Ausländische Berufsqualifikationen anerkennen

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

As a rule, you will need the following documents:

• Tabular list of your completed education and gainful employment
• Information about your current place of residence
• proof of identity
• proof of education acquired abroad
• Proof of relevant professional experience or other qualifications, if these are required to establish equivalence
• Declaration as to whether you have already submitted an application for determination of equivalence and, if so, to which body
• If applicable, notification of the determination of equivalence.

Depending on the respective profession, further documents may be required. Please contact the responsible office. 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.

Minimum EUR 75.00 to maximum EUR 600.00.

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 the occupation you intend to practice. This review is based on specified formal criteria, such as the content and duration of the training. Your relevant professional experience is taken into account, as are other relevant qualifications. For academic qualifications, you can apply for an evaluation by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) at the Secretariat of the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.
You can also find more information on German professions, on recognition procedures and also on the bodies responsible for this 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 recognized?
• 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 is the procedure?
• 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 that require a state permit to practice, the recognition procedure can also be carried out via the technical systems of the point of single contact as of January 18, 2016.

You will be notified of a decision on the determination of the equivalence of your training certificate within three months of submission of the complete documentation. The deadline may be reasonably extended once if this is justified by the specifics of the matter. The extension of the deadline is a maximum of one month if you have acquired your proof of education in a member state of the EU or a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in a state equated by agreement.

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The recognition and qualification consulting offices of the network "Integration through Qualification" (IQ Network) will be happy to advise and accompany you before, during and after the recognition process.

You have the right to appeal against the decision of the responsible office on your application or against a decision not made in due time in accordance with the Administrative Court Code (objection proceedings, if necessary legal action).

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 recognized.

Please contact the office responsible for the respective profession.

The Thuringian Application System for Administrative Benefits (ThAVEL) provides you with the necessary application document on a virtual desk. You can also submit your application in writing to the competent authority.