Get Your Journalism Degree Recognized in Spain
Journalism and communication are NOT regulated professions in Spain: your degree is recognized via the declaration of equivalency (equivalencia) to bachelor's level, not through homologación. We handle the complete case for €176, with the €166.50 official fee and 100% online filing.
What legally applies to your degree
Social Communication, Journalism, Audiovisual Communication: in Spain none of these is a regulated profession, so the official recognition route is the declaration of equivalency to bachelor's level. The result carries academic and administrative effects nationwide — it is what public-sector exams, official master's programmes and formal accreditation processes will ask you for.
To work as a journalist, editor, community manager or corporate communicator in private media and companies you need no degree recognition. The equivalency makes sense when you want to sit public-sector exams (for instance, institutional communication posts), enrol in an official master's that requires it, or certify your bachelor's level in administrative and immigration procedures. It is a small investment that settles your academic record in Spain for life.
- Official 790-107 fee
- €166.50
- Legal deadline for a decision
- 6 months
- Fully online procedure
- 100%
Which documents your file requires
The Document Agent checks every piece against the requirements of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities before filing — a file that goes in right the first time is the best defense against extra months of corrections.
- Proof of identity and nationality (passport or Spanish NIE)
- Official degree certificate, legalized with the Apostille of The Hague (waived for EU/EEA/Switzerland)
- Academic transcript showing programme length, courses taken and workload or credits, stamped and signed by your university
- Sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish of the degree and the transcript
- Proof of payment of the 790-107 fee
Official fee: €166.50 (form 790-107)
The procedure fee is €166.50, code 107, paid with form 790-107. It is the same for both homologación (official recognition) and the declaration of equivalency. Beware: the 790-079 fee quoted on many websites applies to NON-university studies — paying it by mistake freezes your case.
If you pay from outside Spain, the transfer goes to the Ministry's account (IBAN ES16 9000 0001 2002 5310 8022, BIC ESPBESMMXXX) and bank charges are on you: if less than €166.50 arrives, the case stalls. We verify the exact amount before filing.
The fee is non-refundable if the application is rejected, lapses or is denied — one more reason to file the case right the first time.
And the visa? We've got you covered too
Recognizing your degree is half the journey. When it's time for the visa — work, study or residence — the Visa Agent guides you and we manage it with trusted partners specialized in each destination, with your academic file already resolved. Immigration requirements depend on the receiving country.
Official sources
Everything on this page is based on current official regulations. Check the primary sources yourself:
You provide the documents. We do the rest.
We assemble your file
We gather your degree certificate, the academic transcript with courses and credits, and your ID document. Our Document Agent checks that every piece meets the format required by the Ministry's online portal.
Apostille and sworn translation
We coordinate the Apostille of The Hague in your home country and the sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish of your degree and transcript. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens are exempt from the apostille.
Online filing
We file your application through the Ministry's electronic portal, pay the 790-107 fee (€166.50) and register the case. The entire procedure is handled online — no in-person appointments.
Follow-up until resolution
Our Regulator Agent monitors the status of your case and we respond to any request for corrections. The legal deadline for a decision is 6 months.
Start your recognition
- Upfront feasibility analysis of your file
- Apostille / legalization and sworn translation coordination
- Complete preparation and filing of your application
- File tracking until resolution
- Response to requirements and corrections
- Visa guidance with trusted partners
Official government fees (in Spain, €166.50 under form 790-107) are paid separately to the competent authority. Timelines depend on the receiving country.
Secure payment with Stripe. Right after paying you complete your profile and get straight into your Booka dashboard — the same account works in the mobile app.
Working in journalism and communications in Spain: where the jobs are and what they pay
Communications employment in Spain has shifted from the newsroom to the company. Large publishing and broadcast groups still hire, but growth is in corporate communications departments, communications and PR agencies, institutional press offices, and in digital content, editorial SEO, brand video and internal communications roles that did not exist a decade ago. Add one stable niche: science, health and financial communications, where journalists who actually understand the sector are hard to find. The typical employer is no longer a daily newspaper newsroom but a mid-sized agency, a company's marketing and communications department, or a public body with its own press office — and a sizeable share of the sector works freelance, paid per piece or per project.
Salaried terms are set by the daily press agreement, the advertising agencies agreement or a company agreement, with the 2026 minimum wage as the legal floor: €1,221 a month over fourteen payments, €17,094 a year. As a general frame, the INE Annual Structure of Earnings Survey (2024) puts average annual earnings at €29,540.26 and the median at €24,497.17; communications has historically sat below that average in the early years and clearly above it in senior corporate and communications-director roles.
Beyond the degree, what opens doors here is published work, sector specialization and, increasingly, data and analytics skills. Degree recognition is not what gets you hired in the private sector — but it is what lets you compete for public institutional communications posts, which tend to be the sector's best paid and most stable.
Market figures on this page are indicative and come from public sources cited in the text. They are not an offer, a guarantee or an earnings forecast. Booka manages credential recognition and professional registration — we are not a recruitment agency.
Which Spanish degree does your journalism or communications degree correspond to?
The equivalency decision is issued at bachelor's level in the Social and Legal Sciences field. The Spanish comparison degrees are the Bachelor's in Journalism, the Bachelor's in Audiovisual Communication and the Bachelor's in Advertising and Public Relations — three separate degrees in Spain, whereas much of Latin America teaches them under a single Comunicación Social title.
That asymmetry does not complicate the case: because the equivalency declares level and field rather than a specific title, your Comunicación Social fits just as well as a pure journalism degree. What matters is that your transcript properly documents total workload, since that — not the name — is what the Ministry decides on.
Comunicación Social, Periodismo, Ciencias de la Comunicación: what it is called at home
In Colombia and Venezuela the dominant name is Comunicación Social, often with a specialization in journalism, organizational or audiovisual communication. Peru issues Ciencias de la Comunicación and Comunicación Social. In Mexico the norm is Licenciatura en Ciencias de la Comunicación or Licenciatura en Comunicación, with a cédula profesional. Argentina has both Licenciatura en Comunicación Social and Licenciatura en Periodismo, with the certificado analítico as the reference academic document.
All of them follow the same equivalency procedure, the same €166.50 fee and the same bachelor's-level decision.
What the equivalency gives you in communications — and what it does not
As this is not a regulated profession, there is no aptitude test and no additional coursework: nobody is going to examine you. But the scope is worth knowing so you do not pay for something you do not need.
The equivalency DOES let you compete for institutional communications posts in ministries, regional governments, city councils, universities and public broadcasters; access official master's programmes in communications, digital marketing or political communication; and formally certify bachelor's level in immigration procedures and in public competitions where qualifications score points.
The equivalency does NOT give you a press card (no such state-issued accreditation exists in Spain; accreditations are issued by outlets, associations and specific bodies), nor compulsory professional membership — journalists' colegios exist in several regions but membership is voluntary — nor any reserved activity: in Spain anyone may practise journalism, degree or no degree. That is why the return on this procedure sits almost entirely on the public and academic side.
After the equivalency: competitive exams, colegios and master's programmes
The most common destination is a public-sector exam or employment pool: management corps with a communications profile, communications technician posts in local and regional administrations, and calls from public radio and television corporations. All require a certified university qualification, and for a foreign degree that means the equivalency decision.
In parallel, with your level recognized you can voluntarily join the journalists' colegio in your region — something some administrations value, and which gives access to accreditations and professional insurance. And if your goal is academic or specialized — political communication, health communication, data journalism — the equivalency is the admission requirement that removes friction from any official Spanish master's.
Manage your process from the app — with 10% off
Download the Booka app to track your file, upload documents and chat with your advisor from your phone. Use code BLOG10 for 10% off your process.
Frequently asked questions
Does the equivalency help me work in the media?
Private media hire without requiring degree recognition. Where the equivalency makes the difference is in the public sector (institutional communication offices, public broadcasters, competitive exams) and in access to official communication master's programmes, which do require a recognized or equivalent degree.
I studied Social Communication, not Journalism — does that change anything?
No. The declaration of equivalency is made at bachelor's level in the relevant field of knowledge (Social and Legal Sciences), not to a specific degree title. Social Communication, Journalism or Audiovisual Communication follow the same procedure with the same fee.
How much does a journalist earn in Spain?
It depends heavily on whether you work for an outlet, an agency or in corporate communications, and on your collective agreement (daily press, advertising agencies or a company agreement). As a general frame, the INE puts average annual earnings at €29,540.26 and the median at €24,497.17 (Annual Structure of Earnings Survey 2024), with the 2026 minimum wage at €1,221 a month over fourteen payments. Corporate communications and institutional press offices consistently pay above newsroom rates.
Do I need my degree recognized to work for a Spanish outlet?
No. In Spain journalism is not reserved to degree holders and there is no compulsory professional membership; private outlets hire on portfolio and experience. The equivalency is essential the moment the public sector appears: exams, employment pools, public broadcasters and scored competitions.
Can I start contributing to outlets while my case is pending?
Yes, provided your residence and work status allows it — degree recognition plays no part there. In fact, arriving at the decision with pieces published in Spanish outlets greatly improves your position for public calls, where experience also scores.
How long does the procedure take in Spain?
The legal deadline for a decision is 6 months from the moment the file is complete (Royal Decree 889/2022). Applicants' experience suggests longer real timelines depending on caseload; the Ministry publishes no official averages. A well-prepared file with no requests for corrections is the best way to avoid extra months.
Do I need the Apostille of The Hague and a sworn translation?
Yes, with limited exceptions. Your degree must be legalized with the Apostille of The Hague from your home country (EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are exempt), and both the degree and the academic transcript require a sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish. We coordinate both as part of the service.
Can I start the process from my home country, without being in Spain?
Yes. The procedure runs entirely online through the Ministry's electronic portal, and the fee can be paid by international transfer. You never need to be in Spain or attend any in-person appointment.
What exactly does Booka do, and what do I do?
You hand us your documents; we do the rest: we verify the file at source with our Verifier Agent, coordinate the apostille and sworn translation, file the online application, pay the fee and track the case through to resolution, answering any request from the Ministry.
Other degrees we recognize in Spain
Your degree, recognized in Spain
Journalism and Communication · full management for €176. You hand us the documents; we handle the file, the fees and the tracking until resolution.
Prefer to talk first? Leave us your details
Tell us about your degree and your goal, and an advisor will get back to you with the exact route for your case — no commitment.