Lehrerin oder Lehrer aus EU/EWR/Schweiz Berufsqualifikation anerkennen

Do you have a professional qualification as a teacher from abroad and want to work in Germany? Then you need to have your professional qualification recognized.

Working as a teacher is regulated. This means that you must provide proof of a specific qualification if you want to work as a teacher in Germany without restrictions. You can apply for recognition of your professional qualification as proof of a foreign qualification.

In the recognition procedure, the competent authority compares your professional qualification from abroad with the professional qualification in the selected federal state. Your professional qualification must be equivalent for recognition.

You can also apply for the procedure from abroad.

In addition to the equivalence of the professional qualification, you must meet further requirements in order to work as a teacher. You usually only have to prove these requirements when you are employed as a teacher. This is a different procedure.

• Application form from the competent authority
• If there is no application form: An informal and signed application form
• Proof of identity (passport or identity card)
• Marriage certificate (if your name has changed due to marriage)
• Curriculum vitae
• Proof of your professional qualifications (e.g. certificates, diplomas, professional certificate)
• Proof of the content and duration of your education (e.g. diploma supplement, transcript of records, examination regulations)
• Proof of your other qualifications (e.g. further professional training, seminars)
• Proof of your professional experience as a teacher
• Information about an application for recognition that has already been submitted. Then state the body to which you have submitted the application.
• Perhaps: Declaration or proof that you want to work in the profession in the chosen federal state. Proof can be, for example, applications for a job.
  

The responsible office will tell you which documents you must present in the original or submit as copies. Some copies must be officially certified. We recommend that you do not send originals by post.

You must submit your documents in German. The translations must be done by publicly appointed or authorized translators.

Other documents are usually important for employment in the teaching profession. You only have to submit these documents when you take a compensatory measure or when you are hired as a teacher.

• Proof of your German language skills: Language certificate
• Proof of your personal suitability:
  Certificate of good conduct from Germany or your country of origin (e.g. criminal record, certificate of good standing)
• Proof of your health suitability: medical certificate

• You have a professional qualification as a teacher from abroad.
• You want to work as a teacher in your chosen federal state.
  

You must fulfill further requirements for employment in the teaching profession:

• You have German language skills at the required level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The responsible office will inform you of the required language level.
• Personal suitability: You are reliable for work as a teacher and have no criminal record.
• Health suitability: You are in good health.

The procedure may cost money. The costs depend on the effort required to check the documents. The responsible office will inform you of the costs.

Additional costs may also be incurred (e.g. for translations or notarization of your documents). These costs vary from person to person.

You submit an application to the responsible office. You can send the application by post, send it electronically or submit it in person. The responsible office will inform you.

The responsible office receives the application. It will confirm to you after a maximum of one month that the application has been received. Once the competent office has received all the documents from you, it will process your application. The competent authority will then check: Is your professional qualification equivalent to the professional qualification in your federal state ? The competent body will compare the qualifications using certain criteria. Important criteria are, for example, the duration of the training, the content of the training and the number of subjects taught. The competent body will also take your professional experience, your other certificates of competence and your other qualifications into account when assessing equivalence.

If your professional qualification and the professional qualification in the selected federal state are equivalent, you will receive recognition.

Sometimes there are significant differences between the professional qualifications. If there are significant differences, you can usually take a compensatory measure.

There are various compensation measures:

• Adaptation course: you work as a teacher and may be doing additional training. This means, for example, that you take part in courses at a university.
• Aptitude test: You take teaching tests and oral examinations. A teaching sample means that you conduct lessons with pupils. Examiners observe and assess your lessons. The responsible office will inform you about the necessary teaching samples and examinations.

You can usually choose between an adaptation period or an aptitude test. Sometimes the competent body decides which compensatory measure you should take. The responsible office will inform you.

If you successfully complete the compensation measure, you will receive recognition.

With this recognition, you can apply for the teaching profession in your federal state. apply. This is a separate procedure. The other requirements for the so-called teaching qualification are then checked.

If you meet all the requirements, you will be awarded the teaching qualification. The teaching qualification is always valid for the teaching position you have applied for. This means that you can teach your subjects at a specific school. You have the same professional rights as a person with a German professional qualification.

There are various options depending on the federal state, to work as a teacher without recognition, e.g. via a lateral entry or at a private school. The responsible office will inform you about the details.

None.

Sometimes documents are still missing from the procedure. The responsible office will then inform you by when you must submit the documents.

Opportunities for working as a teacher without recognition

There are various options for working as a teacher without recognition. The exact options available to you also depend on the federal state in which you would like to work. The responsible office will inform you.

Options for working as a teacher without recognition include

• lateral entry
• lateral entry
• Direct entry
• Working as a substitute teacher
• Working at a private school
• Working at international schools
• Teaching in the language of origin (mother tongue)
• Working in preparatory classes and support classes (e.g. German as a foreign language - DaF or German as a second language - DaZ)
• Working outside of a school (e.g. in adult education)

Partial professional access for professional qualifications from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland:
Your professional qualification is not equivalent and there are many significant differences? In some federal states, you may be able to work in the profession with partial access to the profession. With partial access to the profession, you can also work in the profession without recognition. There are certain requirements for this. As a teacher, you are then only allowed to take on certain tasks. You apply for partial access to the profession at the competent authority. The competent authority will inform you.

Equivalence with the 1st state examination
In most federal states, you can have your professional qualification compared with the German teaching degree (1st state examination). If your professional qualification is equivalent to the 1st state examination, then you can be admitted to the preparatory service or a lateral entry course, for example. The responsible office will inform you.

The preparatory service is the pedagogical-practical training. This training concludes with the 2nd state examination. The practical training is also called: Referendariat.

If you successfully complete the preparatory service, you can apply to teach at state schools. You have the same professional rights as a person with a German professional qualification.

You can take legal action against the decision of the competent authority. The decision will then be reviewed. Details of this procedure can be found in the information on legal remedies at the end of your decision. We recommend that you first speak to the responsible office before taking legal action against the decision.

• Teachers with professional qualifications from the EU/EEA/Switzerland; apply for recognition
• The teaching profession is regulated in Germany. For unrestricted and permanent work in the profession, the qualification must be proven.
• Teacher training can also come from abroad. It must then be recognized.
• The procedure and the exact requirements depend on the federal state in which you wish to work as a teacher.
• The recognition procedure checks whether the foreign professional qualification is equivalent to the professional qualification in the chosen federal state.
• The competent authority depends on the chosen federal state.