DGII/EDU/HE (2017)
Paris/Strasbourg, 14 November 2017

THE COMMITTEE OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE
EUROPEAN REGION

Extraordinary Session
14 November 2017

RECOMMENDATION ON THE RECOGNITION OFREFUGEES’ QUALIFICATIONS UNDER THE LISBONRECOGNITION CONVENTION AND EXPLANATORYMEMORANDUM
Adopted by the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee at its extraordinary session on 14
November 2017

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Recommendation on Recognition of Qualifications Held by Refugees,
Displaced Persons and Persons in a Refugee-like Situation(Adopted by the Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning
Higher Education in the European Region on 14 November 2017, at its extraordinary session in
Strasbourg)

PreambleA. The Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning
Higher Education in the European Region,
B. Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe and UNESCO is to achieve greater
unity between their members, and that this aim can be pursued notably by common action
in cultural matters;
C. Having regard to the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of
Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (the Lisbon
Recognition Convention), and in particular to its Article VII;
D. Having regard to the subsidiary texts adopted under the Lisbon Recognition Convention:
the Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign
Qualifications (revised 2010), the Recommendation on the Use of Qualifications
Frameworks in the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications (2013) and the
Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees (revised 2016);
E. Having regard to the European Cultural Convention;
F. Having regard to the UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas andDegrees concerning Higher Education in the States belonging to the Europe Region as
well as to UNESCO Conventions on recognition for other regions of the world;
G. Having regard to the Declaration of the European Ministers of Education in Bologna on
19 June 1999, and the subsequent communiqués of the Ministerial Conferences of theEuropean Higher Education Area;
H. Having regard to the Diploma Supplement developed jointly by the European
Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO, the European Credit Transfer andAccumulation System (ECTS), and to national and regional qualifications frameworks,
along with similar developments in other regions;
I. Having regard to the practical action in favour of improving the recognition ofqualifications concerning higher education carried out by the Council ofEurope/UNESCO European Network of national information centres on academic

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recognition and mobility (the ENIC Network) and in particular to its role in collecting
and disseminating information on existing recognition tools and good practices;supporting competent recognition authorities and contributing to the development andimplementation of common procedures for the recognition of qualifications held byrefugees, displaced persons or persons in a refugee-like situation;
J. Having regard to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967
Protocol;K. Aware of the sharp increase in the number of refugees, displaced persons and persons in a
refugee-like situation who seek recognition of their qualifications concerning higher
education in countries of the European Region;
L. Conscious of the fact that the right to education is a human right, and that higher
education, which is instrumental in the pursuit and advancement of knowledge, skills andcompetence, constitutes an exceptional asset for both individuals and society;
M. Considering that higher education plays a vital role in promoting peace, mutual
understanding and tolerance, and in creating mutual trust among peoples and nations;N. Considering that the recognition of qualifications is an essential precondition for bothacademic and professional mobility;
O. Acknowledging initiatives launched by Parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention andkey stakeholders in higher education in the European region to facilitate the recognitionof qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons or people in a refugee-like situation
for further study or for employment;
P. Having regard to the European Area of Recognition (EAR) manuals which offer practicalimplementation guidance of the principles of the Lisbon Recognition Convention;
Q. Recommends that the States Parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention:
i.

ii.
iii.

iv.

take into account, in the establishment of their policies for the recognition ofqualifications held by refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugeelike situation, the principles set out in the appendix hereto;draw these principles to the attention of the competent bodies concerned, sothat they can be considered and taken into account;promote implementation of these principles by government agencies and local
and regional authorities and by higher education institutions while taking due
account of the autonomy of higher education institutions;ensure that this Recommendation is distributed as widely as possible among
all persons and bodies concerned with the recognition of qualifications
concerning higher education.

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R. Invites the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Director-General of
UNESCO, as appropriate, to transmit this Recommendation to the governments of thoseStates which were invited to the Diplomatic Conference entrusted with the adoption of
the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in theEuropean Region but which have not become parties to that Convention.

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APPENDIX

I

General considerations

1. The purpose of the present Recommendation is to ensure the fair recognition ofqualifications held by refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situationin accordance with the obligation of the Parties in implementation of the Article VII of
the Lisbon Recognition Convention. Such qualifications should be recognised unless a
substantial difference can be shown between the refugees' qualification for which
recognition is sought and the comparable qualification in the Party in which recognition
is sought.
2. Refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation, should be entitled toassessment for access to higher education, including when their qualifications cannot beadequately documented.
3. The provisions of the present Recommendation apply to cases where the qualifications
claimed by refugees, displaced persons or persons in a refugee-like situation cannot beadequately documented. Where such qualifications can be fully documented, they should
be assessed in accordance with the criteria and procedures for the recognition ofqualifications established through the Lisbon Recognition Convention and its subsidiary
texts, in particular the Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of
Foreign Qualifications (revised 2010), adopted by the Lisbon Recognition Convention
Committee in 2010.

II

Definitions
4. Terms defined in the Lisbon Recognition Convention are used in the same sense in thepresent Recommendation, and reference is made to the definition of these terms in
Section I of the Convention.
5. Refugee – any person who as a result of well-founded fear of being persecuted forreasons of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, membership of aparticular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality andis unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of thatcountry; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of their former
habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling
to return to it.
6. Displaced person – any person who has been forced or obliged to flee or to leave theirhome or place of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid theeffects of armed conflict, situations of generalised violence, violations of human rights or6natural or human-made disasters, and who has not crossed an internationally recognisedState border.
7. Person in a refugee-like situation – any person who is de facto in a situation similar tothat of refugees or displaced persons regardless of their legal status.
8. Inadequately documented qualification – a qualification obtained by the holder, butwhich cannot be proven through relevant and necessary documentary evidence.

III

General principles
9. Refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugee-like situation who cannot
adequately document the qualifications or periods of study they claim are entitled toassessment of their qualifications or periods of study when applying for admission to a
study programme or for the purpose of seeking employment. Competent recognition
authorities should take adequate measures in this respect within the limits of each Party´sconstitutional, legal and regulatory provisions.
10. Arrangements for the recognition of inadequately documented qualifications should
ensure that no applicant is prevented from seeking recognition of their qualifications
because of the costs involved. The assessment should be based on transparent procedures
and criteria, and it should be available free of charge or at reasonable cost and within areasonable time.
11. Lack of proficiency in the language(s) of the host country and/or host institution should
not in itself be considered sufficient reason to withhold assessment and recognition.
12. Parties should accept information collected about inadequately documented qualifications
carried out in other Parties by competent recognition authorities.
13. The provisions referring to the assessment of qualifications held by refugees, displaced
persons or persons in a refugee-like situation shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to theassessment of periods of study.

IV.

Legislation
14. Parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention should review and, as required, amend
their legal framework and regulations to ensure that national legislation does not impede
the implementation of Article VII of the Convention and the provisions of the present
Recommendation. Parties are encouraged to take any required action to simplify andspeed up the recognition process in a coordinated way.

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V

Assessment of qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons or persons in a
refugee-like situation
15. The assessment of inadequately documented qualifications will seek to establish whether
applicants are likely to hold the qualifications they claim. It may further aim to establish
the value of those qualifications within the education system of the host country. Where
formal rights are attached to a certain qualification in the home country, the qualification
should be assessed with a view to giving the holder comparable rights in the host country.
16. When reconstructing the educational background, competent recognition authorities
should take into account the purpose of recognition. Different procedures could be
followed depending on whether the applicant wishes to work or to pursue further studies.
17. The assessment of inadequately documented qualifications should be based on
information collected from reliable public sources as well as the person applying forrecognition of their qualifications and should, as appropriate, be supplemented byinterviews with the applicant, examinations and any other appropriate assessment
methods. The competent recognition authority should make use of any available andreliable information about the institutions and programmes in which the qualifications
have been earned as well as information obtained through previous assessments of similar
qualifications and as far as possible refer to the level, quality, learning outcomes, profile
and workload of the qualification.

VI

Background document
18. In cases where refugees, displaced persons or persons in a refugee-like situation for valid
reasons cannot adequately document the qualifications or periods of study they claim,
competent recognition authorities are encouraged to create and use a backgrounddocument or a similar information document. The background document should give an
authoritative description of the qualifications or periods of study applicants are
considered likely to have obtained or completed with all available documents andsupporting evidence. The background document does not in itself constitute an act ofrecognition.
19. The background document should include information on at least the profile, level andestimated workload of the qualification or period of study, such as:- personal data of the applicant;- name, in the original language, of the qualification obtained;- name, in the original language, of the institution where the qualification was
obtained;- status of the institution and of the programme in the education system where thequalification was obtained;- level of the qualification obtained;- name, in the original language, of the programme in which the qualification was
obtained;

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nominal duration or workload of the programme;
formal rights given by the qualification obtained;
the year(s) in which the qualification was earned or the period of study
undertaken;
relevant supporting documentation presented.

20. The background document should assist:a) competent recognition authorities in describing, assessing and/or recognising thequalifications and periods of study of applicantsb) refugees, displaced persons or persons in a refugee-like situation in establishing
their academic achievements in order to gain access to further studies or appropriate
employment.
c) competent recognition authorities, institutions, employers and other users ofqualifications in accepting or recognising inadequately documented qualifications
assessed in other Parties.
21. The background document should be issued in the national language(s) as well as in a
widely spoken language.

VII

Information
22. Parties to the Lisbon Recognition Convention should ensure that information on theassessment and recognition of qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons andpersons in a refugee-like situation is transparent, up to date and is provided to refugees as
early as possible. To the extent possible, the information should be available in both thenational language(s) and at least one widely spoken language.
23. Relevant and transparent information about assessment and recognition procedure andpolicy for documented and undocumented qualifications should include:- how to apply;- required documents;- alternative ways of providing the required information if documents are notavailable;- applicable fees, if any;
- expected timelines for processing;- assessment criteria;- how to appeal.
24. Such information should be made readily available to: a) refugees, displaced persons andpersons in a refugee-like situation, as soon as possible after their arrival in the host country,b) institutions or persons providing support to applicants (e.g. primary contact authorities,
competent migration authorities, reception centres, employers and refugee organisations).

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO THE RECOMMENDATION ON
RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS HELD BY REFUGEES,DISPLACED PERSONS AND PERSONS IN A REFUGEE-LIKE
SITUATION

Introduction
Article VII of the Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications
concerning Higher Education in the European Region (the Lisbon Recognition Convention) on
the recognition of qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugeelike situation1 stipulates that:
Each Party shall take all feasible and reasonable steps within the framework of
its education system and in conformity with its constitutional, legal, andregulatory provisions to develop procedures designed to assess fairly and
expeditiously whether refugees, displaced persons and persons in a refugeelike situation fulfil the relevant requirements for access to higher education, tofurther higher education programmes or to employment activities, even incases in which the qualifications obtained in one of the Parties cannot be
proven through documentary evidence.
The Lisbon Recognition Convention was adopted in April 1997 and entered into force inFebruary 1999 following the fifth ratification. Article VII was developed in the context of theconflicts in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, which led many people – especially from Bosnia
and Herzegovina – to seek refuge in other countries. Finding ways to recognise their
qualifications even when these could not be adequately documented was important to ensuringthat refugees could use and develop further their qualifications in their host countries and also
later in their home countries.
While some European countries have lived through conflicts that caused people to flee theirhomes, there had not been a major refugee crisis with a Europe-wide dimension between the
mid-to late 1990s and 2015. This may be part of the reason why most Parties to the Lisbon
Recognition Convention had taken no or few measures to implement Article VII, as
demonstrated by a survey conducted by the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee Bureau
in late 2015/early 20162.
Starting in summer 2015, the number of people fleeing their home countries and seeking refuge
in Europe increased dramatically. In 2015 alone, more than 1 million refugees – or persons
requesting refugee status – arrived in Europe, 84 per cent of whom originated in just 10
countries3.

1 Hereafter referred to as “refugees” except in quotes from other texts.
2 http://www.enic-

naric.net/fileusers/Monitoring_the_Implementation_of_the_Lisbon_Recognition_Convention_2016.pdf
3 http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/regional.php, accessed 14 December 2016.

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While the surge of refugees has not been so pronounced in North America, the resettlement andintegration of refugees is a significant policy concern.
This situation gave rise to diverse policies in different Parties to the Lisbon Recognition
Convention as well as to diverse reactions from citizens and civil society. The number ofrefugees hosted varies substantially, from more than 3 million in Turkey from Syria alone4 toless than 1000 in some countries. At the same time, it is worth underlining that some nonEuropean countries in the region also host large numbers of refugees.
An education challenge
The situation created since summer 2015 renews the pertinence of Article VII and makes it evenmore urgent to take effective measures ensuring that refugees will receive fair recognition of
their qualifications.
Enabling refugees to make use of the qualifications they already have, whether for work or for
further study, is important to reducing the pain of the refugee experience. Refugees who are
given the opportunity to use and develop their competences can find motivation in spite of theirvery difficult situation. They will maintain and further develop their competences, which is ofadvantage to their host countries, as it will be of great importance to rebuilding their homecountries if and when they are able to return home.
Preamble
The Preamble outlines the legal framework as well as the political and institutional context
within which the Recommendation is adopted. While the Recommendation, as a subsidiary text
to the Lisbon Recognition Convention, applies to the European Region, it is also pertinent toother regions of the world as the Lisbon Recognition Convention is, in the UNESCO framework,
one of several regional conventions and because most UNESCO regions face issues concerning
refugees. The Preamble also builds on the most important developments in higher education
policy, and in particular in the international recognition of qualifications, over the past years. For
48 of the countries of the European Region, this includes the development of the European
Higher Education Area.
The reference, in the consideratum “Aware of the sharp increase in the number of refugees…” to“qualifications concerning higher education” follows the terminology of the Lisbon Recognition
Convention in referring to qualifications giving access to higher education, periods of study andhigher education qualifications.
Most of the texts cited that address issues of recognition policy and practice may be found at the
web site of the ENIC and NARIC Networks: http://www.enic-naric.net/.

4 See e.g. http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php, accessed 11 July 2017. In addition, Turkey hosts some

200 000 refugees from Iraq and smaller numbers from other countries.

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I

General considerations

Paragraphs 1 – 3The aim of the Recommendation is to facilitate the recognition of the refugees’ qualifications incases where the qualifications cannot be adequately documented.
Where such qualifications can be documented, they should be assessed in accordance withestablished recognition rules and procedures as established through the Lisbon Recognition
Convention, its subsidiary texts and national regulations consistent with these.
This may, for example, apply in following cases:
I. where personal and/or institutional files have been fully or partly destroyed;
II. where the institution which issued the qualification no longer exists
While the Recommendation is adopted within the framework of the Lisbon Recognition
Convention and applies to the Parties to this Convention, the principles and practices described
can also be applied to the recognition of qualifications in countries other than the Parties to the
Lisbon Recognition Convention.

II

Definitions

Paragraphs 4 -8
Terms defined in the Lisbon Recognition Convention (Section I) are used in the same sense in
the Recommendation. In particular, it is recalled that the term “qualification” is defined asfollows:
A. Higher education qualification
Any degree, diploma or other certificate issued by a competent authority
attesting the successful completion of a higher education programme.
B. Qualification giving access to higher education
Any diploma or other certificate issued by a competent authority attesting the
successful completion of an education programme and giving the holder of thequalification the right to be considered for admission to higher education.
The definition of “refugee” is based on that of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to
the Status of Refugees, Article I A.2, and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Reference to gender and sexual orientation has been added. Gender is referred to in Article III.1of the Lisbon Recognition Convention; sexual orientation in Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat
discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

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In the absence of an internationally agreed, convention-based definition, the definition of“displaced person” in the Recommendation follows the definition of “internally displaced
person” of the Guiding Principles of Internal Displacement of the United Nations Economic andSocial Council/Human Rights Commission E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, which is broadly referred toby the United nations Commissioner for Human Rights.
The term “person in a refugee-like situation” covers persons in a situation similar to that ofrefugees or displaced person regardless of their legal status. The term has no internationallyagreed definition but is used by, among others, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees toencompass those who do not readily fit other established definitions but who are nevertheless ina similar situation.

III

General principles

Paragraphs 9 - 13
This section stipulates how some basic provisions of the Lisbon Recognition Convention should
be applied to the recognition of refugees’ qualifications. It recalls the obligations undertaken byParties through Article VII to provide for the recognition of such qualifications even where theycannot be adequately documented, within the limits of each Party´s constitutional, legal andregulatory provisions.
Paragraph 12 points to the importance of Parties should make use of information related toqualifications collected by competent recognition authorities in other Parties. Refugees who
subsequently move to other Parties than the one in which they first arrived as refugees or asylum
seekers are not required to repeat the process of compiling information and so that publicauthorities are not required to dedicate resources to information collections already undertaken
by competent recognition authorities of other Parties. There is no reason to repeat information
gathering that has already been undertaken under satisfactory conditions elsewhere. To do sowould place an undue burden on applicants as well as on authorities. Accepting informationcollected by other Parties would enable public authorities avoid the efforts and expense of doing
unnecessary double work. This does not concern regulated professions.

IV

Legislation

Paragraph 14
While Article VII takes due account of Parties’ constitutional, legal and regulatory provisions,these cannot be invoked as a reason not to comply with the provisions of the Lisbon Recognition
Convention and the intentions behind these provisions. The Lisbon Recognition Convention is aninternational legal treaty through which Parties agree to undertake the obligations stipulated in
the treaty. Parties should therefore review their own legislation to ensure that there are no legal
or regulatory obstacles in their respective national frameworks that would prevent them from theobligation they have undertaken under the Lisbon Recognition Convention and its Article VII.

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V

Assessment of qualifications held by refugees, displaced persons or persons in a
refugee-like situation

Paragraphs 15 - 17
The Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign Qualifications(Preamble), adopted by the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee in 2010, can be used as a
general guide also to the assessment of inadequately documented qualifications. Its provisions
will, however, need to be adapted to this specific situation and paragraphs 15 – 17 indicate
important factors in this respect.
The first step in the assessment of inadequately documented qualifications is to establish whether
applicants are likely to hold the qualifications they claim to have obtained (paragraph 15). In
some cases, this will be the sole purpose of the assessment. However, the assessment may also,
as a second step, seek to establish the value of these qualifications within the education system of
the host country. In cases where adequate documentation cannot be established, this may lead toa general statement rather than a recognition statement specific to the individual applicant. In
most cases, completing the second step in the assessment will be of great importance to enableapplicants to make good use of their qualifications. The second step will be crucial in seeking togive applicants the same rights in the host country that they would have been granted on thebasis of the qualification in the country of issue.
When qualifications cannot be adequately documented, information from various sources may beneeded to establish what qualification refugees are likely to have. Competent recognition
authorities should make use of any available reliable written or on line sources and may need tosupplement this by targeted information collection through interviews, examinations and otherappropriate means (paragraph 16).
The information required to establish whether refugees are likely to hold the qualifications theyclaim may depend on the purposes for which recognition is sought. The information required
may differ depending on whether the purpose is access to further studies or employment. In thecase of access to further studies, the information requirements may vary between study
programmes, for example as concerns the importance of a thesis or other written work. If
recognition is sought for the purpose of seeking employment, information requirements mayvary depending on the kind of employment the applicant intends to seek. Access to regulated
professions is unlikely to be granted on the basis of an assessment of inadequately documented
qualifications without further examinations. The assessment of inadequately documented
qualifications may, however, be important in determining whether a given applicant should beallowed to undergo such examinations. The exchange of information between national
information centres (ENIC/NARIC) and/or within the ENIC and NARIC Networks could play animportant role in facilitating the recognition of refugees’ qualifications.

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VI

Background document

Paragraphs 18 - 21
The outcomes of the assessment described in paragraphs 15 – 17 should be recorded in a
background document. This document may also help structure the information gathering
described in paragraph 16.
The background document is not an act of recognition but it provides an authoritative descriptionof the qualifications that the competent recognition authorities consider it likely the applicants
hold and/or the periods of study it is considered likely they have undertaken. It may therefore
provide the basis for a recognition decision by the competent authority. To fulfil this function, it
should at a minimum include the information elements outlined in paragraph 19. The “relevant
supporting documentation” referred to in the final bullet point in paragraph 19 may, for example,
include documents that demonstrate that the applicant is likely to have obtained thequalifications they claim, that they are likely to have been enrolled in a given institution or study
programme giving rise to this qualifications or help establish their identity.
The background document may serve several purposes, as outlined in paragraph 20, and will beof help to both the individual applicant and competent recognition authorities.
The portability of the background document is likely to facilitate the assessment and recognitionof refugees’ qualification for further study or for employment purposes. The principle should bethat information on qualifications held by refugees is collected as early as possible as to put thefirst and often difficult period of their time as refugee to positive use. Parties should therefore
accept information on, and where relevant assessment of, such qualifications established bycompetent recognition authorities in other Parties so that refugees do not need to repeat theprocess of compiling information (see also paragraph 12) and that public authorities do notdedicate resources to repeating the work already undertaken by other Parties.
It is important that names of institutions, study programmes and qualifications obtained be givenin the original language or in transliteration, as far as possible. This will help identify thequalifications within the education system in which they were issued. In particular, translating
the names of qualifications implicitly entails assigning these a value in terms of anothereducation system, and this should only be done as the result of a recognition process or decision,see also the Recommendation on Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign
Qualifications, paragraph 24.The term “background document” is generic and does not establish
a single format for describing individual qualifications. For adequately documented
qualifications, the Council of Europe, the European Commission and UNESCO have establishedthe Diploma Supplement, and background documents for refugees’ qualifications may be basedon or inspired by the Diploma Supplement. Several countries of the European Region alreadyhave experience with assessing refugees’ qualifications as well as with describing the outcomesof the assessment in background documents of various formats. The documents provide credible
and reliable information essential to integration and progressions towards employment,
upskilling and admission to further studies.

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Two examples of international initiatives with the participation of several countries are:

In cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs
and with the participation of the national information centres of Greece, Italy,
Norway and the United Kingdom, the Council of Europe has developed a European
Qualification Passport for Refugees. It was developed on the basis of a first draft by
the national information centres of Norway and the United Kingdom and was tested
though a pilot project conducted in 2017. The European Qualifications Passport for
Refugees provides a standard format for describing higher education qualifications asassessed by qualified credentials evaluators. The assessment is based on available
documentation and a structured interview with qualified credentials evaluators. The
document also summarises and presents available information on the applicant’s
work experience and language proficiency. It is designed to be used both in cases
where refugees who remain in their first country of arrival and where they later moveto other countries.



The development of background documents is also tested in the Erasmus+ funded
project “Toolkit for Recognition of Refugees”, in which national information centres
from Armenia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom
participate.

Examples of national initiatives include:

The Danish and Swedish ENICs/NARICs issue a background report which describes
applicants’ educational background and indicates how the ENIC/NARIC would
normally assess a similar qualification when sufficient documentation is available.
The background report is intended to help applicants explain their qualifications whenlooking for further education or employment opportunities in Denmark and Sweden.
The background report is established on the basis of information and informal
documents provided by the applicant through an application form as well as on thebasis of the knowledge the ENICs/NARICs have of qualifications from the country inwhich the qualification was earned. Both the Danish and Swedish ENICs-NARICs
evaluate whether there is sufficient supporting documentation to recognise
qualifications for applicants with some formal documentation, e.g. if the applicant can
submit the degree certificate but no transcript or vice versa, or if there is confirmationof the degree but no information on the contents.



The Dutch ENIC/NARIC issues an 'Indication of level of education' (Indicatie
Onderwijsniveau/ION) for undocumented refugees, comparable to the Danish andSwedish background report. the ION is drawn up based on information provided by
the applicant and contains a description of the prior education and a comparison withthe education level in the Netherlands. In addition a Toolkit has been developed tohelp universities set up their admission procedure for refugees whose qualifications
are undocumented. The Toolkit contains information about the legislative frameworkin The Netherlands and the ION procedure, as well as questionnaires and an16organizational flow chart. The Toolkit encourages universities to allow for flexible
approaches to support the integration of refugees without documents into higher
education.
VII

The Flemish Community of Belgium has adopted special measures for therecognition of refugees’ qualifications. These foresee that the ENIC/NARIC of theFlemish Community of Belgium has to offer an adapted flexible recognition
procedure to refugees who cannot fully document their qualifications. Moreover, theENIC/NARIC of the Flemish Community of Belgium may ask experts to provide anadvisory statement regarding the foreign qualification of asylum seekers, refugees,
subsidiary protected people and persons who are in a comparable situation on thebasis of an interview as per provisions in the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Information

Paragraphs 22 – 24
Clear and understandable information is essential to enabling refugees to obtain fair recognitionof their qualifications for the purpose of further study or employment. While information should
as a minimum be provided in both the national language(s) and in one widely spoken foreign
language, many countries in the European Region provide information in several languages,
including those spoken by the largest refugee groups. It is particularly important that thisinformation be given to refugees as soon as possible after their arrival in the host country so as tomake them aware of the possibility of and requirements for obtaining recognition of their
qualifications, even when these cannot be adequately documented. This information should be
provided as early as possible, preferably as part of a “welcome package” provided to refugees
soon after their arrival in their new host country or country of first refuge. Alternative ways ofproviding information where documents are not available may include oral information, formal
statements submitted on a refugee’s honour, transcripts of study records, photo copies and otherways of providing information which may subsequently be verified.
Examples of good practice from several countries may be found on the ENIC-NARIC web site
http://www.enic-naric.net/, which includes a special site on the recognition of refugees’
qualifications: http://www.enic-naric.net/recognise-qualifications-held-by-refugees.aspx.