The number of people seeking to have their foreign diploma equated with a Flemish diploma is peaking. These are people from both inside and outside the European Union. Compared to five years ago, applications increased by 75%. While there were no more than 5.000 applications annually before 2021, their number rose to 7.500 in 2023. For 2024, Flanders will reach more than 8.000 applications. These are the figures communicated by Naric-Vlaanderen, the official body that recognises foreign study certificates for people who want to work in Flanders.

The increase is mainly due to the high number of applications from Ukrainians, accounting for an additional 1.000 applications per year. Diploma applications from Africa and Asia also rose by 40%. In Africa, Cameroon (+191%) and Tunisia (+67%) are the strongest risers. In Asia, it is mainly Lebanon (+142%) and Afghanistan (+108%).

The increased number of applications results in long waiting times. Checking whether a foreign diploma is equivalent to a specific Flemish diploma takes 200 days on average. Investigating the level of an education—whether a diploma is classified as a master or bachelor—takes 80 days on average. According to Flanders, such an investigation is very time- and labour-intensive.

To contain the impact on the labour market, Education Minister Ben Weyts decided, since June, to give priority to people who are already in Flanders and want to work in the bottleneck professions.

For further information, please read the following press release (in Dutch).