NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES WITH INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS 2025/26

For your Attention! According to the Act of 4^th April 2025, the Republic of Poland is instituting amendments to eliminate irregularities in the Visa issuing system. In the aforementioned Act, regulations pertaining to admitting foreign students for first cycle studies, second cycle studies, long-cycle studies and applying to each candidate applying after June 30, 2025 or not granted admission by the mentioned date. Amendments in line with the new provisions are as follows;

First cycle studies – Bachelor’s degree programmes

1. A foreigner wishing to undertake first-cycle studies or long-cycle studies based on the administrative decision of the Rector, who holds a foreign educational documents (excluding IB and EB diplomas) issued in a country that is not a member of the EU, EFTA, OECD and is not a party to an international agreement with Poland on recognition of documents, is obligated to:
2. a) Present official recognition statement issued by the Director of NAWA relating to the academic documents issued abroad, accompanied by the academic diploma in question;
3. b) Present a document certifying the knowledge of the language in which the studies are conducted at least at the B2 level;
4. c) Present a positive result from the University entrance exam, testing the knowledge necessary to undertake studies at a given level.

Second cycle studies – Master’s degree programmes

2. A foreigner wishing to undertake second-cycle studies based on the administrative decision of the rector, who holds a foreign diploma (together with transcript of records/diploma supplement) issued in the country outside of the EU, EFTA, OECD and which has not been recognized as an equivalent to the Polish relevant diploma on the basis of an international agreement or through the recognition process during recruitment is obliged to:
3. a) Present official recognition statement issued by the Director of NAWA relating to the Diploma/academic documents issued abroad, accompanied by the diploma/academic document in question;
4. b) Present a document certifying the knowledge of the language in which the studies are conducted at least at the B2 level.

 Vital information for consideration

1. The final admission cannot be granted if the applicant doesn’t meet the above-mentioned requirements.
2. The types of documents certifying the knowledge of the language in which education is conducted will be specified by a regulation of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
3. To review country-specific information regarding Education, use this link – Kwalifikator – NAWA
4. Types of certificates that are recognised in Poland under the law:

    – IB and EB,

    –Educational documents issued in a country that is a member of the EU, EFTA, or OECD,

    – Poland Education Agreements: Ukraine, China

   – High school documents already recognised by the Board of Education,

5. NAWA recognition procedure:
6. Manuals:

• For secondary school certificates when you apply for a Bachelor’s degree programme: https://nawa.gov.pl/en/recognition/how-to-obtain-a-recognition-statement/secondary-school-certificate
• For bachelor’s degree diplomas of higher education when you apply for a Master’s degree programme:https://nawa.gov.pl/en/recognition/how-to-obtain-a-recognition-statement/diploma-of-higher-education

1. To apply for the individual recognition statement of the Director of NAWA, use this link – NAWA Syrena (for high school diplomas available from July 1, 2025).
2. FAQ NAWA – https://nawa.gov.pl/en/recognition/recognition-for-academic-purposes/faq-frequently-asked-questions

To view how to apply processes at our university visit this link – How to Apply – UMCS Rekrutacja