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Undergraduate Nostrification Instructions

Recognition of High School Education

All undergraduate and graduate degree programs at Anglo-American
University are accredited by the local accrediting body the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic or the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education in the Czech Republic (with the exception of the Law and MBA programs).

In accordance with Act. No 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions, prospective students aiming to study the degree program at Anglo-American University in Prague also within the Czech accreditation must also provide a certificate of recognition of their secondary education completed abroad.*

*Even education completed in the Czech Republic can be considered foreign and require nostrification. If you completed your education in the Czech Republic, you are waived from the requirement only if you possess “maturitní vysvědčení” (see below).

Nostrification is a state-administered process which compares your foreign* education to Czech education on the same level in order to validate that your education is equal to it. Your education will be compared to a one of the standard programs of Czech secondary education and matched if equivalent.

The point of nostrification is to obtain a certificate of high school diploma equivalency that we call a nostrification certificate. The certificate has the same value as a Czech high school diploma, and you need to provide it to AAU in order to be admitted to a Czech-accredited program. By Czech law, only students with a few specific diplomas are waived from the requirement to obtain the nostrification certificate in order to attend a Czech-accredited university program.

There are a few diplomas that are automatically accepted for admission in the Czech accreditation because of the existence of a bilateral agreement of the Czech Republic and the given country:

  • Czech High School Diploma (“vysvědčení o maturitní zkoušce”) 
  • German High School Diploma (“Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife”) 
  • Hungarian High School Diploma (“érettségi bizonyítvány”),  
  • Polish High School Diploma (“swiadectwo dojrzałości”),
  • Slovak High School Diploma (“vysvedčenie o maturitnej skúške”),
  • Slovenian High School Diploma (“Spričevalo o Splošni/Poklicni maturi”),
  • European Baccalaureate diploma (this is not IB – International Baccaularete – the IB is not automatically accepted)

Only the specific diplomas listed there are exempt from having to go through nostrification. Your citizenship is irrelevant, it matters where you completed your education and what diploma you obtained.

Additional official nostrification information can be obtained from: the Multicultural Center, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and the Department of Education (Prague).

Benefits of Enrollment in the Czech Accreditation

While completing nostrification, obtaining the nostrification certificate and consequently enrolling in the Czech accredited program at AAU, in addition to the American accreditation of your program, is a choice, we recommend that you review the following benefits and consider your current and future plans to see how it would benefit you. For most students it makes sense to pursue both accreditations at AAU. To be admitted and enrolled in a Czech-accredited program at AAU, you must first complete nostrification, obtain the nostrification certificate and submit it to AAU.

1. Visa, Work and Student Status

For visa-seeking students

If you need a visa to enter the Czech Republic, you are eligible to apply for a long-term visa or a long-term residence permit for the purpose of STUDY (students enrolled in the American accreditation only are required to apply for a visa or residence permit for the purpose of OTHER).

If you hold a visa or a residence permit for the purpose of STUDY, you are allowed to work in the Czech Republic during your studies (with the OTHER purpose, you are not allowed to work).

You will hold a full-time university student status in the Czech Republic, in the sense of continuous preparation for future professions (official student status determined by Czech law). If you study in the American accredited program, you are registered as a life-long learning student, not a university student in an accredited program.

For Czech citizens

You will hold a full-time university student status in the Czech Republic, in the sense of continuous preparation for future professions (official student status determined by Czech law). If you study in the American accredited program, you are registered as a life-long learning student, not a university student in an accredited program. Only when you are registered in the Czech accredited program and hold the full student status, your social and health insurance is paid for by the Czech state. 

2. Dual-Accredited Diploma

When you graduate from AAU, you will obtain a dual-accredited diploma which will make your degree widely accepted around the world, especially in the US and the European Union.

3. Work After Graduation

For visa-seeking students: If you want to stay in the Czech Republic after graduation for work, with a diploma from a Czech-accredited program you can apply for a 9-month job-searching visa. You also have automatic entry to the Czech labour market. 

Continuing your studies in the Czech Republic will be much smoother with a Czech university diploma as it will be automatically accepted.

4. Accomodation Scholarship

Accommodation scholarship is awarded to students who are enrolled in the Czech accreditation and also meet other requirements.

5. Erasmus

You may also participate in the Erasmus study exchange program. To learn more about Erasmus program at AAU visit our Exchange Programs page.

Note for EU citizens: While the benefits of enrollment in the Czech accreditation relating to visa and
access to job market in the Czech Republic are not relevant for you, the following ones still apply to you:

  • Dual-Accredited Diploma
  • Accommodation Scholarship
  • Erasmus

How can AAU assist you with nostrification?

AAU offers a range of services to assist incoming students with the process of nostrification, such as:

  • Guide students through all the steps that begin with collecting documents to obtaining the final nostrification certificate.
  • Offer one-on-one or group online and in person meetings to any interested students.
  • Assist students with identifying how their documents must be legalized and provide them with specific legalization instructions relating to their documents (identify specific places where they need to arrange the legalization).
  • Assist students with collecting other necessary documents, such as study hours document and proof of school’s accreditation, communicate with high schools directly to help student obtain these documents that are not usually issued.
  • Assist students with certified translation into Czech, give them specific instructions on translation abroad via the Czech Embassy, take care of the translation in Prague, or, alternatively, help locate other translators.
  • Offer representing students with the Czech authorities via the power of attorney (IMPORTANT: The offer of AAU’s assistance via the power of attorney and in general is included in your tuition once it’s paid. If you decide to withdraw from the nostrification process once you have already applied at the deciding authority with our help, we cannot guarantee we will have capacity to reapply on your behalf in case you wish to. However, we will do our best.)
  • Consult unclear documents before applying at Prague City Hall or the Central Bohemian office. 
  • Apply for nostrification on students’ behalf.
  • Receive official decisions from authorities on students’ behalves.
  • Help solve issues with documents when application is suspended.
  • Assist students with nostrification exams—informing them of the place, subjects, and area questions, as well as scheduling the test date and booking an interpreter.
  • Communicate with the authorities and schools in case of appeals, exam postponements, process withdrawals, other special occasions.
  • Assist students with procedures after failing an exam and application rejection, potentially with re-applying.

AAU cannot help with:

  • Documents legalization that needs to be arranged in a foreign country.
  • Taking the nostrification exam – the exam is taken by the applicant only, in person.
  • Travel/entry arrangements to attend the nostrification exam.
  • Changing the decision made by the official authority as AAU has no say in these decisions.
  • Covering costs of the nostrification process and connected acts.
  • Nostrification in general, if you are not an incoming or current AAU student – you must seek assistance in the country where you are continuing your studies, or from the institution that you are applying to. This applies also to alumni who do not continue their studies at AAU.

Cost of nostrification

AAU’s assistance with the nostrification process is part of your tuition. However, there will always be additional costs for items such as documents obtainment, document legalization and verification, shipping, translation of documents, administrative fees payable to authorities, exam interpreting. Estimated costs are described in more detail in the Frequently asked questions section at the bottom of this page.

Nostrification Steps

  1. Collection of documents
  2. Legalization of documents
  3. Official translation to Czech (except for documents in Slovakian)
  4. Submitting the application to the deciding authority (relevant Department of Education)
  5. Receiving the decision
  6. Taking an exam if so ordered
  7. Obtaining the nostrification certificate

1. Collection of Required Documents

This is a general list of documents required for nostrification. Please note that not everyone needs to submit everything on the list. It always depends on a number of factors.

  • High School Diploma or an equivalent of the diploma that is a proof of the applicant’s successful completion of studies and that enables the applicant to pursue further higher education – original hardcopy or notary-made copy, legalized*, and translated to Czech afterwards.
  • High School Transcript – original hardcopy or notary-made copy, legalized*, and translated to Czech afterwards (the transcript can be sometimes omitted if fully substituted by the following document).
  • A document proving the content and scope of education completed in a foreign school = instructional study hours document – a list of courses taken during high school, divided into academic years, with the number of hours of instruction. Original hardcopy or notary-made copy, translated to Czech. This document is generally not issued by High Schools; therefore, you have to request it directly from them. The template they can use to create this document can be found here. Examples are here.
  • A document proving that the school or institution that issued your diploma is recognised by the country according to whose legal framework the foreign diploma was issued as a part of the education system, if this is not clearly indicated on the diploma (if the diploma is issued directly, or signed by, the state’s Education Office, then no further proof if necessary). In case that it is not clear from the diploma, please ask the Ministry of Education in your country for a certificate, letter, statement etc. to confirm the school/institution is authorized to operate as a high school and/or to issue a diploma that is taken as a true high school diploma that allows you to enter university. In case of private or international high schools you will need the school’s license. Original signed hardcopy or notary-made copy (alternatively school-made copy), translated to Czech. Examples are here.
  • Proof of address in the Czech Republic – original or notary-made copy of a housing confirmation, lease agreement, or a copy of ID with a Czech address. Your Czech address determines the office (regional Department of Education) to submit your application. If you are submitting your application before coming to the Czech Republic, this document is not necessary and you can submit your application to whichever office. If not issued in Czech language, then it must be translated to Czech. 
  • Power of Attorney form – you can choose to give power of attorney to AAU’s Nostrification Specialist if you are an incoming student, to a specialized nostrification agency, or to a friend/family member in the Czech Republic. This person will act on your behalf. 
  • Application form – to be found on the website of the Department of Education you apply at. If you give power of attorney to someone, they will fill in the application form on your behalf. 
  • Payment confirmation – administrative fee for nostrification is 1000 CZK, to be paid before submitting the application, payable to the Department of Education. 

*Legalized document = original document authenticated by a notary, by an
apostille, or by a super legalization verification. The type depends on the
country that issued your document. See more below.

2. Legalization of Documents

Public documents (such as diplomas and transcripts) must be legalized in order to be valid for official purposes in the Czech Republic. Other documents can be used as originals or notary-made copies.

Legalization type always depends on the country that issued the document and the agreement it has (or doesn’t) with the Czech Republic. Unless there is an agreement on automatic acceptance of public documents between the country that issued the document and the Czech Republic, the original document will not suffice without legalization. 

See the list of countries and the required legalization type here. Look up the country in which your document was issued, not your citizenship.

Types of legalization: 

  1. Notary-made copy (= no further legalization necessary, you need to submit the notary-made copy, so you can keep the original)
  2. Apostille – higher form of legalization for selected countries. Apostille is an authentication certificate verifying signatures and stamps on the original document, and attached to the original document.
  3. Superlegalization – highest form of verification for countries with no agreement with Czech Republic. Several steps:
    1) verification of the original document by Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    2) afterwards verification of the original document by a Czech Embassy in the state where the document comes from

In order not to lose original documents, AAU recommends submitting notary verified copies of legalized originals to the Czech authorities. We recommend making a notarized copy of all documents you do not want to lose, in the Czech Republic before they are translated. The translation can be attached to the notary-made copies instead. Documents submitted for nostrification will not be returned to you if it’s successful.

3. Official Translation to Czech

All documents submitted for nostrification must either be in Czech, or translated to Czech by a certified translator (except for documents in Slovakian). 

Acceptable certified translations are made by:

  1. a registered Czech court-certified translator (in Czech “soudní překladatel”) with a stamp, or a registered certified translator to English in the country the document comes from
  2. a translator whose translation was verified by a Czech Embassy by a “verification of the correctness of the translation of a public document” sticker and stamp

Court-certified translators are mostly found in the Czech Republic. You can search for them here. Below are the step-by-step instructions on how to use the portal.

  • Please select the option “Tlumočníci a překladatelé” (interpreters and translators) 
  • You can then specify only translators by checking “soudní překladatel”
  • Choose “Jazyk” (language) – selecting the language from which they need to be translated 
  • Choose “Praha” under “Soudní kraj” (region) to be able to see the certified court translators only in the Prague region 
  • Confirm with “Vyhledat” to search through available records  

AAU can arrange translation for incoming students and forward the invoice (translation is not paid by AAU). For this purpose we use the external company Právní překlady who have a network of certified translators. There is also a possibility to translate and verify the translation of the legalized documents via a representative office of the Czech Republic (an
Embassy or a Consulate).

Below you will find the instructions for the process:

  • For the purpose of foreign education recognition, the authorities in the Czech Republic will be accepting translations to Czech made abroad only if they are verified via an appropriate representative office of the Czech Republic – this process is called Verification of the correctness of the translation of a public document.
  • Do not perform any translation before you consult this matter with the representative office and are sure they can verify your translation.
  • There are different types of representative offices abroad:
    • Embassies
    • General consulates
    • Honorary consulates
  • To get information about the translation of your authenticated documents and the verification of the translation you have to identify the appropriate office for you, a list of all the representatives offices of the Czech Republic can be found here.
  • Steps to follow:
    • Identify the appropriate representative office
    • Get in touch with the office and ask them to provide you with information on whether they can perform the Verification of the correctness of the translation of a public document, if they confirm it is possible inquire about where should you get the translation to Czech (some embassies have a translator on site some have external translators) 
    • Example of the verified translation sticker that the representative office should stamp your documents with can be found here
    • In case the representative office cannot perform the verification of the translation, you will not translate the documents abroad because such translation would not be valid for official purposes in the Czech Republic. Instead check the possibility of the court translation at the Czech Republic with your AAU Power of attorney representative.

4. Submitting the application to the deciding authority (relevant Department of Education)

When all required documents are collected, relevant documents are legalized and everything is translated to Czech, an application for nostrification can be submitted.

The authority to accept applications for nostrification of high school education is the Department of Education in the region where the applicant resides. It can be the Department of Education at the City Hall of Prague. If you reside in a different region of the Czech Republic, or have a permanent address in a different region, you apply at the respective Department of Education in the region. You are asked to provide a proof of address for this reason. Only if you do not reside in the Czech Republic yet, you can submit your application to whichever Department of Education you choose. 

Application form is always to be found on the website of the Department of Education where you will be applying for nostrification. If you are applying yourself, you will fill it in and sign it, if you gave power of attorney to another person, they can fill it in and sign it on your behalf. The application form will generally require you to state your name, date of birth, contact information, your education data and information. 

The application is submitted in person, in some cases it is possible to submit it via mail. Before submitting the application, you must pay the administrative fee of 1000 CZK

5. Receiving the decision

After you submit the application, the deciding authority has usually 30-60 days to review your application and the accompanying documents. When they make a decision, an official decision is mailed to you, or your power of attorney representative, if you authorized one. The deciding authority makes a decision based on the submitted documents and how much your education compares to a similar program of Czech secondary education. Based on their review, the decision can be the following: 

a) Decision that you need to take a nostrification exam within a certain period of time – in case your education only partially compares to Czech education on the secondary level. See point 6 for details. 

b) Temporary suspension because of a missing or faulty document, unclear information, or another problem, with a certain deadline – the application is restarted after you submit the requested/additional documentation, otherwise the application is terminated, or exams are ordered, depending on the nature of the issue. 

c) Information the application is going to be rejected due to incomparability – this decision can sometimes be reversed in case you are able to provide additional documents. Otherwise application is rejected. 

d) Nostrification certificate straight away – this means the process is completed. 

6. Taking an exam if so ordered

The most common outcome of a nostrification application is a decision that you need to take a nostrification exam. 

The purpose of the nostrification exam is to verify that you have knowledge and profile similar to a Czech high school graduate, if the content and scope of your education is partially different. The decision is made by comparing the subjects, their instructional study hours, years of instruction and the educational systems. In most cases, it is difficult to predict in advance if and what subjects in the exam will be ordered. Exams are very common, so it is best to be prepared for the outcome.

The minimum number of subjects in an exam is one, the maximum is five. There is no grade to achieve, the exam is taken on a pass/fail basis.

The student needs to pass all subjects to complete the exam and the nostrification process. 

The exam is in Czech, non-Czech speaking students are allowed to have a court-certified interpreter to accompany them (the interpreter will charge you for the service). You need to arrange for the interpreter yourself.  

Exams are mostly spoken, taken in person at high schools around Prague or in the region where you applied. The testing school is randomly assigned to you by the Department of Education. Depending on the regional Department, you either are given an exam period during which you have to take the exam (in that case the exact date is set by the testing school), or you are assigned a date straight away. 

Each school publishes a list of topics for each subject, so you will know in advance what to prepare for. 

The nostrification exam is part of the official process, rescheduling the date is possible only in case of a health emergency or an appointment at the foreign police.  

7. Obtaining the nostrification certificate

The nostrification process is completed only when you have received the nostrification certificate. The certificate will come via registered mail to the address specified in your application, or to your power of attorney representative. If you applied yourself and receive the certificate in the mail yourself, you need to bring and submit it to AAU in order to be enrolled into the Czech-accredited program. AAU has to see the certificate (either the original or a notary-made copy) to be able to make the enrollment. 

Example of a nostrification certificate

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Frequently asked questions

More information

In case of any questions please contact nostrification@aauni.edu.