Document Recognition for Albania: QSHA, Apostille and Translation

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

In Albania, foreign qualifications are recognised by the Education Services Centre (QSHA, Qendra e Shërbimeve Arsimore), which works under the Ministry of Education and is Albania's ENIC centre. If your secondary school was outside Albania, QSHA recognition is the first step before you can compete for a place. There are two procedures: one for the secondary diploma and one for higher-education qualifications.

Secondary diploma: before you apply to a university

QSHA's notice says that anyone who wants to study at an Albanian higher education institution must first go through recognition and equivalence of the foreign upper secondary diploma at QSHA. The rules are in Instruction No. 13 of 30 June 2023. You send:

the upper secondary diploma, or the official equivalent document from the issuing country;
the school reports for all years of upper secondary school;
a document proving that you sat national exams equivalent to the Albanian State Matura;
a copy of your ID or passport.

Each document needs an apostille or legalisation, a notarised copy matched to the original, and a translation into Albanian by a licensed translator in Albania.

QSHA states that this service is free of charge. The notice also says that, until the online system works fully, applications are made on paper by post to QSHA at Bulevardi Zhan D'Ark 23, Tirana, with the application form from the QSHA site. Check the QSHA page before you send anything, because this may change.

QSHA also calculates your grade average for admission. The Council of Ministers' decision on the entry average says that people who finished school abroad have the average calculated by QSHA, and where there are no State Matura exams a commission decides how. See how to get into a university in Albania.

Enrolling before recognition is finished

The Instruction lets a university register a winning foreign-diploma candidate provisionally if the QSHA document has not yet arrived. Universities must send the recognition documents to QSHA by 30 April of the academic year, and QSHA then issues your matriculation number. If a student is reported late or does not meet the legal criteria, QSHA asks the university to deregister the student. Start recognition as early as you can, and keep proof that you applied.

Bachelor's or higher diplomas

If you apply for a master's, your earlier degree goes through a different QSHA procedure for qualifications at levels 5 to 8 of the Albanian and European Qualifications Frameworks. It is online, through the e-Albania portal:

you upload the diploma and the diploma supplement or grade list, with apostille, notarised copy and Albanian translation, plus your ID and proof of payment (QSHA's note says documents from countries that have a bilateral agreement with Albania on this point need no apostille);
the fee is 2,000 lek;
the procedure ends within 30 calendar days once the file is complete, or within 5 working days for apostilled diplomas from EU countries, the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Norway, Israel, Switzerland, Iceland, Australia and Turkey;
if documents are missing, QSHA asks you to complete them within 5 days of applying; if you do not within 30 days, the file is archived and you must apply again and pay again.

Refugees and displaced persons use a simplified procedure that is free of charge, and QSHA can recognise their qualifications even when documents are incomplete.

Where to look next

Official sources

QSHA: notice on recognition of foreign secondary diplomas, October 2025 (in Albanian)
QSHA: criteria and procedures for recognition of higher-education qualifications (in Albanian)
ENIC-NARIC network: Albania
Council of Ministers Decision No. 436 of 3.6.2020 on the entry average: copy on the University of Tirana site (in Albanian)
Instruction No. 12 of 30.6.2023 on application and registration: copy on the University of Medicine, Tirana site (in Albanian)

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.