Recognition of Foreign Degrees in Portugal for Americans and Britons

To have a U.S. or U.K. university degree recognized in Portugal, you apply through the DGES online form for one of three types of recognition: automatic, level or specific. DGES, the higher education directorate, says the regime has been Decree-Law 66/2018 since 1 January 2019, and that all three types have the same legal validity but do not serve the same purposes.

This guide covers higher education degrees only. For the immigration side, see our guides on the student visa and the job seeker visa, and for employment working in Portugal as an American or Briton. It is not legal advice, and the institution that receives your file decides.

What the pages say, and when

We read the DGES recognition page, its FAQ, the DGES list of degrees eligible for automatic recognition, the DGES guide to the online form, the DGES page of the ENIC/NARIC center and its page on professional recognition on 19 October 2026. None of these DGES pages shows a date of its own. The legal text we read is the consolidated Decree-Law 66/2018 on diariodarepublica.pt, which lists one amending act, Decree-Law 86/2023 of 10 October 2023, in force from 11 October 2023 and marked on articles 5 and 14. That is the latest legal change we found, and it is older than this guide’s first publication date, so the update date of this guide equals its publication date. Fees and deadlines are those the DGES pages state on the day we read them.

Do I need my U.S. or U.K. degree recognized in Portugal?

Not necessarily. DGES answers the question “I want to work in Portugal, which type should I choose?” with “it depends”. It says that in Portugal access to professions is free under the constitutional principle of freedom of choice of profession, so for most professions (those not regulated) the requirements depend on each employer. For regulated professions, specific conditions apply, and DGES points to DGERT, the labor directorate-general, and its list of regulated professions and competent authorities.

If, on the other hand, you hold a foreign degree and want it to have legal validity in Portugal, DGES says you go through recognition. The old process called equivalence no longer exists since Decree-Law 66/2018.

What are the three types of recognition?

The decree-law defines them, and DGES describes them on its page.

DGES explains the difference this way. If you only need recognition of the degree level (for example, that you hold a licenciado level degree), you can choose automatic or level recognition. If you also want recognition of the course or scientific area (for example, a bachelor’s in biology), you choose specific recognition. DGES adds that automatic recognition is available only for some degrees from some countries, and that a degree that is “equivalent to” or “comparable to” one on the list does not qualify: it must be exactly the degree listed.

The decree-law adds three rules: each type can be requested only once for the same foreign degree; a degree that cannot be recognized automatically can ask for level recognition, specific recognition, or both; and degrees awarded under a franchise arrangement are outside its scope.

Is my U.S. or U.K. degree on the automatic recognition list?

The DGES list, a table titled “List of degrees issued by the commission for the recognition of foreign degrees and diplomas”, has entries for both countries. We read it as follows, and DGES says the tables do not replace reading the published deliberations.

The file name of the table points to 2019, and the deliberations it cites run from 2008 to 2019. DGES says you can also enter your details in its online form and see the result there, and that if the foreign institution is missing from the form you write to DGES through its electronic desk with a copy of the diploma. For a degree you doubt, use the form rather than this table.

What documents do I send?

The decree-law (article 4) says the holder, or a legal representative, requests recognition by presenting a document that proves unequivocally that the degree was awarded. DGES lists, as examples:

• a copy of the diploma, or of a document issued by the foreign institution proving that you hold the degree, authenticated by the competent authorities;
• a simple copy of a document from the foreign institution showing a registration number, where that institution keeps centralized records that can be consulted publicly through a unique identifier;
• the diploma or certificate issued by the foreign institution, in its original version.

For level and specific recognition DGES adds that specific documents may be requested: a document from the foreign institution listing the course units passed with their syllabus, the length of study and the final grade; for a master’s level degree a digital copy of the dissertation, project or internship report; for a doctorate a digital copy of the thesis or, where it was replaced by other research work, the elements needed to understand it. The DGES guide to the form also says the institution you choose may ask for any additional documents and for a particular type of certification of them, so check its website.

The pages we read do not use the word apostille. “Authenticated by the competent authorities” is the DGES wording, and what that means for a U.S. or U.K. diploma is covered in our guide to apostilles and translations. Ask the institution or DGES which certification and which translation it wants before you pay for either.

How do I apply, and what does it cost?

You apply online. DGES says the request is made through its online form, and that for level and specific recognition you must use the form and select the institution there, not go to the institution directly. Automatic recognition can be analyzed by DGES or by a public higher education institution, and the institution you select in the form is the one that handles your file and answers questions about it.

On the fee, per DGES:

• Automatic recognition handled by DGES: 32.20 euros.
• Level and specific recognition: the page says to contact the institution; the FAQ says the amount depends on the type and on the institution.
• If you choose DGES, the form asks for payment by bank transfer or Multibanco. The guide says a Multibanco reference is valid for 72 hours and that an unpaid request is canceled automatically.

The decree-law says the fee is single per request, may differ depending on whether the act includes conversion of the final grade, must not exceed the cost of the service, and is not refunded if you withdraw. It also says that withdrawing does not stop you from filing a new request for the same degree.

Can I get my final grade converted?

Yes. The decree-law lets you ask for your final grade on the Portuguese scale, which it defines as the range from 10 to 20, together with automatic or level recognition or separately, and a separate request carries its own fee. Where the foreign scale is a simple arithmetic progression, the decree-law gives a formula based on the passing mark and the highest mark of the foreign scale, with rounding to the nearest whole number. DGES has a separate page and form for this conversion.

What does recognition give me, and what does it not?

The decree-law defines recognition as the act that gives the foreign degree all the rights inherent in the corresponding Portuguese degree. The entry is recorded on an electronic platform with a unique number, proved by a registration certificate, and the decree-law says the record is also public on the DGES website by that number.

Three limits are in the text:

• Recognition does not authorize you to use the titles licenciado, mestre or doutor, or those titles “from a Portuguese institution”. You name your degree in its original language, the institution and the country.
• For professional purposes, recognition does not exempt you from the other legal conditions for exercising the profession.
• It is not the same as the NARIC statement, below.

What does the NARIC center do?

The ENIC/NARIC Portugal center is part of DGES, created in 1986, and belongs to the ENIC-NARIC network of information centers of EU member states and of other Council of Europe and UNESCO members. It answers questions on academic recognition of foreign higher education degrees, on the level of foreign qualifications, on professional recognition and on the legislation.

Its NARIC Information states the level of a foreign qualification in its country of origin and, where applicable, that the foreign institution is recognized. DGES says it is a general, impersonal statement that must be presented together with your original documents, that the procedure is free, and that it does not replace recognition. It is requested through an online form that asks for the country, the institution and, optionally, the degree. For a statement of the level of a foreign course or institution for IRS purposes, under article 78-D(3) of the IRS Code, DGES says to ask through its electronic desk.

What about regulated professions?

Recognition of a degree and recognition to practice a profession are separate. DGES defines professional recognition as the authorization, by a competent authority (a ministry, a professional order, a professional association and so on), to practice a regulated profession or activity, and its recognition FAQ suggests asking the Directorate-General for Employment and Labor Relations (DGERT) or the ANQEP about the steps. The DGES page on professional recognition points to the European Commission database of regulated professions, names DGERT as national coordinator of Directive 2005/36/EC and describes the EU directive (2005/36/EC) under which an EU member state recognizes qualifications obtained in another member state. It says nothing about U.S. or U.K. qualifications, and we did not read any professional order’s page, so we do not state what a given order requires. For a medicine degree, the DGES page carries a notice that fully documented specific recognition files must be submitted by 1 September from 2022; check the current deadline with the institution.

A school-level qualification is another matter: this decree-law covers higher education degrees only, and the procedure for a child’s school records is in our guide to enrolling a child in school.

Is there a difference for Americans and Britons?

The procedure is the same. What differs is the list entry and the documents. The United States and United Kingdom each have entries in the automatic recognition table, with U.S. professional doctorates such as the J.D. and M.D. listed at the mestre level. We found no page that treats Americans and Britons differently, and no page that links recognition to a visa or residence permit.

If you are coming to study rather than to have a degree recognized, see studying at a Portuguese university as a non-EU student.

Pages read

DGES, recognition of foreign higher education degrees and diplomas, with FAQ; DGES, list of degrees of the recognition commission under Decree-Law 66/2018; DGES, practical guide to the recognition request; DGES, ENIC/NARIC Portugal center; DGES, professional recognition; Diário da República, consolidated Decree-Law 66/2018 of 16 August 2018, with the amendment by Decree-Law 86/2023. All read on 19 October 2026.