Degree Validation Process Streamlined
October 28, 2019
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At a Glance
- The Colombian Ministry of Education has published a resolution that reduces processing times and simplifies requirements for foreign nationals applying for validation of their foreign university degrees.
- Foreign nationals with validated university degrees or degrees from accredited institutions will also benefit from new exemptions from administrative requirements.
- Affected applicants should benefit from the elimination of administrative hurdles involved in obtaining documents from universities or institutions, and significantly reduced document gathering and government processing timeframes.
The situation
The Colombian Ministry of Education has published a resolution that reduces processing times and simplifies requirements for foreign nationals applying for validation of their foreign university degrees, which many foreign nationals must submit in addition to a visa application.
A closer look
Generally, affected applicants should benefit from the elimination of the administrative hurdles of obtaining documents from universities or institutions, and significantly reduced document gathering timeframes. Additional impacts specific to each application are below:
| Type of application and new rule | Impact |
Applications with degrees from accredited institutions.
|
|
Applications with degrees with administrative precedent.
|
|
All visa applications requiring degree validation.
|
Applicants should benefit from the elimination of the administrative hurdles of obtaining documents from universities or institutions, and significantly reduced document gathering timeframes. |
Unaffected applications
Applications filed before October 16, 2019 are unaffected by these changes. Foreign nationals may choose to continue their process or cancel their current application and re-submit it to take advantage of the changes and new processing times, if applicable.
Background
- Degree validation requirement. In addition to a work visa, foreign nationals working in a regulated profession in Colombia for over two years must obtain a degree validation authorization from the Ministry of Education.
- Administrative hurdles. Colombia has historically attracted foreign skilled talent as it does not impose quotas on the number of foreign nationals a company may hire, among other incentives. In addition, there has been an influx of Venezuelan and other foreign nationals in the last few years which has created a high volume of degree validation applications for the Ministry of Education. The measures are intended to alleviate administrative hurdles for the Ministry of Education and reduce response times, while continuing to attract foreign talent that conforms to the country’s educational standards.
Looking ahead
The implementation of the new immigration law (which is likely to occur by 2020) will create new guidelines for visa categories which require foreign nationals to have more advanced qualifications. As a result, Colombia may see an influx of highly-skilled immigrants requiring degree validation, which may result in the Ministry of Education adopting even more relaxed measures.
Fragomen will report on related developments.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
