Spain and Andorra mutually recognise the qualifications for access to baccalaureate, vocational training and non-university higher education

The BOE of Friday 6 November 2026 publishes the Agreement between the Principality of Andorra and the Kingdom of Spain on access to post-compulsory secondary education and non-university higher education, done at Madrid and Andorra la Vella on 23 July 2026. The instrument is published by order of the General Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, signed on 28 October 2026 by its head, Carmen Burguillo Burgos, and includes a relevant particularity: the Agreement already entered into force on 23 September 2026, the date of the last notification by which both parties communicated the fulfilment of their internal requirements, and is applied provisionally by each party from the date of its signature.

The text, electronically signed in duplicate in Catalan and Spanish (both equally authentic) by the under-secretary for Education, Vocational Training and Sport, Santiago Antonio Roura Gómez, and by Andorra's secretary of State for Education and Universities, Josep Anton Bardina Pau, forms part of the bilateral cooperation treaties that since 1993 have governed the good-neighbourly relations between the two countries.

What the Agreement recognises

Its object, defined in article 1, is to facilitate the mutual recognition of the titles, diplomas and certificates constituting the access requirements to post-compulsory secondary education and non-university higher education in each education system. Article 2 specifies the mechanism: the parties will recognise, in accordance with their internal legislation and on a reciprocal basis, the qualifications required for access to those studies, in accordance with what is specified in the annexes.

Article 3 draws the limits of the recognition, and there are two that the user must be clear about. First, the recognition does not exempt from the specific conditions or tests that each legal system requires for access or admission to certain studies or institutions by reason of their special characteristics. Second, recognition of the access requirement does not guarantee admission where competitive situations arise, which will be resolved by each party's criteria and procedures for awarding places. In practical terms: the Andorran qualification gives access to the Spanish baccalaureate or a vocational cycle, but it does not leapfrog cut-off grades or specific entrance tests.

The annexes: which qualification counts for which studies

Annex I sets out the table of qualifications giving access to post-compulsory secondary education. For access to the Spanish baccalaureate (batxillerat general in Andorra), Spanish qualifications such as the Graduate in Compulsory Secondary Education, the Vocational Training Technician and Higher Technician titles, the Plastic Arts and Design titles and the Sports Technician and Higher Sports Technician titles are recognised, alongside the Andorran títol de graduat en segona ensenyança (GSE). For Intermediate Vocational Training (batxillerat professional (BP) in the Andorran system), the table admits from the ESO Graduate to level 2 professional certificates and the certificates of passing the cycle access tests, plus the initial professional diploma (DPI).

Annex II covers access to non-university higher education: on the Spanish side are, among others, the Bachiller title, the Higher Technician title, the Higher Artistic Studies title, the university degree and the certificate of passing the university access test for over-25s; on the Andorran side, the títol de batxiller, the títol de batxiller professional, the advanced professional diploma (DPA), the Andorran state title of higher education and the access certificate to higher education for persons over 25. The table also extends to the qualifications enabling postgraduate studies, including the Andorran state bachelor's title, the specialisation bachelor's and the master's, set against the official Spanish bachelor's and master's degrees.

How qualifications are accredited

Article 4 resolves the practical question that causes the most headaches in these processes: proof. For the recognition of the studies accredited by the titles, diplomas or certificates covered by the Agreement, the presentation of the corresponding documents issued by the competent educational authorities will be required, in accordance with the procedures established by each party's internal legislation. No ad hoc documentary procedure is therefore created, nor are apostilles or special legalisations required beyond what each legal system already provides: verification rests on the official documents issued by the educational authorities of the country of origin.

The Agreement's annex structure deserves a careful reading, because it translates two education systems with different nomenclatures into a common language of equivalences. The Andorran system articulates its post-compulsory secondary education in the batxillerat general and the batxillerat professional, and its non-university higher education in its own state titles such as the advanced professional diploma or the Andorran state title of higher education, figures the table places in correspondence with the Spanish baccalaureates, higher vocational cycles and artistic studies. The table operates in both directions, so a student with the Spanish ESO Graduate can access the Andorran batxillerat on the same conditions of reciprocity with which a holder of the Andorran GSE accesses the Spanish baccalaureate.

Verification, updating and monitoring

Article 4 regulates the verification of the documentation presented for recognition. Future amendments arising from the evolution of the education systems will be incorporated by exchange of verbal notes (article 5), taking effect after the completion of each party's internal formalities and in force from receipt of the last note. For the application and monitoring of the instrument (and the settlement of disputes), article 6 creates a working group with four representatives from each party, which will meet whenever a party deems it necessary and, at least, once a year, alternately in each country.

The Agreement is established for an initial period of three years, tacitly renewable for one-year periods, and either party may denounce it by verbal note addressed to the other six months before the expiry date (article 7).

Why it matters in practice

Between Spain and Andorra there is a constant flow of students: Andorran pupils taking vocational cycles or higher artistic studies in Spain and Spanish students heading for the Principality's education system. Until now, that transit was resolved case by case through the general channels of recognition and validation of foreign qualifications, with their documentary burdens and uncertainties. The Agreement establishes the reciprocal recognition of the access qualifications, diplomas and certificates listed in the annexes, which the parties will recognise in accordance with their internal legislation and through the documentation issued by the competent educational authorities required by its article 4, with the additional legal certainty of an international instrument published in the BOE. For immigration and education law firms, and for families themselves, the reference becomes the table of the corresponding annex and the documentation provided for, within the procedures the treaty itself maintains.

It is worth not confusing the plane: the Agreement covers access (the enabling requirements to begin the studies) and stays out of the professional recognition of qualifications and of university education proper, which follow their own channels.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Spain-Andorra Agreement already in force?

Yes: it entered into force on 23 September 2026 and has applied provisionally since its signature; the BOE published it on 6 November 2026.

Does a recognised Andorran qualification guarantee a place in a Spanish school?

No. Recognition enables access, but does not exempt from specific tests nor prevail in competitive situations, which are resolved by each system's admission criteria.

How long will the Agreement last?

An initial three years, with tacit annual renewal; either party may denounce it with six months' notice.

Sources

• Agreement between the Principality of Andorra and the Kingdom of Spain on access to post-compulsory secondary education and non-university higher education (BOE-A-2026-23264)