Federal Department of Economic Affairs,
Education and Research
State Secretariat for Education, Researchand Innovation SERI
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

Information sheet EDK – SRC – SWU and SERI
Recognition of Ukrainian qualifications for the purposeof carrying out a professional activity in Switzerland
25 march 2022

No restrictions on carrying out unregulated professional activities
All professional activities that do not appear in the indicative list published by theState Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) (List of regulated
professional activities in Switzerland) are not restricted and may therefore be carriedout without any specific preliminary formalities. While there is no need for a certificate
confirming that the level of education and training for the foreign qualification
matches that provided within the Swiss education system, such a level certificate canbe obtained in Switzerland if desired. A formal equivalence procedure, however, is
not advisable due to the cumulative requirements that must be met (see below).
Regulated professional activities
Only a few professional activities are considered to be regulated in Switzerland;these may only be carried out after the given foreign qualification has beenrecognised by a competent Swiss authority as being equivalent to a corresponding
Swiss qualification. More detailed information regarding certain professional activities
can be found at the bottom of the following webpage:https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/en/home/education/recognition-of-foreignqualifications/recognition-procedure-on-establishment/regulated-occupations-andprofessions.html
Some professional activities require a specific level of language proficiency inGerman, French or Italian, e.g. activities relating to teaching (level C2) or thoserelating to healthcare, social work and childcare (level B2).

Federal Department of Economic Affairs,Education and Research
State Secretariat for Education, Researchand Innovation SERI
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

The criteria used to assess the education and training underlying the given foreign
qualification are determined on the basis of documentation deemed relevant by thecompetent Swiss authority. In the absence of specific documentation, information
may be taken from official online sources (e.g. level, duration, structure and contentof education and training). In hardship cases, the fee for the recognition procedure
may be reduced.
All three of the following cumulative requirements must be met:
• The level of education training must be at least the same;• The duration of education and training must be at least the same;• The content of education and training must be comparable and must include aworkplace training portion, or the qualification holder must have obtained relevant
work experience.
Where direct equivalence is not possible (one or more of the cumulativerequirements have not been met), compensatory measures will be requested, either
in the form of an aptitude test or a traineeship. The equivalence decision will then be
made once the requested measures have been taken.
Different authorities are responsible for different areas of recognition:• The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) 1 is thenational contact point for initial inquiries regarding the recognition of foreign
qualifications. It is also the specific competent authority for the recognition ofupper-secondary level vocational qualifications and tertiary-level professional
qualifications. SERI offers a hotline 2 for general inquiries (i.e. not related to apreviously submitted application).
• The Swiss Red Cross 3 is the competent authority for the recognition of vocational
and professional qualifications relating to healthcare (see list 4); the Federal Office1

https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/en/home/education/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications.html

2

https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/diploma

3

https://www.redcross.ch/en/our-services/healthcare-professions-recognition-and-registration

4

Healthcare assistants, podiatrists, dental hygienists, medical radiology technicians, biomedical analysis technicians, operating
room technicians, orthopaedic technicians, emergency medical technicians, medical masseurs, naturopaths, nurses,occupational therapists, midwives, dieticians, optometrists and osteopaths

Federal Department of Economic Affairs,
Education and Research
State Secretariat for Education, Researchand Innovation SERI
Recognition of Foreign Qualificationsof Public Health (FOPH), and specifically the Swiss Commission for MedicalProfessions (MEBEKO), is responsible for the recognition of foreign qualifications
relating to medical professions.
• The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) is responsible forthe evaluation and recognition of foreign qualifications relating to teaching,pedagogy and therapy (special education, speech therapy, psychomotor therapy).
The application for recognition must be submitted online. Information and contact
details can be found on the EDK website 5. Applicants covered by this note (statusS) must have a teaching qualification and prove their language skills in a Swissnational language (level C2). In exceptional cases, the certificate may be produced
during the procedure and the fee may be reduced. A request for exemption mustbe submitted.
• swissuniversities, which is part of the European Network of National Information
Centres on Academic Recognition and Mobility (ENIC), can issue a level certificate
for job seekers who hold a higher education qualification that provides access to a
non-regulated professional activity 6. If the desire is to enrol in a study programme
at a Swiss university, then it is important to note that each higher education
institution in Switzerland establishes its own admission criteria and requirements;
swissuniversities recommends that you contact the university concerned directly toobtain more detailed information.

56

https://www.edk.ch/fr/themes/reconnaissance-des-diplomes/diplomes-etrangers
https://www.swissuniversities.ch/en/service/recognition/swiss-enicFederal Department of Economic Affairs,
Education and Research
State Secretariat for Education, Researchand Innovation SERI
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

Ukrainian system of vocational and professional education and training 77

Source: BQ Portal, Germany, https://www.bq-portal.de/enFederal Department of Economic Affairs,
Education and Research
State Secretariat for Education, Researchand Innovation SERI
Recognition of Foreign Qualifications

Swiss system of vocational and professional education and training