Support the recognition process
Professional recognition and licensure are crucial aspects of recruiting internationally trained nursing professionals. It is obvious that obtaining a license to practice as quickly as possible is in the interests of both the recruited person and the recruiting company. The support that a company provides to its nursing professionals during the recognition process is also an indicator of a welcoming culture and an important building block for sustainable operational and professional integration. To facilitate the recognition process, it often helps to find a personal contact person at the relevant authorities. The recognition process is particularly challenging for everyone involved. New colleagues have to adapt to a new work routine, a new understanding of nursing, a new language, and so many other new things. At the same time, they have to prepare for another exam in a foreign language. All of this can be overwhelming. But with each new nursing professional who joins the team, the existing teams also find themselves back at the beginning of a team-building process and faced with the challenges of doing their daily work, providing guidance, and at the same time remaining open to potentially new perspectives. This makes it essential, especially during the recognition process, to provide good support and networking for the process and all those involved.
Responsible recognition authorities
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Federal state |
Responsible authotity |
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Baden-Wurttemberg |
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Bavaria |
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Berlin |
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Brandenburg |
Landesamt für Arbeitsschutz, Verbraucherschutz und Gesundheit |
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Bremen |
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Hamburg |
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Hesse |
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Mecklenburg- Vorpommern |
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Lower Saxony |
Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Soziales, Jugend und Familie |
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North Rhine-Westphalia |
Bezirksregierung Münster, Zentrale Anerkennungsstelle für Gesundheitsberufe |
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Rhineland-Palatinate |
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Saarland |
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Saxony |
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Saxonxn-Anhalt |
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Schleswig-Holstein |
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Thuringia |
The professional recognition process
The recruited nurses can enter Germany according to §16d AufenthG for the purpose of recognising their vocational qualification acquired abroad. Before entry – and thus before the visa is issued – the application for professional recognition must have already been received by the responsible recognition office with all the necessary documents and an indication of the desired reference profession (nurse according to PflBG or healthcare professional and nurse according to KrPflG, or also geriatric nurse and healthcare professional and paediatric nurse).
Accelerated skilled workers procedure
If there is a concrete job offer, the employer can apply through the “accelerated skilled workers procedure” on behalf of the foreigner on payment of a fee. In the accelerated skilled workers procedure, the Immigration Office plays a key role and is responsible for:
- advising the employer about the entry conditions for the skilled worker,
- checking the legal requirements for non-German nationals,
- implementing the recognition procedure and
- getting the approval of the Federal Employment Agency.
All authorities involved are bound by tight deadlines. If all requirements are met, the immigration office will issue a preliminary approval for the visa, on the basis of which the foreign mission will schedule an appointment for the visa application within three weeks and, as a rule, decide on the visa application within a further three weeks after the application has been submitted. The make-it-in-germany website explains the accelerated skilled worker procedure in seven steps.
Compliance with the specified deadlines is only possible if all the necessary documents are submitted in the correct quality. Otherwise, there will be delays.
The recognition procedure should not take longer than three to four months in total.
Alternatively, the regular entry procedure and, if necessary, the procedure for obtaining prior approval from the Federal Employment Agency in accordance with Section 36 (3) BeschV are still available; skilled workers and employers can choose the procedure that seems most favorable to them.
The respective recognition authority then carries out an equivalence assessment. The Assessment Center for Health Professions provides sample assessments for selected qualifications so that the recognition authorities can make quick decisions.
The sample reports are prepared on the basis of the legal framework for both the old health and nursing training and the new generalist nursing training. This is due to the transitional provision specified therein (§66a PflBG), which states that until 2024, there is a choice between deciding according to the old or the new German nursing training in order to ensure a sufficient supply of retraining.
In the case of nursing qualifications from third countries, significant differences from the specified reference profession are often identified in an assessment notice (known as a deficit notice). In such cases, the foreign professional qualification is not considered equivalent, meaning that differences must be compensated for by means of a compensatory measure in Germany (§16d AufenthG).
Recognition partnership
A recognition partnership is a new opportunity for foreign skilled workers from non-EU countries to work in Germany and have their professional qualifications recognized at the same time. It enables entry and employment without prior recognition of the professional qualification.
Employment as part of a recognition partnership
The recognition partnership opens up new ways of employing skilled workers from third countries and at the same time supporting them during the recognition procedure. You can find all information on this at Make it in Germany
The explanatory video “Volle Anerkennung durch die Anerkennungspartnerschaft” (“Full recognition through the recognition partnership”) shows step by step how full recognition of qualifications in Germany can be achieved through the recognition partnership (only in german language):
Professional alignment course or knowledge test?
Adaptation course or knowledge test?
There are two ways to compensate for this: an adaptation course or a knowledge test. In theory, incoming nursing professionals have the choice between these two options by law. In practice, however, it has been shown that not every region offers both options. In some cases, there are not enough local educational institutions that can provide both. Both the knowledge test and the adaptation courses can currently only be taken in Germany, i.e. after entry.
It makes sense for employers to inform and advise nursing professionals about both options and their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, both employers and nursing professionals have the opportunity to seek advice from recognition advisory centers about the “Integration through Qualification” (IQ) support program in Germany and abroad. Nursing professionals should also be informed about this option.
The knowledge test is conducted in practical and oral form. It assesses whether the applicant has the skills required to practice the profession in Germany. The knowledge test covers the essential content of German training and is conducted in German, which can be a hurdle for non-native speakers. If the test is failed, it may only be retaken once. If it is failed twice, the application for recognition is usually rejected permanently. The knowledge test route does not require practical experience in German institutions.
The second option for compensation measures are adaptation courses, which specifically compensate for the essential differences between the international professional qualification and the German reference profession. In addition to theoretical and practical instruction, the qualification also includes practical placements in health and care facilities, in accordance with official requirements. Adaptation courses conclude with a final interview. They must be coordinated with the responsible recognition authority.
Public access to the anabin database for healthcare professions
Click here to go to the database
Do you have questions about the recognition procedure?
Further information
- Anerkennung-in-deutschland.de is the information portal of the German federal government on recognition of foreign vocational qualifications. Here you will find everything from compiling the documentation to qualification analysis, a glossary and field reports.
- You can also find further information on make-it-in-germany.com
- You can find concrete support at the Service Center for Professional Recognition, the ZSBA.
- Do you need advice on suitable offers for compensation measures in your region? Then get in touch directly with your IQ network.
- You can also involve the Germany Agency for International Healthcare Professionals, the DeFa.
- Comprehensive information on the topics of recruiting skilled workers and professional recognition is available on: www.unternehmen-berufsanerkennung.de
Knowledge of German – not only important for professional recognition
Confident communication skills play a key role for international nursing professionals, their employers, and their colleagues. Language skills are essential for everyday (working) life and, last but not least, are also necessary for successfully completing the recognition process. You can find more information on language support and development in the requirements section Promotion of language development.
INGA Pflege
The DKF coordinates an innovative professional alignment course: the INGA Pflege project. You can find further information, an overview of this professional alignment course and contact persons here
The most important things for your to-do list
Nurses from abroad have the right to choose between a knowledge test and a professional alignment course. Find out as early as possible about programmes for compensation measures and language promotion in your region, before you decide on the country you want to recruit in.
Explain to interested applicants from abroad in an understandable way, about the support they can expect from you during the recognition process. Ask if the interested applicants would like things to be done differently and look for solutions that are acceptable together.
Find out the location of your respective recognition authority. Cultivate contacts with this authority on equal terms, because you can also profit from their recommendations. Does your company have locations in regions where different recognition authorities are responsible? Possibly even different federal states? Then enter into a dialogue with them individually because these authorities may have different requirements.
Approach and enable participation in a recognition process with urgent priority. Give nurses who have qualified abroad time off work for all issues regarding the recognition process. The in-house working times of the nurses affected should be adapted to the required phases in the recognition process.
Find out how you can make continual language promotion for nurses recruited from abroad possible. Clarify which costs you are prepared to cover and inform the interested applicants about this.
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