This service includes the CIMEA Statement of Comparability and the CIMEA Statement of Verification
This service is dedicated to is dedicated to the qualifications issued in the education systems of most of the Countries that are not signatories to the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
The service is available exclusively for final official upper secondary school and higher education qualifications which are officially part of the national education system, issued by official institutions, that is to say those recognized/accredited in the national education system. The Statements of Comparability and Verification are available exclusively in Italian for qualifications issued by other education systems, different from the Italian one.
Both the comparability and verification requests refer to the qualification as a whole (e.g. Bachelor of Arts), and not to the single documents issued for that particular qualification (e.g.: diploma certificate, Diploma Supplement, Transcript of Records, etc.). They are therefore never considered separately, but rather as documents of one qualification, providing relevant information regarding the qualification itself, which is always the central focus of the service.
The Statement of Comparability is a document containing the information relating to the qualification, such as the recognition/accreditation of the institution that issued it in the national education system and the level of the qualification according to the Bologna Process and the European Qualifications Framework, in addition to the specifications of the comparability of your degree with an Italian qualification, the nature of the course (academic or professionally-oriented) and any other useful element that allows it to be evaluated by the relevant bodies.
Through a Comparability request you apply for a Statement of Comparability with the evaluation of a final qualification of the higher education system or upper secondary school granting access to Higher Education.
This comparison does not establish nor guarantee in any way the formal recognition of your qualification, but it is a useful indication for those institutions that evaluate qualifications during different recognition procedures: the Statement of Comparability fulfills the function of a non-binding opinion and it does therefore not bind the institutions in any way during their assessment and recognition procedures.
The Statement of Comparability neither verifies nor certifies the authenticity of the qualification on which the assessment is based, as this function is performed by the Statement of Verification, which is also included in this service (see below).
In its procedures for the evaluation of foreign qualifications, CIMEA applies a methodology in line with the criteria established by the Lisbon Recognition Convention and with the practices shared at international level by the centres linked to the ENIC and NARIC networks. During the evaluation procedures, CIMEA takes into account the characteristics of the qualification and the features of the foreign system to which it belongs, comparing them to Italian qualifications and the Italian system of higher education, not least to verify whether there are cases of "substantial difference”.
Therefore, during a Comparability request, CIMEA experts review your qualification by checking on its official status in the national system of reference, the recognition/accreditation status of the awarding institution and of the teaching institution (if different from the former) in their respective national education systems. On top of that, an analysis of the elements of the single qualification is performed, i.e.: nature, level, duration, number of credits, academic and professional rights granted in the education system of reference, study curriculum and any other elements specific to the single qualification. This has the aim to suggest, when possible, a comparability with an Italian qualification and the academic rights that the foreign qualification could grant in Italy according to CIMEA's non-legally binding opinion.
In the case of a positive evaluation, a Statement of Comparability will be produced in relation to the qualification evaluated.
In cases where it is impossible to produce the Statement of Comparability, CIMEA will issue a Statement of Denial for one or more of the following reasons:
1) non-official status of the institution, the degree course or the qualification in the system of reference;
2) lack of certification of the quality of the institution and of the course of studies by the competent national authorities, including reference to the place where the studies were performed;
3) cases of substantial difference with reference to the Lisbon Convention;
4) counterfeiting or alteration of documents;
5) documentary insufficiency linked to the request that prevented an evaluation/verification.
Learn more about the evaluation methodology carried out by CIMEA experts in the drafting of their statements.
The CIMEA Statement of Comparability will be uploaded to the digital "Wallet" of qualifications in your DiploMe account through the use of blockchain thereby making this digital document, transparent, transferable, certified and unchangeable.
This service includes the verification of the authenticity of the qualification performed by CIMEA experts that, when positive, results in the issuance of a Statement of Verification. The verification procedure consists in confirming whether a foreign qualification from the higher education system or upper secondary school has indeed been awarded to the holder by an official institution within the reference system.
The term Verification of authenticity means any action performed by CIMEA in order to receive information on the actual award of a qualification by the institution of reference.
This verification does not establish in any way the formal recognition of the qualification within a different national system, but is a useful indication for the institutions that evaluate the qualification during the different recognition procedures: the Statement of Verification of the qualification has the weight of opinion, and does not bind institutions in any way during their evaluation and recognition procedures.
CIMEA's trained evaluation staff reviews all educational documents submitted by the applicant to establish their authenticity by using one or more of the following tools: national or individual institution databases, information requested directly from the institution that awarded the title, official certification issued by the competent authorities of the country of reference, receipt by mail of the original qualification from the institution at the CIMEA offices, verification of the presence of legalizations and stamps, verification of the qualification format and the respective signatures.
In cases where it is impossible to produce the Statement of Verification, CIMEA will issue a Statement of Denial for one or more of the following reasons:
1) non-official status of the institution, the degree course or the qualification in the system of reference;
2) lack of certification of the quality of the institution and of the course of studies by the competent national authorities, including reference to the place where the studies were performed;
3) cases of substantial difference with reference to the Lisbon Convention;
4) counterfeiting or alteration of documents;
5) documentary insufficiency linked to the request that prevented an evaluation/verification.
Learn more about the evaluation methodology carried out by CIMEA experts in the drafting of their statements.
The CIMEA Statement of Verification will be uploaded to the digital "Wallet" of qualifications in your DiploMe account through the use of blockchain, thereby making this digital document, transparent, transferable, certified and unchangeable.
TIMELINES - PRICES
STATEMENT OF VERIFICATION
Ordinary procedure: 60 working days (Monday to Friday) from the payment of the related costs and the delivery of all the required documentation.
Because the verification of the authenticity of educational documents might at times depend on the responsiveness of third parties in other countries, this process can significantly delay the preparation of our Statement of Verification and, in some cases, may prevent us from successfully completing your verification request. We will not issue a Statement of Verification unless the authenticity of your educational documents has been officially and satisfactorily confirmed.
Urgent procedure: no urgent procedure is available.
STATEMENT OF COMPARABILITY
Ordinary procedure: 60 working days
(Monday to Friday) from the delivery of all the required documentation and from the payment of the related costs.
Urgent procedure: 30 working days
(Monday to Friday) from the delivery of all the required documentation, from the payment of the related costs.
Ordinary procedure:
(€ 245,90 + VAT: € 54,10) for each individual qualification and the related documents.
Additional fee for the urgent procedure (Comparability): € 100,00
(€ 81,97 + VAT: € 18,03) for each individual qualification and the related documents. Please note that the urgent procedure only applies to Comparability requests, as Verification requests are always processed according to the ordinary procedure.
The basic timeline for the processing of all CIMEA Statements is 60 working days (from Monday to Friday).
In case of Comparability requests, the processing time can be reduced to 30 working days by applying for the urgent procedure for an additional fee of € 100.
Although three different services are available on the DiploMe platform, your foreign qualification can be related to only one of them. Since each service has its own cost, we invite you to identify the service available for your qualification through the dedicated tool. There you will also find additional details regarding costs and processing timelines. Alternatively you can this webpage for comprehensive information.
The urgent procedure is available for the Comparability procedure only and it reduces the processing time to 30 working days (Monday to Friday). To apply the urgent procedure an additional €100 fee is required on top of the basic cost of the service.
No. Requests for CIMEA's services must be directly submitted and managed by the holder of the qualification, and not by third parties, in respect of privacy and in compliance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Therefore, please note that each registration on the DiploMe platform is associated with only one personal account of the holder of the qualification. No assessment will be processed through intermediaries.
No. CIMEA is not in charge of any formal recognition procedure of foreign qualifications in Italy and it cannot therefore make any formal recognition decision. Hence, CIMEA's Statements do not establish nor guarantee in any way the formal recognition of your qualification, but they are a useful indication for the authorities and the bodies designated by law during their different recognition procedures. The Statements fulfill the function of a non-binding authoritative opinion and they do not bind the institutions in any way during their assessment and recognition procedures.
