Madagascar (MG)
World's fourth-largest island, Madagascar offers extraordinary biodiversity (90% of wildlife found nowhere else), one of the world's lowest costs of living, warm French-speaking culture, and unique opportunities in vanilla, ecotourism, and development sectors.
Qualification Recognition
Getting your foreign credentials recognised in Madagascar.
Madagascar does not have a centralised national qualification recognition body equivalent to the European ENIC-NARIC network. Foreign qualifications are recognised on a case-by-case basis by the relevant regulatory authority or employer. For most professional positions — particularly in the NGO, mining, conservation, and development sectors — employer recognition is what matters and international qualifications are generally accepted at face value. For regulated professions (medicine, law, engineering), specific recognition procedures apply. All foreign documents must be apostilled and officially translated into French.
Regulated Professions
Process: Submit apostilled foreign qualification certificates with certified French translation to the relevant ordre professionnel or ministry. For medicine and pharmacy: equivalence evaluation required, plus French language proficiency at professional level. For law: Barreau de Madagascar exam or equivalence with French civil law system required. For engineering: OIGM registration may be needed for public works and construction projects. For accounting: OECFM evaluates equivalence for ACCA, CPA, CA qualifications. Allow 4–18 months depending on profession.
Authority: Relevant ordre professionnel (Ordre des Médecins, Barreau de Madagascar, OIGM, OECFM) for regulated professions. Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (MESURS) for academic recognition. Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale for teaching positions.
Timeline: 4 weeks (engineering) to 18 months (law, medicine). Most applications: 3–6 months.
Cost: Varies by profession. Translation costs: Ar 30,000–80,000/page. Application fees: Ar 50,000–300,000 per ordre professionnel. Total: Ar 200,000–1,000,000 typically.
Academic Degrees
Authority: Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (MESURS), Antananarivo.
Process: Submit apostilled degree certificates with certified French translation to MESURS. Evaluation of equivalence with the Malagasy academic degree system. Required for: university transfer, scholarship applications, public sector employment requiring specific degree levels.
Equivalency service: MESURS provides formal equivalency decisions for foreign degrees. Processing time: 4–12 weeks. For employer-only recognition (most private sector and NGO positions), formal MESURS equivalency is typically not required — employer acceptance is sufficient.
Document Rules
Apostille: Madagascar is not a member of the Hague Convention (Apostille Convention) as of 2026. However, Malagasy authorities accept apostilled foreign documents. Obtain an apostille from your home country's competent authority (Foreign Affairs Ministry, relevant court authority) before arriving. Some embassies in Antananarivo can certify/legalise documents for specific purposes.
Legalisation: For countries not in the Hague Convention: full legalisation chain (home country notary → Foreign Affairs Ministry → Malagasy Embassy in home country, or via chain of consular legalisation) may be required for some documents. Confirm specific requirements with the receiving Malagasy authority.
Sworn translation: All foreign documents used in official proceedings in Madagascar must be translated into French by a traducteur assermenté (court-recognised sworn translator). The Tribunal de Première Instance (Palais de Justice, Anosy, Antananarivo) maintains the list of recognised sworn translators. Cost: Ar 30,000–80,000 per page.
Counselling & Help
- - Barreau de Madagascar — for legal qualification queries (Palais de Justice, Anosy)
- - OECFM (Ordre des Experts-Comptables et Financiers de Madagascar) — for accounting/auditing qualification queries
- - Ordre des Médecins de Madagascar — for medical qualification recognition
- - EDBM (edbm.mg) — for business-related qualification questions and investor support
- - CCIFM (ccifm.mg) — for professional queries from French-speaking business community members
Typical Timelines
Engineering/accounting: 4–8 weeks. Academic degree equivalence (MESURS): 6–12 weeks. Medicine/pharmacy: 3–9 months. Law (Barreau): 6–18 months. For employer-only recognition (NGO, mining, development sector): typically immediate upon submission of apostilled documents.
French language proficiency is assumed for all professional recognition processes in Madagascar. Most expat professionals working for international organisations (MSF, WHO, UN, mining companies) do not require formal Malagasy ordre professionnel registration — international organisation agreements typically facilitate professional practice. Madagascar is not a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention — confirm current legalisation requirements with the receiving authority before travel.
Qualification Recognition
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