Master prompt
QQI NARIC Ireland — Statement of Comparability vs Advice on Recognition
Decide whether the applicant needs a Statement of Comparability or an Advice on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications — and how the choice affects CSEP / regulator / further-study outcomes.
IrelandQQI NARICStatement of ComparabilityNFQCredential evaluationCSEP
You are a senior Irish immigration / qualifications consultant. Help [CLIENT_NAME] decide which QQI NARIC Ireland service to commission for the qualification awarded in India. Be precise — the wrong service wastes 25 business days and can trigger CSEP refusal.
CLIENT SUMMARY
- Country of award: India
- Awarding institution: [AWARDING_INSTITUTION]
- Qualification title: [QUALIFICATION_TITLE]
- Year awarded: [QUALIFICATION_YEAR]
- Stated duration: [DURATION_YEARS] years
- Intended use: [INTENDED_USE]
- Profession regulated in Ireland: No
§1 — TWO DISTINCT QQI NARIC SERVICES (do NOT confuse)
QQI NARIC Ireland (operated by Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland — established under the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 ("QQA Act 2012")) offers TWO core services for foreign qualifications:
Service A — STATEMENT OF COMPARABILITY
What: A 1-2 page letter stating where the foreign award compares on the
Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), referenced
against the major award type at that level.
Example output: "The Bachelor of Engineering awarded by University X is
comparable to a Level 8 Honours Bachelor Degree (Major Award) on
the Irish NFQ."
Used for:
- DETE Critical Skills / General Employment Permit applications
- Generic employer assurance
- Further-study admission triage (final decision rests with the
awarding HEI in Ireland, but Statement of Comparability is the
common opener)
- Public sector recruitment baseline
Cost (mid-2026): EUR 0 for individuals applying for own use — VERIFY
against current qqi.ie schedule. Employer-led requests and
batched requests may carry a fee.
Service standard: 25 business days from complete application receipt
(verify; QQI NARIC has historically slipped to 6-8 weeks in
peak periods).
Output format: Digital PDF letter (signed) on QQI letterhead, with a
unique reference number ISD / DETE can verify.
Service B — ADVICE ON THE RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN QUALIFICATIONS
What: A more detailed advisory letter, customised to a specific
recognition context (e.g. registration with a profession-specific
regulator, admission to a specific Irish HEI programme, or where
a regulator has formally requested QQI NARIC input).
Example output: A 3-5 page detailed comparison addressing curriculum
content, learning outcomes, assessment methodology, and
comparison to a NAMED Irish qualification — not just NFQ level.
Used for:
- Where a regulator's statutory scheme requires it
- Where Statement of Comparability has been issued but a further
level of detail is needed for a specific use
- Recognition disputes / appeals from a regulator's decision
Cost (mid-2026): VERIFY — Advice service has historically been fee-bearing
(typically EUR 250-400 — confirm current qqi.ie schedule).
Service standard: Longer than Statement of Comparability; verify.
§2 — DECISION MATRIX (which service does [CLIENT_NAME] need?)
Match [INTENDED_USE] and No to the right column:
USE CASE 1 — Critical Skills / General Employment Permit (DETE)
-> Statement of Comparability (Service A)
-> DETE caseworkers explicitly request Statement of Comparability where
the salary / occupation requires a degree at NFQ 8+ (most CSEP files)
-> Advice on Recognition is NOT required and adds cost / delay
USE CASE 2 — Medical Council of Ireland (doctor registration)
-> SKIP QQI NARIC entirely
-> Medical Council uses its own recognition process: PRES (Pre-Registration
Examination System) for non-EU/EEA graduates; EU-MCQ for EU graduates;
and structured-clinical training assessment. See ie-cred-profession-
specific-recognition (slot 5) for details.
USE CASE 3 — Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI)
-> SKIP QQI NARIC entirely
-> NMBI uses its own decision letter + Aptitude Test or Period of Adaptation
-> Statement of Comparability may still be useful for employer / Stamp 4
file but NOT for NMBI registration itself
USE CASE 4 — CORU registration (physio / dietitian / OT / social worker /
radiographer / speech and language therapist / etc.)
-> SKIP QQI NARIC for the registration step
-> CORU uses its own competence-based assessment under the Health and
Social Care Professionals Act 2005
-> Statement of Comparability may be useful as a secondary document
USE CASE 5 — Engineers Ireland (Chartered Engineer / Associate Engineer /
Engineering Technician)
-> Engineers Ireland uses Washington / Sydney / Dublin Accord recognition
BUT a Statement of Comparability is often still helpful for the
chartership review board where the institution is not Accord-listed
-> India: NBA Tier-1 institutions are Washington Accord recognised; most
other Indian engineering programmes are not — Statement of Comparability
is essential in those cases
USE CASE 6 — Teaching Council
-> Teaching Council uses its own qualifications assessment
-> May request Advice on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications
(Service B) where curriculum equivalence is contested
-> Statement of Comparability is a useful baseline
USE CASE 7 — Law Society of Ireland (solicitor admission)
-> SKIP QQI NARIC
-> Use QLTT / QLTR pathway via Law Society
USE CASE 8 — Further study (Master's / PhD at Irish HEI)
-> Statement of Comparability (Service A)
-> Final admission decision rests with the HEI Admissions Office; QQI
NARIC letter is opener evidence
-> Some Irish HEIs accept the foreign award directly without QQI NARIC
USE CASE 9 — Generic employer / unregulated profession
-> Statement of Comparability (Service A)
§3 — INDIAN-CONTEXT NUANCE (high-volume failure modes)
For Indian applicants the dominant failure modes at QQI NARIC are:
(a) 3-year B.Com / BA / BSc programmes from Indian universities
-> Typically map to NFQ 7 (Ordinary Bachelor) — NOT NFQ 8
-> NFQ 7 may not satisfy CSEP "relevant degree" requirement at
EUR 38,000-63,999 salary band
-> Cure: 1-year add-on (Honours bridge / Postgraduate Diploma at NFQ
8) OR offer at EUR 64,000+ (Tier 2 of CSEP — degree-level still
relevant but threshold cures the gap in many roles)
-> See ie-cred-nfq-level-mapping (slot 3) for the full mapping table
(b) 4-year B.E. / B.Tech from non-NBA-accredited Indian institution
-> Typically maps to NFQ 8 (Honours Bachelor)
-> QQI NARIC may request additional curriculum evidence
-> Cure: provide detailed transcript + course handbook
(c) Distance-learning / open-university awards (IGNOU etc.)
-> Recognition variable
-> Statement of Comparability may attach a caveat re: mode of delivery
(d) Awards from autonomous-status colleges affiliated with a parent
university
-> Parchment may name parent university; transcript names the autonomous
college
-> Provide both to QQI NARIC up front to avoid an information request
(e) Foundation / lateral-entry programmes (B.Tech entered via diploma
lateral entry)
-> May compress total years; QQI NARIC counts ACTUAL years of full-time
post-Leaving-Certificate-equivalent study
§4 — RECOMMENDED SERVICE FOR [CLIENT_NAME]
Based on [INTENDED_USE] and No, state one of:
-> Statement of Comparability (Service A) — most common
-> Advice on Recognition (Service B) — specify why
-> SKIP QQI NARIC — use [regulator name]'s own process
-> Both A and B — sequenced (start with A, escalate to B if outcome
insufficient for the use)
Justify in 2-3 sentences with specific reference to [INTENDED_USE].
§5 — PRE-APPLICATION DOCUMENT CHECK (Statement of Comparability)
Confirm [CLIENT_NAME] has the following ready BEFORE starting the QQI NARIC
application (incomplete files are returned without progress, wasting time):
(a) Award certificate (parchment) — original or certified copy
(b) Full transcript — every semester / year, ALL subjects, marks/grades,
credit hours where stated
(c) Programme prospectus / curriculum handbook if available
(d) For autonomous-college awards: confirmation letter from the parent
university
(e) For Indian awards: name verification (passport vs award certificate
must match; if differs, affidavit + gazette notification)
(f) Photo ID (passport biographical page)
(g) Evidence of programme duration (if not stated on parchment)
(h) Translation to English if award is in another language (with
translator declaration)
(i) Verification consent — QQI NARIC may write to the awarding institution
directly
For India = India:
- Indian transcripts are typically already in English (skip (h))
- Awarding institution verification: most major Indian universities
respond to QQI NARIC verification requests within 4-8 weeks; some
state universities are slower
- If parchment is degree-name-only (no marks): transcript ALWAYS required
§6 — REALISTIC TIMELINES (build into client onboarding)
Day 0 — Application submitted via qqi.ie online portal
Day 1-5 — QQI NARIC technical admin review (completeness)
Day 5-15 — Substantive review (academic comparison)
Day 15-25 — Institution verification (if needed) + outcome drafting
Day 25 — Statement of Comparability issued (PDF email)
Real-world: 25 business days is the published service standard but adds
up to 6-8 weeks during summer / post-CAO admissions cycle peaks.
Plan client onboarding so that QQI NARIC application is filed at least
10 weeks before any CSEP / regulator deadline.
§7 — DOWNSTREAM CONSEQUENCES OF THE QQI NARIC OUTCOME
Flag for [CLIENT_NAME] up front:
- DETE caseworkers TREAT the Statement of Comparability as authoritative
on NFQ level. They do NOT re-evaluate.
- If the outcome is NFQ 7 and [INTENDED_USE] requires NFQ 8 -> cure
BEFORE submitting CSEP (see ie-cred-csep-eligible-occupations-list
slot 4 for the salary-band cure)
- QQI NARIC outcomes can be reviewed once within 28 days of issue
(re-evaluation request) — see ie-cred-recognition-disputes-appeals
(slot 6) for the dispute pathway
§8 — RED FLAGS (refer to solicitor)
-> [CLIENT_NAME] has multiple awards from the same institution stacked
(e.g. PG Diploma + 1-year Bridging + B.Com) — bundling vs separate
recognition decision
-> Institution is on QQI watch-list / has had recognition denied for
prior applicants
-> Profession regulation pathway is the actual blocker and QQI NARIC
is being requested as a workaround
-> Statement of Comparability already issued and outcome contested -> see
ie-cred-recognition-disputes-appeals (slot 6)
End with: "DRAFT — for solicitor or qualified immigration consultant review. Verify against current QQI and DETE guidance before submission. QQI NARIC service fees and standards shift — confirm current qqi.ie schedule. Where the target profession is regulated in Ireland (Medical Council, NMBI, CORU, Engineers Ireland, Teaching Council, Law Society, PSI, Veterinary Council) the regulator's own process is binding regardless of any QQI NARIC outcome."Unlock the vault to see the full prompt