Foreign diploma in the Netherlands
Do you have a foreign diploma and do you want to work in childcare, education or a culture-related profession? If so, you need to have your diploma recognized in the Netherlands. If you received an academic title abroad, you can also apply for a Dutch title.
Working as a teacher
If you want to work as a teacher in the Netherlands using your foreign diploma, you must apply for recognition of your diploma. This is only possible if your diploma is equivalent to a similar Dutch diploma. Are you an EEA or Swiss citizen and are you only working temporarily or ad hoc as a teacher? Please indicate so on your application.
Apply
- Apply online in order to work as a teacher in the Netherlands (in Dutch only).
- Do you prefer to use a form? The form Application Recognition or temporary service of EU professional teaching qualifications is meant for EEA or Swiss citizens. The form Application Recognition non EU professional teaching qualifications is for applicants from outside the EEA and Switzerland.
For which professions?
You need to apply if you want to work in 1 of the following professions:
- primary school teacher
- primary school subject teacher (possible for any subject in primary education)
- special needs education teacher
- special needs education subject teacher (possible for any subject in special needs education)
- general secondary education teacher vocational education and adult education teacher
Conditions
In addition to a valid diploma, you must also have a teaching qualification in your home country. If you are from an EEA country or Switzerland, check the Regeling erkenning EU-beroepskwalificaties onderwijspersoneel for the conditions (in Dutch only). If you not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, we will assess your application against Dutch educational legislation.
Language requirement
Are you not from an EEA country or Switzerland? And do you want to work in primary education or special needs education? Then you must also prove that you have a sufficient command of the language in which you wish to teach. Select a language to see if you meet the language requirement.
You must submit a certificate which shows that you speak Dutch to at least CEFR level B2. For instance:
- a diploma State Examination for Dutch as a 2nd language (NT2), programme II
- a certificate Dutch as a 2nd language at the 2nd level (issued before 1 January 1994)
- a certificate Dutch as a Foreign Language at the highest level (extensive knowledge)
- a certificate Dutch as a Foreign Language for the academic language proficiency profile, the education professional profile or the higher education language profile (PTHO)
- a certificate 'Nederlands Educatief Startbekwaam', for those who would like to start a study at a Dutch institution of higher education
- a HAVO (senior general secondary education) diploma or VWO (pre-university education) diploma, or another diploma for secondary education at a comparable level. The education must have been in Dutch and you must have passed the Dutch exams.
You must submit a certificate which shows that you speak Papiamento to at least CEFR level B2. For instance:
- a certificate for the language test in the Papiamento language at the University of Curacao
- a HAVO (senior general secondary education) diploma or VWO (pre-university education) diploma, or another diploma for secondary education at a comparable level. You must have passed Papiamento exams.
Do you meet this language requirement? Then you are permitted to teach lessons in Papiamento on Bonaire.
You must submit a certificate which shows that you speak English to at least CEFR level B2. For instance:
- documentary evidence issued by a centre authorized by Cambridge English Language Assessment
- documentary evidence issued by the Anglia educational network
- a HAVO (senior general secondary education) diploma or VWO (pre-university education) diploma, or another diploma for secondary education at a comparable level. You must have passed English exams.
Do you meet this language requirement? Then you are permitted to teach lessons in English on Saba and on Sint Eustatius and in international education in the (European) Netherlands.
Free
Applying in order to work as a teacher in the Netherlands is free.
Contact
Please contact the Diploma recognition and Legalisation department if you have any questions. You can call us from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on + 31 50 599 80 36. Or send an email to ks.dw@duo.nl.