Translation of Education Documents for Slovenia

Recognition for the purpose of study, and general recognition

In the assessment of foreign education documents in Slovenia, ENIC-NARIC Slovenia is the body that provides information and directs applicants. An application for recognition made in order to continue studying is in most cases decided by the higher education institution applied to; the institution compares the length of your programme, its credit load and its content with its own. Assessment for general information purposes is a separate route, and shows what the degree corresponds to nationally. The two routes produce different results and do not stand in for one another.

Slovenia has a small higher education system, which means the number of institutions running programmes in a given field is limited and applying to the right one matters. A file sent to the wrong institution is not refused, but time is lost while it is passed on.

What each document is for

The diploma shows the degree and the awarding institution; the academic transcript, with its credits and its list of courses, is what the comparison rests on. Course descriptions are asked for when the difference in curriculum has to be measured. Undergraduate applications call for secondary school documents and the entrance examination result. A language certificate is a threshold of its own on programmes taught in Slovene; on programmes run in English, a certificate in English is required.

Application	Who decides	Outcome
Continuing study	The higher education institution	Admission to the programme and recognition
General assessment	ENIC-NARIC Slovenia	Information on the equivalent

The mistake made most often

The commonest problem in Slovenia is that the translation was not made by a court translator appointed by the Ministry of Justice; that condition is looked for in official procedures. The second frequent problem is that the application was made to the wrong institution and the file was held up while it was passed on. The third is a transcript with no explanation of the credit system: where the credit equivalent cannot be worked out, the institution asks for further documents.

The order in which translation and attestation come

The order is this: the target institution and the type of application are settled, the original documents are gathered, the attestation step in Türkiye is completed, and the translation is made last of all and submitted under a court translator’s seal. The apostille certificate forms part of the translation too. The level of attestation for each document is set out on our document page, and regional practice can be found in our country guide.

Choosing an institution in a small system

Slovenia’s higher education system is small in number, and for applicants that is both an advantage and a constraint. The advantage is that the person you need is easy to find and can be contacted directly; at many institutions the international office answers individual queries. The constraint is the limited number of institutions running programmes in a given field. Which institution a recognition application goes to is therefore often a matter of a single option, and that institution’s calendar sets yours.

One practical suggestion is to send the international office a short note before applying and confirm the list of documents. In small systems this kind of correspondence is settled quickly and fixes the scope of the file from the start. And since documents in English can be accepted on programmes run in English, it is worth asking in the same note at what stage a Slovene translation will be needed.

• Write to the international office beforehand and confirm the list.
• Ask at which stage Slovene is required.
• Include the explanation of the credit system in the translation.
• Where there is only one institution to deal with, build your timetable around it.

Because a recognition application made in order to continue studying in Slovenia is decided by the university, the choice of institution becomes part of the outcome. Two institutions teaching the same field may follow different curricula and impose different additional requirements. Asking more than one institution about its practice, where that is possible, is research to be done before the documents are prepared.

On the document side, the length of the programme, its credit load and the level of study it follows on from must all be plain to see. Where that information is scattered across the transcript, a short letter of confirmation from the university strengthens the file. Nor can a grade equivalent be worked out without an explanation of the marking scale; where that appears on a separate sheet, it has to be included in the translation.

Anyone intending to work in a professional field needs to know from the outset that academic recognition does not suffice on its own and that a separate application is required.

It is worth allowing for the fact that documents stay in use for a long time in Slovenia. A process that begins with student status brings the same papers back into play at the stages of employment after graduation, residence and professional recognition. Having a second copy of the translation bearing the court translator’s seal made up at the outset, and keeping digital copies, saves repeating the same work at those stages. Keeping a record of the terminology also keeps documents added later consistent with the first set. And since originals may be asked for at enrolment, carrying the documents with you is the most practical way of being ready for requests that arrive at the last moment.

One last reminder: the document lists and rules on form set out in the application guides institutions publish are binding. In a small system these guides are short and clear; reading one from beginning to end is the quickest way of seeing the details that vary between institutions, and the answer to most questions is already written there.

Identifying the right institution at the outset is the most realistic way of speeding matters up here. You can look at our pricing page and upload your documents to request a quotation.

The information here is general in nature; the acceptance requirements and attestation chain of the destination country may change from time to time. Confirming the current requirement before you apply saves time.