Document Recognition for North Macedonia: Nostrifying Your Diploma

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

To enrol at a university in North Macedonia with a school diploma from another country, you need an official decision that recognises it. In North Macedonia this procedure is called nostrification, and it is carried out by the Ministry of Education and Science. Universities ask for the ministry's decision at enrolment, and several accept a receipt showing that you have started the procedure when you first apply. Start early, because the university guides warn that it takes several weeks.

Who recognises what

The National Information Centre for North Macedonia, the country's ENIC-NARIC office, is part of the Ministry of Education and Science. Its listing says it handles the recognition of qualifications in secondary and higher education, and refers applicants to the ministry's online services portal, e-uslugi.mon.gov.mk, and to its email contacts. The ENIC-NARIC page also says that a new law on higher education is being prepared and that some information will change once it is adopted. For the current form and fees, ask the ministry.

The universities do not recognise school diplomas themselves. They check the ministry's decision, and then apply their own admission rules. See how to get into a university in North Macedonia.

Documents for nostrification

The International Students Guide of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM) lists the papers the ministry requires for a secondary-school diploma:

• the original diploma, certified with an apostille, or with the stamp of the foreign ministry of your country if it is not a party to the Hague Convention;
• two photocopies of the diploma, one of them notarised;
• two copies of the diploma translated into Macedonian by an authorised court translator in North Macedonia, one of them notarised;
• the original certificates for each year of secondary school, with the same set of two photocopies and two translations;
• the ministry's request form;
• your original birth certificate and citizenship certificate, each with two photocopies, and, if they were not issued in North Macedonia, two translations of each by an authorised court translator, one notarised.

Goce Delcev University in Stip gives the same list on its nostrification page. Because the translator must be authorised in North Macedonia, ask the university's international office how foreign applicants usually arrange the translations.

Fees and receipt

The Goce Delcev University page says that the procedure involves two payments, of 3,000 and 250 denars, and that the ministry issues a receipt with a number and a date when you hand in the documents. Keep it. If you are applying for a Macedonian language course or an English-taught programme, the university may ask for a copy of the receipt. We could not open the ministry's own pages, so treat the amounts as the university's information and confirm them with the ministry.

International Balkan University charges international students 500 euros for services related to nostrification and the residence permit, according to its call for 2026/27.

How long it takes

No official processing time appears in the university guides. The Goce Delcev University page recommends starting at least five weeks before the document deadline. UKIM's application page says the procedure can take several weeks, and that it should be finished by June or July if you want to enrol in the autumn. Treat these as minimums and apply as soon as you hold your final diploma. If your final results arrive late, as with IB results in July, ask the university whether its call accepts a receipt for the started procedure. The University of St. Clement of Ohrid in Bitola says so in its call. UKIM's call asks for the decision itself at enrolment.

IB and other international diplomas

The International Baccalaureate has no separate recognition track in the university calls. Candidates with an international matura are treated like other applicants, but must also submit the recognition papers. See IB diploma and university admission in North Macedonia.

Other papers universities ask for

Besides the recognition decision, the calls list a birth certificate, a citizenship certificate and a passport copy. The University of St. Clement of Ohrid also asks foreign applicants for a health certificate from a health station, and a HIV test and a hepatitis C test. For residence-permit papers, see student visa for North Macedonia.

Where to look next

• How to get into a university in North Macedonia
• Student visa for North Macedonia
• How much it costs to study in North Macedonia
• All 488 programmes in North Macedonia

Official sources

• UKIM: guide for international students, nostrification procedure
• UKIM: application of foreign students
• Goce Delcev University: nostrification
• ENIC-NARIC: North Macedonia
• University of St. Clement of Ohrid, Bitola: call 2026/27 (in Macedonian)
• International Balkan University: call for enrolment 2026/27

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