NAWA Recognition for Poland: Is Your School Certificate Valid for University?

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

To apply for a bachelor's or long-cycle master's degree in Poland, your school-leaving certificate must give you the right to university study. For many certificates that right is automatic. For the rest, the national agency NAWA issues a written statement. This guide explains both routes and the paperwork universities ask for.

Who decides what

The law lists the certificates that count automatically.
NAWA, the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, is the Polish ENIC-NARIC centre. Since 1 July 2025 it issues the individual recognition statement for all other certificates.
The university decides on admission. It sets the grade conversion, any entrance test and the document rules.

Before July 2025 school certificates were recognised by the regional education authority (*kurator oświaty*), sometimes called nostrification. Decisions it has already issued remain valid for admission, so you do not need to apply to NAWA again.

Certificates accepted automatically

You need no statement if your certificate is:

issued by a school in the education system of an EU, OECD or EFTA (EEA) country and gives access to university there;
an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma;
a European Baccalaureate (EB) diploma;
covered by an international agreement between Poland and the issuing country, such as the agreements with China and Ukraine.

NAWA publishes a list of automatically recognised certificates, and a separate list of third-country certificates. Neither list is exhaustive. If your certificate allows study only in certain fields at home, it gives the same or similar access in Poland.

The NAWA statement for other certificates

Every other certificate needs the NAWA Director's individual recognition statement. It confirms only that you may apply for first-cycle or long-cycle studies in Poland. It does not convert your grades or promise a place.

Read the user manual, then open the SYRENA system on NAWA's website.
Upload colour scans, PDF or JPG, up to 3 MB each: your school certificate, the list of subjects and grades, the previous certificate that admitted you to secondary school, and your passport.
Add sworn translations, unless the documents are in English, Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian.
Confirm the application through the activation link sent to your e-mail.
Download the statement when SYRENA notifies you.

The statement is free. Certified copies, apostille and legalisation are not required for SYRENA. NAWA gives no fixed processing time. It handles files in order of arrival, so apply as soon as you have your final certificate.

Since 2025 universities must also hold an entrance exam for applicants with these certificates, testing the knowledge needed for the programme. See how to get into a university in Poland.

Apostille or legalisation for the university

NAWA does not need an apostille, but universities often do. The University of Warsaw, for example, asks for the original certificate and transcript:

with an apostille, if the issuing country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention;
legalised by the Polish consul, if it is not.

Rules differ between universities and between the online application and enrolment, so check the admission rules of each one. See apostille and legalisation.

Translations

Polish universities usually want sworn translations into Polish. The University of Warsaw asks for originals of sworn translations of the certificate that already carries the apostille or legalisation, so order the translation last. For English-taught programmes it accepts a translation into English. A translation that is not sworn must be legalised by the Polish consul. Sworn translators in Poland are listed in a register kept by the Ministry of Justice. See sworn translation of documents.

Proof that you could study at home

Some universities also ask for a document showing that your certificate gives access to university in the issuing country. NAWA's KWALIFIKATOR system can generate a general statement for many countries. Otherwise you get it from the education authority or school that issued the certificate.

A realistic order of steps

Check whether your certificate is recognised automatically.
If not, apply in SYRENA as soon as you have the certificate.
Get the apostille or legalisation if your universities ask for it.
Order sworn translations of the certificate with its apostille.
Upload everything to each university's admission system, and bring the originals at enrolment.
With the admission letter, apply for the visa. See student visa for Poland.

Where to look next

Official sources

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