitarian emergency, a case-by-case waiver exists under Portaria n.º 33/2019. If you’re moving to Portugal for a job that requires a degree, our guide to the [D3 highly qualified worker visa](https://unlockportugal.co/visas/d3-visa-portugal-highly-qualified-2026/) covers how recognition fits into that visa application. ## What “recognition” actually means (and what it isn’t) Portuguese law stopped using the word “equivalência” for foreign higher-education degrees back in 2018. Since Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018 took effect, the only process for university-level qualifications is **recognition** (reconhecimento), which compares your foreign degree to the Portuguese system and, if it matches, issues a certificate stating your qualification has the same legal effects as a Portuguese one. This is worth stating plainly because people often confuse three separate things: 1. **Academic recognition of a higher-education degree** (what this guide covers), governed by Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018 and run by IES, I.P. 2. **Equivalência of a foreign primary or secondary school qualification** (for enrolling a child in a Portuguese school, or for a school leaving certificate), which is a different legal regime under Decreto-Lei n.º 227/2005 and is handled by schools themselves or by the Direção-Geral da Educação (DGE), not by IES, I.P. or DGES. If you’re relocating with kids, our guide to [schools in Portugal for expat families](https://unlockportugal.co/daily-life/schools-in-portugal-expats/) covers that paperwork separately. 3. **Authorization to practice a regulated profession**, which is a professional licensing decision made by that profession’s Ordem (engineers, doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, and others), not an academic recognition at all. More on this below. ## Who actually runs this now: DGES is gone, IES, I.P. took over If you’ve researched this before, you’ve probably seen “DGES” everywhere. That institution no longer exists. **Decreto-Lei n.º 109/2025, de 25 de setembro**, created the **Instituto para o Ensino Superior, I.P. (IES, I.P.)** by merging DGES with the National Erasmus+ Agency for Education and Training. Article 5 of that decree-law makes IES, I.P. the legal successor to DGES’s powers and responsibilities, including foreign degree recognition (DGES’s international-relations functions specifically went to a different body, the Direção-Geral de Estudos, Planeamento e Avaliação, but recognition stayed with IES, I.P.). DGES itself confirmed the end of its “institutional cycle” in a notice published in March 2026. In practice, this matters for two reasons. First, if you read an older blog post, a forum thread, or even some university pages that still say “apply to DGES,” the process and legal basis haven’t changed, only the institution’s name has. Second, as of September 2026, the online forms, FAQs, and recognition portal are still published under the historic **dges.gov.pt** web address even though DGES no longer exists as a separate entity, since institutional websites and email addresses often outlast the reorganization on paper. Don’t assume a page is outdated just because it still says “DGES,” but do double-check any fee or deadline directly on the current site before you pay anything, since numbers can change with new regulation. ## The three recognition types, compared Which recognition type applies to you isn’t a choice; it depends on whether your specific degree, from your specific institution, is already on Portugal’s pre-approved list. | Recognition type | When it applies | Processing time | Fee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Automatic** | Your degree and institution are already on the approved comparability list | Up to 30 working days | Flat €32.20, paid to the recognizing authority | | **Level** | Your degree isn’t on the list, but you just need it recognized as equivalent to a general academic level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate) | Up to 90 working days (30 with priority, in qualifying cases) | Set by the higher-education institution you choose to evaluate it | | **Specific** | You need your degree matched to one particular Portuguese course, field, and syllabus, typically required for regulated professions | Up to 90 working days | Set by the higher-education institution you choose to evaluate it | All three types carry identical legal weight once granted, a recognized degree is a recognized degree. The difference is what each one is designed to prove: automatic and level recognition establish that you hold an equivalent qualification in general; specific recognition establishes that your training matches a particular field closely enough for purposes like professional registration or further specialized study. ## How to apply, step by step 1. **Search the approved list first.** Before doing anything else, check whether your degree and institution already qualify for automatic recognition through the IES, I.P. / dges.gov.pt recognition portal. This saves you money and months of waiting if it’s a match. 2. **Gather your documents.** At minimum, you’ll need a copy of your diploma or an equivalent document proving you hold the degree, and a document from your institution showing your final grade and the grading scale used, both authenticated by the competent authority in the issuing country. In practice, this usually means an apostille if the country is party to the Hague Apostille Convention, or consular legalization if it isn’t; confirm the exact requirement for your specific country and document type directly with IES, I.P. or a Portuguese consulate before you start, since this detail isn’t spelled out in general terms on the recognition FAQ. 3. **Translate if needed.** If your documents aren’t already in Portuguese, English, French, or Spanish, Portuguese universities require a certified translation into one of those four languages before they’ll evaluate your file. 4. **Choose your recognizing entity, if applying for level or specific recognition.** For these two types, you pick a Portuguese public or private higher-education institution that teaches a comparable course to evaluate your file; contact them directly to confirm their fee before applying. 5. **Submit online.** All recognition requests, regardless of type, must be filed through the official online form (RecOn) rather than in person or by post. 6. **Pay the applicable fee.** €32.20 for automatic recognition; whatever the chosen institution charges for level or specific recognition. 7. **Wait for the decision**, up to 30 working days for automatic, up to 90 for level or specific, counted from when your application is complete (an incomplete file resets the clock, so double-check everything before submitting). 8. **Receive your certificate.** Keep both a digital and physical copy; you’ll need to present it to employers, other government bodies, or a professional Ordem down the line. > Automatic recognition of a foreign degree in Portugal costs a flat €32.20 and has a legal maximum of 30 working days; level and specific recognition can take up to 90 working days, and their fees are set by whichever higher-education institution evaluates the file, according to [IES, I.P.’s official recognition FAQ](https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/faq/faqs-reconhecimento-de-graus-e-diplomas). ## Academic recognition doesn’t automatically let you work in a regulated profession This is the single most common source of confusion, and it can cost people months if they don’t plan for it. Getting your degree recognized by IES, I.P. proves your academic qualification is equivalent to a Portuguese one. It does not, by itself, license you to practice a profession that Portugal regulates through a professional Ordem, such as engineering, medicine, law, architecture, or accounting. For those, you generally need a separate registration process with that profession’s own body, which may or may not lean on your IES, I.P. recognition as supporting evidence. A concrete example: Portugal’s Ordem dos Engenheiros (OEP) and Colombia’s engineering council, COPNIA, signed a professional mobility agreement on 2 June 2023, formally protocolized in Colombia the following year. Under it, a Colombian engineer with active COPNIA registration can apply directly to the OEP for professional recognition; COPNIA’s own site states approval or rejection takes about two months after the application reaches the OEP, and that a successful applicant pays a one-time €150 OEP registration fee plus €12.50 a month in ongoing membership dues (COPNIA’s side of the application is free). That pathway runs through the professional order, not through IES, I.P., and it’s a different process from the academic recognition described in this guide, though the two are often pursued around the same time by the same person. If you’re a CPLP-country national or hold a degree from a CPLP institution, ask IES, I.P. directly whether a bilateral cooperation agreement applies to your specific case; we couldn’t confirm one that replaces the standard Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018 process for higher-education degrees generally, so don’t assume one exists without checking. ## If you’re missing your original diploma or transcript Portaria n.º 33/2019 (Article 13) allows the recognizing authority to waive the requirement to submit your original diploma, certificate, or other academic documentation when you’re in a genuine humanitarian emergency and can’t reasonably obtain those documents as a result. The decision is made case by case: the rule doesn’t prescribe a fixed substitute, it simply lets the recognizing authority adopt whatever verification procedure it judges appropriate once it grants the waiver. The wording of the rule isn’t limited to any one nationality or conflict. If this applies to you, don’t assume the missing paperwork disqualifies you; contact IES, I.P. directly, explain your situation, and ask what they’ll accept in place of the missing documents. ## Why this matters for your visa or job in Portugal If your move to Portugal depends on a job that requires a degree, recognition is often a background step your employer’s immigration counsel handles for you rather than something you race to finish before you apply. The [D3 highly qualified worker visa](https://unlockportugal.co/visas/d3-visa-portugal-highly-qualified-2026/), for instance, accepts a foreign bachelor’s degree or higher as proof of qualification, but you’ll usually need it formally recognized in Portugal at some point in the process, which is exactly the level or specific recognition described above. If you don’t yet have a Portuguese job offer and are considering [Portugal’s skilled job-seeker visa](https://unlockportugal.co/visas/portugal-job-seeker-visa/) route instead, be aware that as of September 2026 that visa isn’t operational yet, its implementing regulation hasn’t been published, so any site claiming specific degree or experience thresholds for it is getting ahead of the actual law. Whichever route brings you here, you’ll be doing this recognition process alongside Portugal’s other early bureaucracy, so it’s worth [getting your NIF](https://unlockportugal.co/finance/how-to-get-nif-portugal/) sorted in parallel rather than treating these as strictly sequential steps. ## The bottom line Foreign degree recognition in Portugal is a defined, dated legal process, not a bureaucratic black box, but it does depend heavily on which of the three recognition types fits your situation, and on an institutional rename (DGES to IES, I.P.) that most existing guides online haven’t caught up with yet. Check the approved list first, gather properly authenticated documents, expect 30 to 90 working days depending on type, and remember that academic recognition and professional licensing are two different processes that happen to often run in parallel. When in doubt about a fee, a deadline, or whether a bilateral agreement applies to your country, IES, I.P.’s own recognition pages (still published at dges.gov.pt) are the authoritative source, not a summary written before the 2025 reorganization. ## Quick facts Governing law Decreto-Lei n.º 66/2018 (3 recognition types) Who runs it now IES, I.P., which absorbed DGES in 2025 Automatic recognition Up to 30 working days, flat €32.20 fee Level / specific recognition Up to 90 working days, fee set by the institution Apply where Online, via dges.gov.pt's RecOn platform Missing documents Case-by-case waiver exists for humanitarian-emergency cases ## Frequently asked questions What's the difference between automatic, level, and specific recognition? Automatic recognition applies when your exact degree from your exact institution is already on an approved list, comparing it directly to an equivalent Portuguese degree. Level recognition compares your qualification to a Portuguese academic level (bachelor's, master's, doctorate) without matching a specific course. Specific recognition compares it to one particular Portuguese degree, field, and content, which most professionally regulated fields require. All three carry the same legal weight once granted. How much does it cost to get a foreign degree recognized in Portugal? Automatic recognition has a flat fee of €32.20, charged by the recognizing authority. Level and specific recognition don't have a fixed national price. Each Portuguese higher-education institution that agrees to evaluate your degree sets its own fee, so you need to ask the specific university or polytechnic directly before applying. How long does foreign degree recognition take in Portugal? Automatic recognition has a maximum legal deadline of 30 working days from a complete application. Level and specific recognition can take up to 90 working days, though some level-recognition cases qualify for a faster 30-day priority track. These are legal ceilings, not guarantees, so build in extra time if you're on a deadline for a job or a visa. Does DGES still handle this, or has it changed? DGES no longer exists as an institution. Decreto-Lei n.º 109/2025, published 25 September 2025, created the Instituto para o Ensino Superior, I.P. (IES, I.P.) by merging DGES with the National Erasmus+ Agency, with DGES formally announcing the end of its institutional cycle in March 2026. IES, I.P. legally succeeded DGES's powers over degree recognition. As of September 2026, the application forms and guidance are still published at the dges.gov.pt web address, so don't be thrown off by the old name still appearing there. Does recognizing my degree let me work in a regulated profession like engineering or medicine? Not by itself. IES, I.P.'s recognition confirms your degree is academically equivalent to a Portuguese one, but professions like engineering, medicine, law, or teaching also require separate registration with that profession's Ordem (professional order), which has its own rules and sometimes its own bilateral agreements with specific countries. What if I don't have my original diploma or transcript? If you can't produce your documents because of a genuine humanitarian emergency, Portaria n.º 33/2019 (Article 13) lets the recognizing authority waive the missing paperwork and decide for itself how else to verify your qualification. This is assessed case by case and isn't limited to any one nationality or crisis, so contact IES, I.P. directly and explain your situation before assuming you can't apply. ## Sources This guide cites the following official sources. We link directly so you can verify every claim yourself. - [Dges](https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/reconhecimento)dges.gov.pt - [Dges](https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/faq/faqs-reconhecimento-de-graus-e-diplomas)dges.gov.pt - [Dges](https://www.dges.gov.pt/recon/formulario)dges.gov.pt - [Diário da República](https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/decreto-lei/66-2018-116068880)diariodarepublica.pt - [Diário da República](https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/decreto-lei/109-2025-936526996)diariodarepublica.pt - [Diário da República](https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/portaria/33-2019-118484592)diariodarepublica.pt - [Iesuperior](https://iesuperior.pt/direcao-geral-do-ensino-superior-conclui-ciclo-institucional/)iesuperior.pt - [Governo de Portugal](https://www2.gov.pt/servicos/pedir-equivalencia-de-habilitacoes-estrangeiras-do-ensino-basico-e-secundario)gov.pt - [Ordemdosengenheiros](https://www.ordemdosengenheiros.pt/pt/protocolos-internacionais/)ordemdosengenheiros.pt - [Copnia](https://www.copnia.gov.co/acuerdo-de-movilidad-profesional-portugal)copnia.gov.co - [Ualg](https://www.ualg.pt/en/degree-and-diploma-recognition)ualg.pt Some links on this page are affiliate links. 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