{"id":436,"date":"2026-10-03T11:37:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T11:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?post_type=ba_guide&#038;p=436"},"modified":"2026-10-03T11:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T11:37:27","slug":"foreign-diploma-recognition-netherlands-idw-nuffic","status":"publish","type":"ba_guide","link":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?ba_guide=foreign-diploma-recognition-netherlands-idw-nuffic","title":{"rendered":"Foreign diplomas in the Netherlands: IDW, Nuffic and recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ba-lead wp-block-paragraph\">A foreign diploma does not automatically become a Dutch diploma with a new name. What you need depends on whether you want to <strong>study<\/strong>, work in an <strong>unregulated profession<\/strong>, or enter a <strong>regulated profession<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Applying to study with a foreign diploma<\/h2>\n<p>The Dutch HBO institution or university ultimately decides whether you meet its admission requirements. Nuffic publishes comparisons for many foreign education systems, but the institution can request additional evaluation or impose programme-specific requirements.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Credential evaluation for work<\/h2>\n<p>If an employer wants an official comparison, a credential evaluation can be requested through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idw.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IDW<\/a>. The government has designated Nuffic and SBB to perform evaluations. Nuffic states that an evaluation is an official comparison but <strong>is not legally binding<\/strong>: it does not itself grant admission or permission to practise a profession.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Regulated professions are different<\/h2>\n<p>For a regulated profession, diploma evaluation alone may not be enough. You may need formal professional recognition or registration with the competent authority. Check the profession-specific recognition route before accepting employment or paying for an evaluation you do not need.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Allow time<\/h2>\n<p>Nuffic currently says a complete credential-evaluation application usually takes at least <strong>10 working weeks<\/strong>, while IDW publishes the current processing times. If an employer or admission deadline depends on it, start early.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When foreign diploma evaluation is useful, who decides admission, and why regulated professions need a separate check.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","ba_country":[2],"ba_topic":[397,35,396,391],"ba_audience":[261,366,402,17,308],"ba_section":[20,382],"ba_stage":[28,26],"ba_location":[],"class_list":["post-436","ba_guide","type-ba_guide","status-publish","hentry","ba_country-netherlands","ba_topic-credential-evaluation","ba_topic-education","ba_topic-foreign-diplomas","ba_topic-higher-education","ba_audience-newcomers","ba_audience-parents","ba_audience-professionals","ba_audience-residents","ba_audience-students","ba_section-living","ba_section-work-business","ba_stage-getting-established","ba_stage-preparing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/ba_guide"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/436\/revisions\/437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ba_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_country&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"ba_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_topic&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"ba_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_audience&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"ba_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_section&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"ba_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_stage&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"ba_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_location&post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}