Moldova (MD)
Moldova is Eastern Europe's hidden gem — an EU candidate country since June 2022 and one of the continent's most affordable destinations, with a thriving wine culture, warm hospitality and a rapidly modernising capital.
Qualification Recognition
Getting your foreign credentials recognised in Moldova.
Recognition of foreign qualifications in Moldova is handled by ANACEC (Agenția Națională de Asigurare a Calității în Educație și Cercetare) for academic degrees, and by the relevant professional bodies for regulated professions. Moldova is progressively aligning its recognition procedures with EU standards as part of the accession process. For unregulated professions (IT, consulting, marketing), no formal recognition is required — employers assess qualifications directly.
Regulated Professions
Process: Apply to the relevant professional body or ministry with: authenticated and apostilled copies of your original qualification certificates, sworn translation into Romanian, CV, employment history, any prior recognition decisions from other countries. Some professions require an aptitude test (test de aptitudini) or compensation period (periodă de adaptare) to bridge differences in Moldovan law or practice. Processing time: 30–90 days.
Authority: ANACEC for academic equivalency (anacec.md); individual professional bodies/ministries for regulated professions. Ministerul Educației și Cercetării oversees overall policy.
Timeline: 1–3 months for academic equivalency; 3–6 months for regulated professions (may include aptitude testing period)
Cost: Academic equivalency: MDL 300–600. Regulated profession assessment: MDL 500–2,000 depending on profession. Some professional bodies charge examination fees separately.
Academic Degrees
Authority: ANACEC — Agenția Națională de Asigurare a Calității în Educație și Cercetare (anacec.md)
Process: Submit a formal request for equivalency recognition (echivalare / recunoaștere) to ANACEC with: original degree certificate (diplomă) with apostille, certified Romanian translation, transcript of subjects (foaia matricolă) with translation, passport copy, IDNP. ANACEC issues a decision (decizie de recunoaștere) establishing the Moldovan equivalent of your degree. This is required for professional licensing, employment in regulated sectors and academic study.
Equivalency service: ANACEC maintains a qualifications framework aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). EU degrees from accredited institutions are generally recognised straightforwardly. Non-EU degrees require more detailed assessment. Online application available at anacec.md with upload of scanned documents. In-person visit required only for original document verification in complex cases.
Document Rules
Apostille: Foreign public documents (degrees, birth certificates, criminal records, marriage certificates) must bear an Apostille stamp under the Hague Convention if the issuing country is a Convention member. Moldovan authorities accept apostilled documents directly without further legalisation. For documents from non-Hague-Convention countries: full consular legalisation chain is required.
Legalisation: Full legalisation (supralegalizare) required for documents from countries not party to the Hague Apostille Convention. This involves: authentication by the issuing country's competent authority → verification by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs → authentication by Moldova's embassy or consulate in that country. Full legalisation is rare for EU/Western documents.
Sworn translation: All foreign-language documents submitted to Moldovan authorities must be accompanied by a sworn translation (traducere autorizată/legalizată) into Romanian made by a certified translator (traducător autorizat) and notarised. Find certified translators at the Ministry of Justice register (justice.gov.md) or at any licensed translation office in Chișinău.
Counselling & Help
- - ANACEC information desk — anacec.md, consultations by appointment
- - Ministry of Education and Research — ministerial helpline for general queries
- - CNAJGS (National Legal Aid Council) — free legal advice for low-income applicants on rights and procedures
- - Private immigration law firms in Chișinău — comprehensive qualification and immigration advice
- - Expats in Moldova Facebook group — peer advice from others who have navigated the system
Typical Timelines
EU academic degree recognition: 4–8 weeks. Medical professional recognition (with aptitude test): 3–6 months. Legal profession (advocate) admission: 6–12 months including bar examination. Teacher credential recognition: 4–8 weeks. Non-EU degrees from countries with complex assessment requirements: up to 6 months. Rush processing available at ANACEC for an additional fee (MDL 500–1,000).
For IT and technology professionals, no formal qualification recognition is typically required — Moldovan employers and IT Park companies assess skills directly through technical interviews. English-language CVs are standard for IT roles. Romanian language certificates from EU institutions (IELTS Romanian equivalent) are increasingly requested by Moldovan public sector employers but are not mandatory for private sector work.
Qualification Recognition
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