FAQ Recognition of foreign professional qualifications

There are 7 “sectoral” professions (doctor, dentist, veterinary surgeon, pharmacist, nurse responsible for general care, midwife, architect) where the European Union provides for automatic recognition of professional qualifications, due to the fact that harmonised training standards apply EU-wide for these professions. If you are an EU citizen and you want to practise one of these professions in another EU country, an equivalency review is not required for your qualifications to be recognised. Even in these cases, however, you must apply for and receive authorisation to practise the profession – doctors, for example, require a licence to practise medicine (Approbation) – before you can start work. To receive authorisation, you must provide certain types of evidence (e.g. proof of necessary language skills, an official certificate of good conduct, etc.).

Costs that arise in connection with the recognition process according to the Recognition Act or the Foreign Professional Qualifications Acts of the respective countries (e.g. for translations, fees for procedures for checking the equivalence of foreign professional qualifications and in particular for a qualification analysis) can be reimbursed under certain conditions. The amount and type of costs that are borne can vary greatly depending on the professional field. Applicants should therefore inquire in advance which costs can be borne and what amounts cannot. 

You can find offices in Germany that provide advice on recognition and costs here: 

•   IQ-Network on the topics of recognition and qualification 
•   IQ-Advice centres nationwide 
•   Recognition of professional qualifications, university degrees and school certificates

Support options for recognition
The German employment agency can support you financially in carrying out the recognition procedure:
If you are a jobseeker, the costs for a recognition procedure for example for translations, certified copies and fees from the mediation budget can be borne. The employment agency can also support the participation in measures that serve to promote vocational integration by imparting professional knowledge.

For jobseekers, but also for employees, costs for further training and qualifications can be borne under certain conditions. The further training and qualifications must, however, enable the recognition of a foreign vocational qualification and increase the chances on the labour market.

You must apply for the bearing of the costs in advance in the above-mentioned cases at the employment agency responsible for you or, if you receive unemployment benefit II, at the job centre.

Please note: If you are not entitled to funding from the employment agency, you can apply for the recognition grant from the Federal government . The recognition grant is intended in particular for employees who work below their completed qualifications and only have a very low income. The recognition grant of the Federal government is a maximum of 600 Euro and does not have to be repaid. It is important to submit an application for funding first before starting the recognition process of the foreign professional qualification. You can submit the application for example at a Recognition advice centre of the support programme Integration through Qualification (IQ) in your area. Detailed information on the recognition grant can be found here.

The authority responsible checks whether the qualification you have obtained abroad is equivalent to the corresponding German comparable occupation. Your qualification is considered equivalent if there are no significant differences between your foreign and the corresponding German qualification. 
In addition to your training, the office responsible also takes into account your professional experience at home or abroad. Any significant differences found can be compensated for by relevant professional experience or continuing vocational training.

As a rule, the recognition process is completed within three months of the submission of the complete application documents, which means that the period only begins when all the necessary documents have been presented. In particularly difficult cases, it can be extended once. This is the case if evidence is missing and has to be requested from abroad or a qualification analysis is being carried out. If you receive full equivalence with the comparable German training for your job abroad, you are entitled to the same treatment and payment as a German employee.

In the case of partial equivalence, there are significant differences in certain areas between your professional and the German reference qualifications. The notification shows the gaps in detail, so that they can be closed with adaptation qualifications. No equivalency is rarely decided because applicants receive detailed advice before recognition is carried out. Find out more here.

In the course of the reform of the EU directive from 2005, new changes came into force on 18 January 2016, including the introduction of professional cards. Since 2016, it has been possible to carry out the professions of pharmacist, nurse, physiotherapist, mountain guide and real estate agent via recognition in a digital process (European professional card). With this electronic certificate, the recognition procedure is significantly accelerated and simplified. It can be requested directly via the website Your Europe of the European Commission.

On the website Recognition in Germany you will find detailed information on the procedure for the European Professional Card. You will also find the direct link to apply as well as a multilingual explanatory video on the page.

For example, if you have completed vocational training abroad and cannot present all the documents in Germany, you can use a qualification analysis to provide practical proof of your professional skills. It is not an examination, rather 

• for example, you hold a technical discussion with an expert about the profession you learned, 
• you put your skills to the test with a work sample or 
• you work on trial in a company.

You yourself have the opportunity to show the potential employer what you can do and the employer himself can better assess your professional abilities.  
You can find all the important information about this and about financial support at this link. 

In Germany, non-regulated professions are in total around 330 professions that are trained in the dual system (part-time vocational school and on-the-job training). Examples of these are: Trade professions such as plumber, baker, carpenter, bricklayer, hairdresser. Technical professions such as electronics technician, mechatronics technician or commercial professions such as industrial clerk, merchant in wholesale and foreign trade, banker.

There is no legal requirement for professional practice for these professions. Therefore, also no procedure for recognition with a comparative occupation is necessary. EU citizens can thus apply directly to the German labour market. In these cases, the foreign qualification is assessed by the employer.

However, it can be very useful if you also have your qualification recognised in Germany in order to make your foreign qualification more understandable to employers and companies. In addition, a qualification recognised as equivalent enables easier access to an adequately paid job and further training. You can find the list of all apprenticeships in Germany here.

For foreign university degrees leading to a non-regulated profession, e.g. mathematicians, economists, journalists, a recognition is also not required. 

What are regulated professions?

Most of the professions in Germany are non-regulated professions. The test of equivalence has a different function in the regulated and non-regulated professions. A regulated profession is a profession that can only be practiced if proof of a certain qualification has been provided. These are, for example, medical professions, legal professions, teaching at State schools and civil service professions (e.g. soldier or police officer). Academic professions can also be regulated, such as the education of architects or engineers. You can check on the website of the Federal Employment Agency and on the multilingual website of the EU Commission which professions are regulated and require recognition. The link to the Recognition finder will take you directly to the location that will carry out the recognition procedure for you.    

As a rule, fees are charged for the procedures. These can sometimes be very different and are based on the fee regulations of the responsible body and the effort required to carry out the procedure. The fees are currently between € 25 and € 1,000.

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce FOSA and the chambers of trade charge between € 100 and € 600, depending on the procedural effort. In cases in which the recognition is refused, you have to reckon with costs between € 100 and € 200. You also bear the costs for certification, translations or copies yourself. The IQ-Network Baden-Württemberg provides an assessment of the costs that may be incurred.