Recognition (Anerkennung) Procedure for Foreign Applicants
If you are thinking about immigrating to Germany and working here, sooner or later you would probably face this question, “to what extent are my professional qualifications valid in another country like Germany?”
If you wish to acquire more information on this topic, stay with us through this article.
What does Anerkennung mean?
In general, Anerkennung means recognition, but, in this case, recognition means that a foreign professional qualification is legally equivalent to a German professional qualification.
Do you have to study again in Germany?
First of all, let us put your mind at ease, the short answer is No, but you still need to assess your qualifications in Germany.
In this article, we are going to review the process of assessment of your documents, which is one of the most important steps on the immigration path, and we will answer your frequently asked questions.
What is Recognition (Anerkennunng)?
As we said before, if you wish to work in Germany, and you want to use the qualifications which you acquired in your home country, then you need confirmation from a competent authority.
After going through the process of Recognition (Anerkennung) in the desired organization, the documents will be assessed and according to the conditions that we will discuss further, a confirmation will be issued to the applicant, which will be approved throughout Germany.
What steps are required to check the documents and go through the recognition process?
1. Collecting the required work and education documents according to the requirements of the desired organization)
In the initial steps, after assessing your situation, you need to collect some documents from your education and work background.
2. Translating the required documents
Before presenting the documents, you need to translate all your documents into German, you should use a professional translator familiar with the recognition process and must translate important documents and certificates.
3. Confirming the translated documents by the German Embassy
The correctness of the translation of educational and working documents must be confirmed by the German Embassy in your city.
4. Sending documents
After gathering, translating, and verifying the required documents, you need to send these documents to the competent authority.
5. Undergoing Anerkennung procedure
At this level, the organization will assess and compare the documents.
6. Announcing the Results
After a certain period of time assessing the documents, the results will be announced whether Germany approves the submitted documents or not. Your documents could be fully recognized, partially recognized, or not recognized at all (we will explain these different kinds of recognition in a separate article)
What are the required Documents
To start the recognition process the candidate should provide the relevant documents and send them to the competent authorities, according to the checklist (the detailed checklist will be discussed with the candidate after signing the contract, and it may vary according to the competent authority's checklist), but here are some of the essential documents, which should be collected by the candidate.
- Identification (Passport or personal ID)
- Diploma, bachelor certificate, and bachelor’s transcripts by hours
- Current tabular curriculum vitae (CV or resume) with complete information on school education, training(s), and professional career
- Evidence from the school/training center of the duration of the training
- Evidence of the theoretical and practical subjects with hours per Academic subject
- Proof of practical training (clinical internships) in the functional areas/departments (with number of hours)
- Evidence of the type and scope of the final examination: oral, written, and practical examination subjects
- Evidence of activities in your learned profession (e.g. job references)
- Evidence of further training
- „Certificate of Good Standing“/ „Certificate of Current Professional Status“
- in the case of a change of name, the marriage certificate/ family register
- criminal record
- depending on the individual case, possibly further documents
Will the applicant's educational qualifications and work records, after being assessed, be valid as a native person in Germany?
According to the law of Germany, all people from all over the world have the right to get their professional education and work documents approved by Germany by going through legal procedures.
After going through the process of recognition, if all the work and educational records are in accordance with German standards, the person will receive a confirmation, or in other words, he/she will be fully recognized.
If the professional documents are inconsistent with German standards, the person will still receive approval. But for different departments, according to the opinion of the organization to which the documents were sent, he/she must spend theoretical and practical courses for a certain period of time (often a few months), which will be announced to the person.
How long does the process of recognizing and assessing documents in Germany take?
Once the required documents are collected, translated, and submitted, the document review will take between 1 and 4 months.
What is the difference between confirmation (Bescheid) and recognition?
If you enter the immigration process, you have definitely heard these words many times, and are familiar to you. But what exactly is the difference and application of each one of them? As we said earlier, recognition includes the process of checking and assessing your documents. While “Bescheid” is the final confirmation that you will receive after the process of recognition (Anerkennung) is completed.
Is it possible to personally submit the documents and go through the recognition (Anerkennung) process and not get help from immigration agencies and consultants?
Yes, each person can act alone and complete the assessment process, but a point should be considered. Based on the conditions of each person, the documents that must be collected and presented will also be different, so that in addition to confirming the documents, the person will receive the least possible internship period.
Sometimes it happens that applicants send out incomplete documents, and do not succeed in receiving the confirmation of documents (Bescheid) or get heavy and long internship periods, which will make the immigration process of people much longer and more expensive than usual.
In such cases, it would be a wiser decision to let a professional team or a person that has enough experience in this field accompany you on this path.
In this article, we reviewed the steps and information required for the process of document assessment called “Anerkennung” in Germany. We hope this article was useful in answering your immigration questions and doubts.
