Don't understand what I'm talking about? Here's my video:
We arrived in Czech Republic already having diplomas of higher education:
- specialist diploma, civil engineer MGSU
- bachelor's diploma in linguistics RUDN
For admission to Czech universities after Russian ones, diploma nostrification is necessary. In a nutshell - your diploma must be recognized as equal to theirs by one of the universities in the Czech Republic. The process is simple, but very important.
You can read more about nostrification in Czech Republic here and here, and here you can even ask for help and for money get everything done without doing anything.
For those who want to do everything themselves, and who have no doubts about their diploma - you can read how we got our nostrifications without nerves and big expenses.
Essentially, the nostrification procedure for most students will look like this:
1) Copying and certifying all pages of diploma and appendix
2) Diploma translation, package compilation
3) Sending to the university of interest
4) Waiting
5) Receiving
We received 2 nostrifications - technical university and humanitarian. How did we go through these 5 steps?
Copying and certifying all pages of diploma and appendix
It's better to start dealing with nostrification, strangely enough, earlier. We took the first steps about the second week of study, when we could at least somehow explain ourselves to locals.
First we went to the city office (aka městský úřad). Finding it was very easy, it's a couple of steps from the castle. By the way, on the very first day our teachers conducted an introductory mini-tour of the city, and that building was shown as one of the first.
A bit scared, we went inside and found the department we needed - matrika. Inside sat an employee who already understood why we came, and did everything quite quickly. She was friendly and even tried to chat with us, but we just smiled and nodded :)
We managed in about 10 minutes, didn't really rush anywhere, because we came in the morning, there were no queues.
As you can see in the picture, we paid 32 crowns for copying, and 480 for certification. Let me clarify a bit.
Each of us has a diploma. Just in case we made 2 copies of the necessary set (you never know, and if not needed - for memory).
Our set included 1 diploma sheet and appendix on two sides. Certification of 1 page now costs 40 crowns, photocopy - one-sided 3 crowns, double-sided - 2.5 each side.
If we speak in two words, certification of a standard Russian university diploma will cost 128 crowns (3x40 + 3 + 5), which at the moment is just under 220 rubles, which is quite inexpensive.
Diploma translation, package compilation
Next we needed to translate our diplomas. The translation must be judicial, with all stamps. Without thinking long, we wrote to the translator that Ilya wrote about. Her contacts also hung in all visible places, so finding her is no problem.
Having written her an email (we wrote in Russian), we agreed to meet on a bench near the monument. At the meeting we discussed price and terms - she offered to do it in 1-2 days, 400 crowns\translation sheet. Since our appendices have a large list of studied subjects and small font - part 2 of the appendix - 2 translation sheets.
In a couple of days we received the translation. It was beautifully designed, bound, with all stamps.
The cost of translating a typical Russian diploma is 1600 crowns (prices change depending on the translator, but it's better to translate with verified people who have definitely done this).
By the way, 1600 crowns you pay only for translation, if you need copies (and we had 2 in advance), this translator will bind for free and put stamps, even if you need them in the near future. A trifle, but nice. If you need them in the distant future (and we needed them) - you'll have to pay 100 crowns per sheet. Oh, these translators.
Sending to the university of interest
Here and further - everything is very easy. Firstly - put the original documents away in the closet. We won't need them yet (at all). The main thing is not to send them anywhere.
We take the prepared package (judicial translation, bound with certified copies) and go to Mrs. Tomášová. We say we already finished university, otherwise she'll send to do this to Mrs. Blažková, who deals with nostrification of yesterday's schoolchildren.
She quickly looks at diplomas and issues application forms: to me (for nostrification of linguist diploma) - to Charles University, to Darya (for nostrification of civil engineer diploma) - to ČVUT. Filling is easy, you need to know your registration address, your university name in Czech (you can look in advance in the translation), postal address (most likely, your dorm address). In general, everything is easy, and what's difficult - Mrs. Tomášová will help. We fill, give all papers. On this all active actions on nostrification end.
You can also download application forms yourself, fill them out, go to the post office. It will even be faster, but by that time you're unlikely to have sufficient Czech.
Waiting
This, strangely enough, is the longest part. We sent documents in mid-September, usually nostrification takes about a month. It's better to apply at the beginning of study to avoid extra hassle later. This especially concerns humanitarian diplomas, Charles University is mean and slow, according to teachers, students often wait almost 4 months for an answer, which is also not always positive. As Mrs. Tomášová said - wait at least until the end of October, if there's still nothing - you'll need to come to her and decide what to do next.
Receiving nostrification
This is the most pleasant part of this whole adventure. In the dorm mail log a month after submitting the application we start looking for our name. As soon as a notification comes - we go to the post office and get the cherished answer.
Darya's answer from ČVUT came first. It came right in mid-October, quite promptly. Having received a notification at reception, we went to the post office, pressed number "3" on the terminal (for receiving mail), waited about 20 minutes and approached the window. Having signed all necessary papers, we received a folder.
At home, unpacking the parcel, we saw a file in which there were 3 sheets. On the first it was written that in the parcel we'll find nostrification. On the second it was written that the application was considered positively. But on the most important, third one, a positive answer was given. It was explained what specialty the diploma equals, rector's signature. In general, all good.
With my nostrification it was scarier - although I was confident in my diploma and university, fear sat in me. Firstly, there was no answer even in early November. Secondly, I heard more and more stories about unsuccessful nostrification attempts at Charles.
On November 6th an answer came to me too. Charles University turned out to be more ascetic, so I got a simple white paper folder, in which there was only one sheet (though from some interesting quality paper resembling papyrus) - the nostrification itself. It said that my diploma was equated to the specialty "general linguistics", which is quite good, because now I have a wide choice.
By the way, at the end of nostrification there was a small surprise - it was said that now I can use the bachelor title on Czech Republic territory. I'll definitely use this - Fedor is no more, there's only Mr. Bachelor. At the same time at the bottom there's the rector's autograph, and he's supposedly a famous person.
That's how this small but difficult adventure with nostrification ended. Further there will only be more interesting, because ahead are open house days, choosing specialty and university, submitting "invitations", taking exams. Only the first step has been taken.
Essentially, the full cost of the whole process is less than 2000 crowns, you can fit in 1500 (multiply by 1.7 and get rubles). As was seen in this note - with the right approach the process is very easy. Don't be lazy and do everything yourself. Teachers will always help, everyone was willing to make contact. If you're confident in your university and faculty - everything will go very painlessly.