Well, this just happened...
Manager: We haven't been able to find anyone with your qualifications to replace you when you leave.
Me: Oh, that's too bad.
Manager: We found one person, but she doesn't have a license. Do you think we can still hire her?
Me: Let me explain to you very slowly and clearly what it might mean to the company if she makes a mistake in her work and a Very Bad Thing happens. The clients could sue you and you would have no recourse because a license is not just a piece of paper. It is issued by a governing body who provides oversight over this person's work in case something goes wrong.
Sigh...in my industry, a license is akin to having a medical license or a pilot's license. There is a possibility that bad things may happen and lives may be lost. Do you really want to put someone with supposedly the educational qualifications but No License To Practice in this role? Just so that you can make more money? It's like hiring someone who says, "I can fly planes. Sure I can. I went to aviation school and all that. I just don't have a license because my home country doesn't do flying licenses. We just get the aviation diploma (after reading a bunch of books and taking a bunch of tests; we don't actually have to fly a plane to pass), and that counts as a license allowing us to fly planes." The company has never seen this person fly a plane, and all of it is based on what this person says she can do. And now the company wants to hire this person to fly planes. [facepalm]