UK ENIC Statement of Comparability: How to Get Your Ukrainian Degree Recognised

If you trained as an engineer, nurse, IT professional, or teacher in Ukraine, your qualifications are not automatically recognised in the UK. They need to be translated into a language the UK immigration system and UK employers understand. That translation is the UK ENIC Statement of Comparability — a document that maps your Ukrainian degree to the UK Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) level. Without it, your degree-level role may not be creditable under your Skilled Worker visa application, your employer may not believe you hold the equivalent of a UK degree, and professional licensing bodies may not progress your registration.

Getting the Statement of Comparability is not complicated. But when you are dealing with wartime document disruptions, occupied territories, or destroyed institutional records, it requires knowing the right channels.

What Is UK ENIC?

UK ENIC — the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills — is the UK's designated authority for recognising overseas qualifications. It was formerly known as UK NARIC. The service is operated by Ecctis Ltd on behalf of the UK government.

The Statement of Comparability is their standard output product. It confirms:

• That your qualification is genuine and was awarded by a recognised institution
• What level of the UK qualifications framework the qualification maps to (RQF Level 4 through Level 8, where Level 6 is a UK bachelor's degree)
• Whether the qualification is comparable to a specific UK qualification title

For Skilled Worker visa purposes, you generally need the Statement to show your degree is at RQF Level 6 or above. This matters because:

• Sponsored Skilled Worker roles must be at RQF Level 6 or above
• Self-sponsored roles must be at RQF Level 6 or above
• Some employers use the Statement to satisfy themselves that a candidate's overseas degree is equivalent to a UK degree before making an offer

Standard Processing: Costs and Timelines

The standard service costs £69.60 and takes approximately 15 working days (three calendar weeks).

You submit your application online through the UK ENIC website, uploading scans of your diploma, academic transcripts, and any required translations. UK ENIC may request additional documents during the assessment process, which can extend the timeline.

If you need a result faster, two expedited options are available:

The fast-track services are useful when you have a visa application deadline approaching or an employer who needs confirmation urgently. They are assessed by the same process — the result is the same document — you are paying for the queue position.

There is also a Translation Waiver Service (£40 + VAT) for applicants whose documents are not in English. Rather than commissioning a certified translation of every document, you pay UK ENIC to waive the translation requirement for supporting documentation. This does not apply to the primary qualification certificate itself in all cases, but it can significantly reduce the cost of supporting document translation.

When Your Documents Are Inaccessible: The Refugee Advisory Service

The most significant problem for Ukrainians in the UK is not the process itself — it is document access. Physical degree certificates may be in a flat in Kharkiv. Transcripts may be held by a university in an occupied territory that has suspended digital services. Original documents may have been destroyed.

UK ENIC operates a dedicated advisory service for exactly this situation. The contact is [email protected]. This service is designed for refugees and displaced persons who cannot obtain standard documentation through normal channels. They can advise on:

• What alternative documentation UK ENIC can accept in lieu of originals
• How to work with partial records
• How to approach cases where the awarding institution cannot currently provide confirmation

Do not submit a standard application if you know your documentation is incomplete. Contact the refugee advisory channel first, explain your situation, and ask what evidence will allow them to proceed. A rejected application still costs the application fee. Understanding what is acceptable before you apply saves both money and weeks of processing time.

The USEDE Digital Registry

In 2021, Ukraine launched the Ukrainian State Electronic Database of Education (USEDE) — a national registry of academic qualifications issued in Ukraine. USEDE holds digital records of accredited higher education programmes and their graduates, including diplomas issued since the registry's inception.

UK ENIC accepts USEDE-verified digital records as supporting evidence when physical documents cannot be produced. If your diploma was issued by a Ukrainian university that participates in USEDE (most state-accredited institutions do), a USEDE extract may allow your application to proceed without the original certificate.

To access your USEDE record, use the Ministry of Education's Diia portal or the USEDE direct verification service at registry.edbo.gov.ua. The extract is a digitally signed document that includes your name, institution, qualification, and year of graduation.

The practical limitation: USEDE records are most reliable for qualifications awarded since 2015. Older qualifications, particularly from universities that have been reorganised or renamed since Ukrainian independence, may not have complete digitised records. For qualifications from occupied territories or from institutions that have been destroyed, the [email protected] channel is the right starting point rather than USEDE.

English Language Proficiency Through Your Degree

One underused provision of the UK ENIC service is the English Language Proficiency Statement. If your Ukrainian degree was taught entirely in English — as is increasingly common in Ukrainian universities for master's programmes in particular — you may be able to use your degree as proof of English language proficiency for a UK visa, rather than sitting an IELTS or PTE Academic UKVI test.

To use this route, you need two documents:

1. A UK ENIC English Language Proficiency Statement — confirming that your qualification was taught in English and is at an appropriate level
2. A "Medium of Instruction" letter from your Ukrainian university — an official letter confirming that the language of instruction for your specific programme was English

The Medium of Instruction letter is the sticking point for many Ukrainian applicants. Wartime disruption has made it difficult for some institutions to issue official correspondence. If your university cannot provide this letter, you will need to demonstrate English by other means — IELTS for UKVI, PTE Academic UKVI, or Trinity ISE at the required level.

For Skilled Worker applicants as of January 2026, the required level is B1 (with a shift toward B2 for ILR applications from March 2027). If your visa route requires B2 and your degree was taught in English, the English Language Proficiency Statement route bypasses the test entirely — which can save £200-£275 and several weeks of preparation time.

What the Statement Does Not Do

The UK ENIC Statement of Comparability is a general recognition document — it does not constitute professional registration or licensing. For regulated professions, you will need additional steps:

• Nursing and midwifery: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) runs its own registration process, including a computer-based test and an OSCE practical examination. The UK ENIC Statement supports the application but does not replace NMC registration.
• Medicine: The General Medical Council (GMC) assesses overseas medical qualifications separately. A UK ENIC Statement is not sufficient for medical registration.
• Teaching: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is assessed by the Teaching Regulation Agency through its own overseas qualification route.
• Engineering: For engineering Chartered status (CEng), the Engineering Council and relevant professional bodies assess overseas qualifications through their own processes.

In all these cases, get the UK ENIC Statement of Comparability first — it is a foundational document that other bodies will expect to see — but understand it is the beginning of the recognition process, not the end.

The Practical Sequence

For a Ukrainian professional in the UK planning a Skilled Worker visa switch, the practical order is:

1. Contact [email protected] to confirm what documentation UK ENIC requires given your specific situation (occupied territory, missing documents, etc.)
2. Retrieve your USEDE digital extract if your qualification was issued after 2015
3. Request a Medium of Instruction letter from your university if your programme was taught in English
4. Submit the UK ENIC Statement of Comparability application (standard service: £69.60, 15 working days)
5. Use the Statement in your visa application and any employer credentialing process

Do not delay starting this process while waiting to confirm your visa route. The Statement of Comparability is useful regardless of which pathway you take — Skilled Worker, self-sponsored, or regulated profession — and the 15-working-day standard service timeline means you want it done before you need it, not while the clock is running.

The Ukraine to UK Visa Pathway Guide covers credential recognition as part of the full Skilled Worker application process — including what to do when documents are inaccessible due to the war, the USEDE verification process, the Medium of Instruction letter requirement, and how the Statement of Comparability interacts with the English language requirements for your specific visa route.