Advisory on foreign schools and foreign educational services in Georgia rests on two real legal questions: the recognition of education received abroad and the operation in Georgia of a branch of a foreign higher education institution. Both are defined by law, and each has its own procedure and its own authorised body. This page explains both routes — who recognises foreign education, on what condition, and how a branch obtains authorization.
Recognition of education received abroad
The law defines the substantive criterion of recognition directly: a qualification obtained at a foreign higher education institution, or education received during a period of study there, is recognised where its correspondence with the respective qualification awarded by Georgian higher education institutions is established. An important detail: correspondence, taking into account learning outcomes and the qualification awarded, may be established despite a difference in the period of study — the length of study is not an automatic barrier where the outcomes and the qualification confirm the match.
Who recognises foreign education and how
The authorised body is defined by law: a qualification or education obtained at a foreign higher education institution is recognised by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement — in accordance with Georgia's international treaties and the procedure established by the ministry. Two conclusions follow from this formulation. First, recognition is the Center's competence, not a separate institution's arbitrary decision. Second, the procedure is fixed by the ministry's rules together with international treaties, so verifying those rules before preparing the application is essential. At the enrollment stage the law is equally clear: the decision on enrolling an applicant or student holding a foreign educational document is taken, in the manner established by legislation, by the respective higher education institution on the basis of the recognition document issued by the Center.
A foreign university's branch in Georgia
The second question is the conduct of educational activity on the territory of Georgia by a branch of a foreign higher education institution. Under the law, this requires the establishment of the branch's compliance with authorization standards — under a procedure defined by Georgia's international treaties and other legislative and sub-legislative normative acts. In this case it is the foreign institution itself that undergoes authorization, on the basis of establishing the branch's compliance with the authorization standards provided for by Georgian legislation. This means that "foreignness" grants no relief: the branch stands under the same standards as a Georgian institution.