The Lisbon Recognition Convention (Convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education in the European region) was developed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO and adopted by national representatives in Lisbon on April 11, 1997. It envisages the creation of a coherent and consistent structure on the recognition of appropriate qualifications in higher education system. The purpose of creating this document is to ensure that qualification from a signatory country can be recognised in another country.

The key points of the Lisbon Recognition Convention are presented below:

* Holders of qualifications issued in one country shall have adequate access to an assessment of these qualifications in another country.

* Each country shall recognise qualifications – whether for access to higher education, for periods of study or for higher education degrees – as similar to the corresponding qualifications in its own system unless it can show that there are substantial differences between its own qualifications and the qualifications for which recognition is sought.

* Recognition of a higher education qualification issued in another country shall have one or more of the following consequences:

- access to further higher education studies, including relevant examinations and preparations for the doctorate, on the same conditions as candidates from the country in which recognition is sought;

- the use of an academic title, subject to the laws and regulations of the country in which recognition is sought;

- in addition, recognition may facilitate access to the labour market.

This information is taken from the Lisbon Recognition Convention

More information about the Lisbon Recognition Convention is available on the website of the Council of Europe