A foreign degree or diploma does not have to be recognised for every profession. If your profession is not regulated in Switzerland, you will be able to practise it without your foreign degree or accreditation being recognised. Whether or not you will be able to work in your profession depends on the employment market and your future employer’s requirements. Most professions in Switzerland are not regulated.

If your profession is regulated in Switzerland, your foreign degree or professional qualifications will have to be recognised by a Swiss authority or institution. Regulated professions are those dependent on the possession of a degree, diploma or accreditation and which are regulated by law.

There are various bodies in Switzerland that recognise foreign degrees and professional qualifications. The website for the Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation SBFI (State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI) contains an overview of the relevant authorities and institutions.

Visit the website of the Rector's Conference of the Swiss Universities, swissuniversities.ch, for further information about recognition of foreign degrees in Switzerland and a summary of the international agreements governing recognition.

Foreign upper-secondary education certificates are not recognised at Federal level. Please contact the universities directly if you wish to enrol on a degree course.