ausländische Berufsqualifikationen

• Various legal bases according to federal law (profession-dependent)
• Various legal bases according to state law (depending on profession)

A professional qualification acquired and completed abroad or a course of study completed abroad can be recognized in Germany as equivalent to German training. However, this is a basic requirement for regulated professions such as doctors, teachers or educators. The applicant only has unrestricted access to the profession they have learned once equivalence has been established by the competent authority.

Professional recognition is the responsibility of different authorities. This depends on the profession in question. Background information on the individual professions in Germany as well as the respective responsibilities can be found on the portal www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de.

The prerequisite for the responsibility of an authority in North Rhine-Westphalia is either a residence in North Rhine-Westphalia, proof of a commitment to employment in North Rhine-Westphalia or a location note from the Central Office for Professional Recognition of the Federal Employment Agency (ZSBA) referring to North Rhine-Westphalia.

The documents required for an application vary depending on the profession. In any case, proof of completion of the respective professional qualification or course of study is required in accordance with the legal framework of the country of training. This usually requires an official translation into German.

• Completion of the professional qualification
• Completion of studies

You can submit an application for recognition of your foreign professional qualification to the authority responsible for your profession in North Rhine-Westphalia. You can find this via the portals www.make-it-in-germany.com or www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de . You also have the option of contacting the Single Point of Contact for North Rhine-Westphalia at www.service.wirtschaft.nrw/einheitlicher-ansprechpartner for further information. You can also call the Working and Living in Germany hotline on 0049 030 1815 1111.

The ALID hotline is unfortunately not active at the moment due to Corona, but there is a contact form on the website www.make-it-in-germany.com.

In the so-called health professions with a license to practice (doctor, dentist, pharmacist, psychological psychotherapist), it is possible to work in the profession you have learned during the equivalence assessment procedure. For this purpose, you can apply for a so-called professional license. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the procedures for determining equivalence for healthcare professions with a license to practice and applications for a professional permit are processed centrally by the Münster district government. Further information on this can be found on the Internet at https://www.bezreg-muenster.de/de/gesundheit_und_soziales/approbationen_und_berufserlaubnisse/index.html.

• Foreign professional qualifications
• Recognition procedure for foreign professional qualifications
• Basically possible for all professions
• Competence of authorities depends on the profession
• Competent authority can be determined via www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de

The application for recognition of a foreign professional qualification must be made in writing. There are different application forms for this, depending on the profession.