Lehrerin und Lehrer mit Berufsqualifikation aus Drittstaaten; Anerkennung beantragen

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

• 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, study and 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. Please indicate the office to which you submitted the application. If you have already received a decision on your application for recognition from the other body, please also submit this document.
• Perhaps: Declaration or proof that you want to work in the profession in the selected federal state. Proof is, for example, an application 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 if you take a compensatory measure or if you are hired as a teacher:

• Proof of your German language skills: Language certificate (only if you are employed as a school teacher)
• Proof of information from a study seminar on recommended German language skills at least at level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (only for the compensatory measure)
• Proof of your personal suitability:
  Extended certificate of good conduct from Germany or your country of origin (e.g. criminal record extract, Certificate of Good Standing) not older than three months at the time of application
• Proof of your health suitability (only for the adaptation period): written personal declaration in the form "Application for admission to a compensation measure"
• Proof of vaccination or immunization against measles or vaccination intolerance by means of a medical certificate if you were born after 31.12.1970.

• 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.

You do not have to pay any fees for the procedure in the state of Brandenburg.

However, additional costs may be incurred (e.g. for translations or notarization of your documents). These costs vary from case to case and are to be borne by you.

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 authority will compare the qualifications using certain criteria. Important criteria are, for example, the content and duration 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 may be able to take a compensation measure.

There are various compensation measures:

• Adaptation course: you work as a teacher and perhaps do additional training. This means, for example, that you take part in courses at a university or college.
• 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 of your foreign teaching qualification as a teaching qualification.

With this recognition, you can apply for a teaching position in your federal state. This is a different procedure.

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

In some cases, recognition of a teaching qualification as a teaching qualification is not possible. This is the case if

- you do not submit the application documents in full within a certain period of time despite being requested to do so by the competent authority,

- you have acquired a teaching qualification in your country of training which is not based on training at a university or training institution with an equivalent level of training, and/or the qualification you have acquired does not entitle you to practice the profession of teacher in the country of training in at least one of the subjects approved for the corresponding teaching profession in accordance with the Teacher Training Ordinance, or

- the significant differences identified cannot be compensated for.

There are various options for working as a teacher without recognition. The responsible office will inform you about the details.

If the documents are complete, processing will take a maximum of three months. This period may be extended once in the event of special circumstances (e.g. when obtaining an expert opinion from the Central Office for Foreign Education [ZAB]). The responsible office will inform you of this.

I. For the submission of complete application documents

Please note that recognition of a teaching qualification as a teaching qualification will be denied if you do not submit the application documents in full within a reasonable period of time despite being requested to do so.

II. for a compensation measure

If you would like to apply for a compensation measure (adaptation period or aptitude test) due to identified differences in qualifications, please note the following:

Application deadlines for an adaptation period:

- 02.04. for training starting on 01.08. of a year

- 05.10. for training starting on 01.02. of a year.

If you decide to take an aptitude test, there is no application deadline.

Opportunities for working as a teacher without recognition

There are various options for working as a teacher without recognition. Exactly which options you have depends on which federal state you would like to work in. The responsible office will inform you.

Options for working as a teacher without recognition include, for example

• 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 a school (e.g. in adult education)

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 third countries; applying for recognition
• The teaching profession is regulated in Germany. For unrestricted and permanent work in the profession, the qualification must be proven.
• The professional qualification as a teacher can also be from a third country. It must then be recognized. Third countries are all countries other than the member states of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.
• The procedure and the exact requirements depend on the federal state in which you want 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 respective federal state.

• There are many advisory services. You can find them on the Recognition in Germany portal.
• Ask an IQ advice center for personal advice
  for personal advice on this procedure and your qualification. The advisors will also help you with your documents before you submit your application. The advice is free of charge.

You can also call the hotline of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. The hotline will answer your questions on the subject of "Working and living in Germany".
Telephone number: +49 30 1815-1111
Office hours:
Monday to Friday 08:00 - 18:00 (CET)

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the State of Brandenburg

Department 45: Teacher training, assessment and recognition of professional teacher qualifications

Telephone: 0331 866-3954

E-mail: lehrerqualifikation-ausland@mbjs.brandenburg.de

I. The following form must be used and submitted for your application for recognition of a foreign teaching qualification as a teaching qualification:

Application for recognition of a foreign teaching qualification

You can also submit the application for recognition via the Single Point of Contact in the state of Brandenburg.

II. for your application for participation in a compensation measure, the form "Application for admission to a compensation measure" with proof of information from the Studienseminar must be used and submitted.