Foreign Degree Equivalence in India: UGC 2025 Rules

If an Indian employer or university wants proof that your foreign degree is equal to an Indian one, apply for a UGC equivalence certificate online at equivalence.ugc.ac.in. Since 4 April 2025, the University Grants Commission grants these certificates under its new equivalence regulations, with a decision normally within 15 working days. The certificate is valid for higher study, research, and public employment in India.

Short on time? Jump to the step-by-step application below.

Riya finished a three-year BSc at a university in the UK and moved back to Pune. She applied for a government-linked research post. The recruiter asked for an “equivalence certificate” proving her degree matches an Indian bachelor's degree. Her offer letter was on hold until she produced it.

For years, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) issued such letters. As reported by Careers360, the UGC has now taken over this function under the equivalence regulations notified in the Gazette on 4 April 2025.

The certificate confirms “parity of a qualification in terms of level” between your foreign degree and the matching Indian qualification (regulation 2(1)©). A Standing Committee of experts checks the course duration, credits, evaluation, and learning outcomes before the UGC issues it.

You do not need to apply for equivalence if you obtained your qualification (regulation 5(1)):

• Under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India or UGC and a foreign government.
• Under the UGC Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Regulations, 2022.
• Under the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023.

If one of these applies, your degree is already recognised. Everyone else returning with a standalone foreign degree should apply through the portal.

The whole process is online. Keep scanned copies of every document ready before you start.

Go to equivalence.ugc.ac.in and open the Register link. Create a student account with your email and phone number, then log in.

Submit the application online with the prescribed processing fee (regulation 4(2)). The fee amount is set by the UGC from time to time, so check the current figure on the portal before you pay.

If your documents are not in English or a Scheduled Indian Language, you must upload a transcript in English, authenticated by the degree-awarding institution (regulation 4(3)).

The UGC refers your file to a Standing Committee of education experts (regulation 4(4)). The committee compares your course against the matching Indian programme using (regulation 3(2)):

• The minimum course duration. A variation of up to 10% in normalised credits is permissible.
• The minimum credit requirements, including core, elective, cross-disciplinary, and laboratory courses.
• The method of evaluation, including any thesis or dissertation.
• Any project, internship, or hands-on learning the Indian programme requires.
• The curricular learning outcomes.

The committee gives its recommendation within 10 working days (regulation 4(6)). The UGC then communicates its decision within 15 working days of your application (regulation 4(7)). If accepted, your equivalence certificate is issued on the portal (regulation 4(8)).

If the committee needs more information, you get 15 more working days to supply it (regulation 4(9)). If your application is rejected, you can ask for a review within 30 working days, with a review fee. A Review Committee decides within the timelines in regulation 4(11) to 4(14).

Two clear exclusions under the 2025 regulations:

• Franchise degrees. A qualification awarded through a franchising arrangement is not considered for equivalence (regulation 3(4)).
• Professional courses under statutory councils. Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Law, and Architecture, and other fields regulated by Indian statutory councils, are outside these rules (regulation 1(2)). For these, you must approach the relevant council, such as the NMC, PCI, INC, BCI, or COA.

Caution on online and distance degrees. The official portal FAQ states that degrees obtained entirely through distance learning or unaccredited online platforms “may be scrutinized separately.” They are not automatically excluded, but expect closer checks.

Offshore campus degrees can qualify, but only if the campus is approved and accredited in both the host country and the home country of the parent institution (regulation 3(3)).

Based on the portal FAQ, keep these ready before you apply:

• Your degree, diploma, or course-completion certificate.
• Full academic transcripts or marksheets.
• Proof of the institution's accreditation or recognition.
• Programme details: duration, curriculum, and method of evaluation.
• An authenticated English transcript if your records are in another language.

You alone are responsible for the authenticity of every document you upload, so do not submit anything you cannot back with originals.

• Open equivalence.ugc.ac.in and register a student account.
• Scan your degree certificate, transcripts, and accreditation proof into clear PDFs.
• Check whether your case falls under the regulation 5(1) exemptions above, so you do not apply needlessly.
• If your field is medicine, law, pharmacy, nursing, or architecture, note the relevant council instead of the UGC portal.

It depends on what the employer asks. For private jobs, many employers accept the foreign degree directly. For public employment and most universities, where “an educational qualification recognised by the Commission” is essential, a UGC equivalence certificate is the safe proof. Regulation 5(3) says the certificate is valid for employment in public bodies and for higher education across UGC institutions. If your offer letter or admission letter demands equivalence, apply through the portal.

The UGC must communicate its decision within 15 working days of receiving your application (regulation 4(7)). The Standing Committee gives its recommendation within 10 working days (regulation 4(6)). If the committee asks for more documents, you get a further 15 working days to supply them, and the timeline extends accordingly (regulation 4(9)). So a clean, complete application is normally decided in about three weeks.

The 2025 regulations do not list online or distance degrees as an outright exclusion. However, the official UGC portal FAQ warns that degrees obtained entirely through distance learning or through unaccredited online platforms “may be scrutinized separately.” In practice, expect closer checks on the institution's accreditation and the programme's credits. Apply only if the foreign institution is properly recognised in its home country, and keep strong accreditation proof ready.

No. The 2025 equivalence regulations do not apply to professional qualifications in Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Law, and Architecture, or other fields regulated by Indian statutory councils (regulation 1(2)). For a foreign MBBS, you deal with the National Medical Commission. For law, the Bar Council of India. For architecture, the Council of Architecture. The UGC equivalence portal will not certify these degrees.

Yes, if the conditions are met. A qualification from an off-shore campus can be recognised when the campus is approved by the competent authority both in the country where the campus is located and in the parent institution's country of origin, and the programme meets accreditation requirements in both countries (regulation 3(3)). Franchise arrangements, where a third party awards the degree, are excluded (regulation 3(4)).

You can ask for a review within 30 working days of the rejection, along with a review fee set by the UGC (regulation 4(10)). The UGC places your request before a Review Committee of experts (regulation 4(11)). That committee gives its recommendation within 10 working days (regulation 4(13)), and the UGC communicates its final review decision within the timeline in regulation 4(14). If accepted in review, your certificate is issued on the portal.

• UGC (Recognition and Grant of Equivalence to Qualifications obtained from Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2025, Gazette of India, 4 April 2025: official PDF
• UGC Equivalence Portal and FAQ: equivalence.ugc.ac.in
• Careers360 report on UGC taking over equivalence from AIU: news.careers360.com

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