---
name: credential-recognition
description: "Get foreign qualifications, degrees, or professional licenses recognised in a new country — figure out whether recognition is even needed, which body assesses it, what evidence they want, and the bridging route if there's a gap. Use when someone says 'get my degree recognised abroad', 'is my foreign license valid here', 'credential evaluation', or 'can I work as a [nurse/engineer/teacher] in [country] with my qualifications'. Produces a recognition roadmap, the assessing body, an evidence checklist, and the bridging options. Routes to official assessment bodies; requirements are country- and profession-specific."
---

# Credential Recognition Skill

Skilled newcomers routinely end up underemployed not because they lack skills but
because their qualifications sit unrecognised — the doctor driving a taxi is a cliché
because the recognition process is opaque, slow, and different for every profession
and country. This skill maps it: whether your field even *requires* formal recognition
(many don't), which body assesses it, exactly what evidence they need, and — when
there's a gap between your training and the local standard — the bridging route to
close it rather than starting over. Requirements are country- and profession-specific,
so everything routes to the official assessing body.

## What This Skill Produces

- A **recognition roadmap**: whether recognition is needed at all (regulated profession
  vs not), and if so, the steps from where you are to being able to practise/be credited
- The **assessing body**: which organization actually evaluates your credential (a
  regulator, a credential-evaluation service, a professional body) — the source of truth
- An **evidence checklist**: the documents they'll want (transcripts, certified
  translations, syllabi, proof of experience, professional references) and how to obtain
  and certify them
- A **gap and bridging plan**: if your qualification is partially recognised, the
  bridging exams/courses/supervised-practice to close the gap — usually far faster than
  requalifying from scratch

## Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):
- The qualification/license, the field, where it's from, and the country where
  recognition is wanted
- Whether the target profession is regulated (medicine, law, nursing, engineering,
  teaching, accounting usually are; many tech/creative/business roles are not)
- The goal: to practise a regulated profession, to have a degree recognised for a job/
  further study, or to be licensed
- What documents are already in hand and their language

## Framework

1. **First: is recognition even required?** Many fields don't need formal recognition —
   an employer just wants to see the qualification, and a credential-evaluation report
   suffices. Regulated professions (health, law, engineering, teaching, etc.) require
   formal recognition/licensing to practise. Establish which world you're in before
   spending months on a process you may not need.
2. **Find the right assessing body.** Regulated profession → its regulator/licensing
   board. Degree-for-employment/study → a national credential-evaluation service or the
   institution. Trade → the relevant trade body. Sending documents to the wrong assessor
   is a common wasted step; identify the owner and route there.
3. **Assemble the evidence they specify.** Typically certified copies, official
   transcripts, certified translations, sometimes course syllabi and proof of
   supervised hours/experience, plus identity and status documents. Getting official
   documents from the origin country can be slow — start those requests early.
4. **Get the gap assessed honestly.** Recognition often comes back as "recognised,"
   "partially recognised — bridge X," or "not equivalent." A partial result is normal
   and usually good news: bridging (an adaptation exam, a top-up course, a period of
   supervised practice) is far quicker than requalifying. Plan for the likely partial
   outcome rather than assuming full or none.
5. **Sequence with work and status.** Recognition can take months; plan interim work
   where allowed, and check how recognition interacts with visa/status (some visas
   require it, some jobs allow supervised practice while it's pending). Route the
   specifics to the assessing body and immigration source.

## Output Format

```
## Is recognition even required?
[Regulated profession (need formal recognition/licensing) vs not (evaluation report may
suffice) — establish this first]

## Your assessing body
[Who evaluates this credential for this country/profession — the source of truth]

## Evidence checklist
[Certified copies, transcripts, translations, syllabi, experience proof — and how/where
to get each · start origin-country requests early]

## Likely outcome & bridging
[Recognised / partial (bridge X) / not equivalent · the bridging route for a partial —
faster than requalifying]

## Sequencing with work & status
[Interim options while pending · how it interacts with visa/status — verify]

⚠ Requirements are country- and profession-specific and change — confirm everything with
the official assessing body and immigration authority.
```

## Quality Checks

- [ ] The "is recognition even needed?" question is answered first (regulated vs not)
- [ ] The correct assessing body is identified and routed to
- [ ] The evidence checklist includes translations/certification and flags slow
      origin-country requests to start early
- [ ] The likely-partial outcome and bridging routes are planned for
- [ ] Interaction with visa/status and interim work is addressed

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not assert a country/profession's exact requirements as fact — they vary
      enormously; route to the official assessing body
- [ ] Do not assume recognition is needed — send people down that road only if their
      field requires it
- [ ] Do not frame a partial recognition as failure — bridging is the normal, faster path
- [ ] Do not forget the slow documents — origin-country transcripts and certifications
      are the usual bottleneck
- [ ] Do not give immigration advice — flag where recognition and status interact and
      route to the authority

## Related

[[arrival-setup]] for the first-weeks logistics; [[the-visa-interview]] and
[[immigration-document-checklist]] for status; [[resume]] and [[linkedin-profile]] to
present recognised credentials; [[two-worlds-translator]] for the cultural transition.

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "Get my degree recognised abroad."
- "Is my foreign license valid here?"
- "Can I work as a [nurse/engineer/teacher] in [country] with my qualifications?"