In a letter sent to NARIC members and organisations, the agency made clear that the UK government’s ‘no-deal’ plan included a guarantee for professional qualification recognition.

“Recognition has to come in a future trade deal”

According to the communique, the government will move the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directives from European law (which will be repealed) to UK law. This will be supplemented by an Explanatory Memorandum and potentially further legislation to be presented to parliament.

The government has also confirmed any decisions on recognition made prior to the country’s departure from the EU will be unaffected.

This will be judged on the origin of the qualification, rather than the nationality of the holder, the letter explained.

However, NARIC pointed out that the UK legislation after a no-deal Brexit would still change the current situation, as access to EU recognition processes for certain professions, such as the European Professional Card mechanism, would no longer be available.

The European Commission in Brussels has made a similar statement, ensuring decisions made prior to the UK’s withdrawal would remain intact. However, it also confirmed that UK qualifications would no longer come under MRPQ jurisdiction and these matters would be passed back to national governments.

A UK NARIC spokesperson told The PIE News that if a deal is not reached between the EU and the UK, “[qualification] recognition has to come in a future trade deal”.