Leistungen A-Z

Applications and forms can be found on the website of the competent body.

You have acquired your professional qualification abroad and want to work in your profession in Germany? Depending on your profession, you can or must have your foreign qualification recognised.

As a rule, you will need the following documents:

• Tabular list of your completed training courses and gainful employment activities.
• details of your current place of residence
• proof of identity
• evidence of education and training obtained abroad
• evidence of relevant professional experience or other evidence of formal qualifications, where these are required for the purposes of determining equivalence
• a statement of whether you have already applied for equivalence and, if so, to which body
• If applicable, a decision on the determination of equivalence.

Depending on the respective profession, further documents may be required. As a rule, you must submit all documents in the original or as a certified copy. As a rule, you must submit all documents in German. If the documents are written in another language, you may also need a translation by a publicly appointed translator. Please contact the responsible office.

For recognition, the competent body checks on the basis of your certificates whether or to what extent your foreign qualification corresponds to a German qualification for your chosen profession. This review is based on specified formal criteria, such as the content and duration of the training. Your relevant work experience will be taken into account, as will other relevant qualifications. For academic qualifications, you can apply for an assessment by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB).

You can also find further information on German professions, on the recognition procedure and also on the relevant offices on the portal "Anerkennung-in-Deutschland" (Recognition in Germany). This Internet portal provides quick and easy answers to questions about recognition, for example:

• Do I have to have my professional qualification recognised?
• Is recognition worthwhile for me?
• Can I submit the application? Do I have a formal right to it?
• Which authority do I have to contact?
• What does the procedure look like?
• Which documents are necessary? What form must the documents take?
• How long does the procedure take?
• What does the procedure cost?
• Which laws are relevant to my case?

• In professions for which a licence is required, the recognition procedure can also be carried out via the single point of contact (currently in the scope of the EU Services Directive, from 18 January 2016 also in the full scope of the EU Professional Recognition Directive).NOTE: The time limit for submitting the application begins with the confirmation of the competent body that the required documents are complete.

No deadlines need to be observed. The deadline for submitting the application begins with the confirmation of the competent body that the required documents are complete.

Please contact the office responsible for the respective profession. You can also use the "Recognition Finder" to find the office responsible for recognising your qualification with just a few clicks.

• Recognition Finder

Telephone advice on recognition in German and English can be found at the

Hotline "Working and Living in Germany

Tel.: +49 30 1815-1111

Reachability:

Mon 09:00 - 15:00
Tue 09:00 - 15:00
Wed 09:00 - 15:00
Thu 09:00 - 15:00
Fri 09:00 - 15:00

Single Point of Contact (currently within the scope of the EU Services Directive, from 18 January 2016 also within the full scope of the EU Professional Qualifications Directive)

https://www.bmwi-wegweiser.de/start/

Public authority number 115

Tel.: 115

Mon 08:00 - 18:00
Tue 08:00 - 18:00
Wed 08:00 - 18:00
Thu 08:00 - 18:00
Fri 08:00 - 18:00

www.115.de

• Service points of the "Network Integration through Qualification"

The federal or state law regulating the practice of the respective profession applies. Information on this can also be found on the portal "Recognition in Germany".

In addition, further laws may apply depending on the profession. Please contact the responsible office.

• Professional Qualifications Assessment Act (BQFG)

The service points of the network "Integration through Qualification" (IQ Network) will be happy to advise and support you before, during and after the recognition procedure.

• Network "Integration through Qualification (IQ)"

• Central Office for Foreign Education
• Certificate assessment for foreign higher education qualifications
• Portal "Recognition in Germany"

MW LSA, Department 44I, Dieckmann