Recognition of Qualifications
Have you trained for a profession abroad and would like to work in that profession in Germany? It may be that your qualification needs to be officially recognised for this purpose.
A recognition procedure assesses whether your professional qualification obtained abroad is comparable to a German profession (reference profession). The procedure is also known as an ‘equivalence assessment’. The assessment usually takes three to four months. After the assessment, you will receive a notification with the result of the assessment.
Is Recognition necessary?
For some professions, official recognition of your qualification is mandatory. This is the case for regulated professions. You are not permitted to work in these professions in Germany without recognition.
For other professions, recognition can improve your chances on the German labour market. However, it is not mandatory. Information on possible advantages can be found on the German Federal Government's information portal ‘Recognition in Germany’.
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You can use the Recognition Finder to check whether you need official recognition for your foreign professional qualification. To do this, you must use the Finder to determine which German reference occupation your professional qualification corresponds to.
For third-country nationals, recognition is, in some cases, a prerequisite for certain residence permits – or an advantage, as with the Opportunity Card. If you want to work in Germany in a non-regulated profession, however, simple proof of recognition is often sufficient.
How and where do I apply for the Recognition Procedure?
You apply for recognition of your qualification at the relevant office. You can find this office using the Recognition Finder. To search, you need to know where you want to work in Germany and what the German reference occupation is for your foreign professional qualification. You can also use the Finder to determine the reference occupation.
The application is usually made using an application form, which you can obtain on the website or on site at the relevant authority. You must submit the application, along with additional documents (e.g., proof of your qualification), to the relevant authority – usually by post or email. Still, sometimes it is also possible to apply online. You can also find out which documents you need to send with your application via the Recognition Finder.
Do you need assistance? The Central Service Agency for Professional Recognition (ZSBA) can help you with your application. The IQ Network Hesse offers personal advice on site in FrankfurtRheinMain. You can obtain initial advice by telephone from the State of Hesse's ‘Working and Living in Germany’ hotline. You can find further advice centres via the advice search.
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Get in touch before you submit your application. The employment advice centres can help you prepare your application in the best possible way. They can also advise you on how to proceed if you have only received partial or no recognition after the assessment.
What are the possible Outcomes of the Assessment?
You will be notified of the assessment outcome by letter. The following outcomes are possible:
- Your professional qualification is fully recognised. This means that your foreign professional qualification is equivalent to a German reference occupation.
- Your professional qualification is partially recognised. This means that significant differences have been identified between your foreign professional qualification and the German reference occupation. You will be informed of the differences in the notification.
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You can often still obtain full recognition by submitting a new application if you successfully complete a suitable qualification measure (adaptation qualification) in the meantime. If you come from a third country, you can obtain a residence permit to recognise foreign professional qualifications. This allows you to enter Germany to complete a suitable qualification measure there.
- Your professional qualification is not recognised. This means that the differences identified between your professional qualification and the German reference occupation are too great.
Whether your foreign qualification is fully recognised in Germany depends on various factors and is assessed on a case-by-case basis during the procedure. In addition to your qualifications, your professional experience is also taken into account.
Wichtiger Hinweis
The basic requirements for recognition are a state or state-recognised foreign professional qualification and proof of that qualification (e.g., a degree certificate).
Further information on the possible assessment results can be found on the German Federal Government's information portal ‘Recognition in Germany’. There you will also find important information on the recognition of qualifications in general.
Proof for non-regulated Professions
For foreign qualifications that lead to a non-regulated profession, there is no formal and complex recognition procedure as there is for regulated professions. However, for certain types of visas and residence permits, it must at least be proven
- that the foreign higher education qualification is comparable to a German higher education qualification (relevant, for example, for the EU Blue Card or the visa for skilled workers)
Or - that the foreign higher education qualification is recognised by the state in the country in which it was obtained (relevant, for example, for the points system of the Opportunity Card).
Or - that the foreign non-academic qualification is officially recognised in the country in which it was obtained (relevant, for example, for the recognition partnership visa or the visa for experienced professionals).
In the case of a university degree, you can check this yourself using the anabin database. If the entry is positive, a printout is sufficient as proof. If there is no entry or no positive entry, the certificate evaluation for foreign university degrees is another option. You can apply online for a statement of comparability at the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) for a fee.
For non-academic professional qualifications, the digital information on professional qualifications can serve as proof that the foreign qualification is state-recognised in the country in which it was obtained. The proof can also be requested from the ZAB for a fee.