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Recognition of a professional qualification

You have not acquired your professional qualification in Germany?

Do you want to work in Germany on a long-term basis and possibly independently in your profession?

• Depending on your profession, you can or must apply for recognition of your professional qualification.
• You always need recognitionfor so-called regulated professions.
• Examples of regulated professions are doctors, pharmacists, midwives, nurses and teachers.
• For non-regulated professions, you onlyneed recognitionif you are applying fora residence permit to work in Germany.
• Examples of non-regulated professions are computer scientist, bank clerk and business economist.

However, you always have a legal rightto a recognition procedure. It doesn't matter what nationalityyou have or where you live. Even if you are not in Germany, you can apply for recognition of your professional qualification.

Recognition procedure

The competent authority in Germany will check your qualification for recognition:

• Does your foreign qualificationcorrespond to a German qualification?
• This check is based on the documents relating to your training and is carried out according to fixed formal criteria.
• Criteria include, for example, the content and duration of your training. Your professional experienceis also taken into account.

The recognition procedure differs depending on the profession. Different procedures and different applications are therefore required for different professions. Different bodies are responsible for the procedure in each case.

You can submit the applicationfor the procedure directly to the responsible office. You can find the contact details of the competent authority on the website " Recognition in Germany".
You can also submit the application to a single point of contact. The single point of contact will forward your documents to the competent body and support you in the procedure.

Note: Before you submit an application, you must identify your reference profession in Germany. In the recognition procedure, your professional qualification will be compared with the reference profession.
There are many advisory services in Germany. For example, you can obtain personal advice from an IQ advice centeron which reference occupation is suitable for your qualification.

You can find all the information you need on the " Recognition in Germany" website. There you will find quick and easy answers to your questions about recognition in 11 languages:

• Do I have to have my professional qualification recognized?
• Is recognition worthwhile for me?
• Can I submit the application? Am I entitled to it?
• Which authority should I contact?
• What does the procedure look like?
• What documents are required?
• What form must the documents take?
• How long does the procedure take?
• What does the procedure cost?
• Which laws are relevant to my case?

"Recognition in Germany" is also a German advice center (in accordance with Article 57b of EU Directive 2005/36/EC). This means that citizens from a member state of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland can receive individual advice on recognition issues if required.

• General information on recognition in Germany
• Single point of contact
• IQ advice centers
• Information on recognition in Germany for skilled workers