How ENIC-NARIC Networks Convert Your Foreign School-Leaving Certificate for European University Admission

What ENIC-NARIC does

ENIC-NARIC is a joint network of national information centers set up across Europe to help people compare qualifications earned in one country against the education system of another. Almost every European country runs its own center, usually inside a ministry of education or a dedicated agency, and each center evaluates incoming foreign qualifications against its own national framework.

For a student, the practical output is usually a statement of comparability: an official document that says, in effect, this foreign school-leaving certificate corresponds to this level in our national system. Universities, employers and licensing bodies use these statements when they need a quick, standardized read on an unfamiliar qualification.

The UK example: UK ENIC

UK ENIC, formerly known as UK NARIC, is the United Kingdom's national center. It issues a standard Statement of Comparability for £69.60, which includes a digital e-Statement, with printed copies available separately for an added fee. Once UK ENIC has your full documents and payment, standard processing takes about 15 working days (UK ENIC ).

You request the statement directly through UK ENIC's own website, upload your certificates and transcripts, and pay online. The center then places your qualification against the UK's National Qualifications Framework and issues a formal comparison you can send on to a university, employer or licensing body.

Germany's anabin database

Germany takes a different approach through anabin, a searchable public database run by the Central Office for Foreign Education (part of the German Kultusministerkonferenz system). Instead of issuing an individual statement per applicant, anabin lists thousands of foreign institutions and qualifications with a pre-assigned status showing how German authorities and universities generally view them. German universities and uni-assist, the shared application service many use for international applicants, check your qualification against anabin as part of standard processing rather than asking you to request a separate document first.

France's Centre ENIC-NARIC

France runs its national center as the Centre ENIC-NARIC France, which evaluates foreign qualifications and issues an attestation de comparabilité, the French equivalent of the UK's statement of comparability. As with the UK process, you submit your documents and pay a fee to receive a written comparison you can use for university applications, professional recognition or further study.

When you actually need a statement

• Some universities ask every international applicant for an independent comparability statement as a standard part of the application file.

• Other universities run their own internal equivalence check, often through a dedicated admissions office or a shared service like Germany's uni-assist, and never require you to request one separately.

• Professional licensing bodies, for fields like medicine, teaching or law, often need a formal statement even if the university itself did not.

Check your target university's international admissions page first. If it does not mention a required comparability statement, do not assume you need one. If it does, find the correct ENIC-NARIC center for your country of application, since each one is a separate national body with its own process, fee and turnaround time, and confirm current fees directly on that center's website before you apply.