New regulation for recognition and validation of degrees obtained abroad: SES will oversee compliance

On Tuesday, February 17, the new regulation governing the recognition, revalidation, and validation in Chile of higher education degrees and academic qualifications obtained abroad was published in the Official Gazette.

This milestone represents a significant advancement for the integration of professionals and technicians—both foreigners and Chileans who completed their studies abroad—thereby fulfilling the provisions of Article 143 of Law No. 21.325 on Migration and Foreigners, published in 2021.

What changes with the new regulation?

The main innovation of the regulation is the decentralization of the process.

Until now, the process was mainly concentrated at the University of Chile or subject to specific international agreements managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Education.

With the new regulation, this authority is extended to all state universities that have at least five years of institutional accreditation at an advanced level.

Currently, the institutions that meet this standard and will be able to join the process are:

• University of Chile
• University of Santiago, Chile
• University of Talca
• University of La Frontera
• University of Valparaíso
• University of Tarapacá
• University of Bío-Bío
• Arturo Prat University
• University of Playa Ancha of Educational Sciences
• University of La Serena
• University of Lagos
• University of Magallanes
• University of Antofagasta

Recognition of Technical Titles

Another relevant advancement is that, for the first time, the recognition of higher-level technical degrees is formally regulated.

In these cases, the following may participate:

• State institutions (universities or CFTs) that have at least five-year advanced-level institutional accreditation.
• Private institutions (universities, professional institutes, or CFTs) that have at least a five-year advanced-level institutional accreditation and a recognized track record. For the purposes of the new regulation, private higher education institutions that have obtained advanced-level or excellence institutional accreditation for two or more consecutive periods, or that are affiliated with institutional financing for tuition-free education, will be considered to have a recognized track record.

Oversight role of the SES

The Superintendency of Higher Education (SES) will be responsible for overseeing compliance with the regulations by higher education institutions.

In this area, two fundamental obligations are established:

1. Duty to report

Institutions shall inform, upon written request from the Undersecretariat or the Superintendency, the academic titles or degrees that have been recognized or revalidated, indicating, among other information:

• Applicant Identification.
• Foreign degree or title and the awarding institution.
• Country of origin.
• Grant date.
• Chilean title or degree recognized as equivalent or assimilated.
• Date of the respective resolution.

2. Prohibition of duplicate requests

The regulations prohibit a person from simultaneously requesting the recognition or validation of the same academic title or degree from different institutions. Nor may a person request the validation of the same title to obtain equivalence with respect to two different titles.

In turn, institutions will not be able to process applications that have already been initiated with another entity.

To avoid duplication, institutions must upload the payroll of received applications to the centralized digital information platform of the Undersecretariat of Higher Education within five days of receipt. In case of detected duplication, the Undersecretariat or the respective institution must inform the entities involved and the Superintendency of Higher Education.

Effective date

The regulation will enter into force in six months, that is, in August 2026. During this period, the Ministry of Education must set the corresponding fees for these procedures.