Have professional qualifications in the healthcare sector acquired abroad recognised

The competent body will check whether your qualification obtained abroad is equivalent to the corresponding German qualification.

Your qualification will be recognised as equivalent if there are no significant differences between your foreign qualification and the corresponding German qualification.

In addition to your education, the competent body will also take into account the professional experience you have gained abroad. Any significant differences identified can be compensated for by relevant professional experience.

You will be granted a licence if the equivalence of your qualification is established and the other requirements are also met.

If there are significant differences between your qualification and the German reference qualification, you have the option of taking part in an adaptation measure (examination or adaptation period) in order to achieve equivalence. You can obtain further information from the competent authority.

Automatic recognition (not for healthcare and nursing assistants)

For qualifications from member states of the European Union, other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and equivalent states (e.g. Switzerland), the automatic recognition procedure in accordance with Directive 2005/36/EC generally applies: Your qualification will be recognised without an individual equivalence assessment if the certificate was issued after the accession of the country of training and the training began after accession.

Qualifications issued before the cut-off date are generally recognised automatically if you submit a certificate from the competent authority of the country of training stating that the training completed before accession meets the minimum standards of Directive 2005/36/EC. Further information can be obtained from the competent authority.