Recognition of foreign qualifications is a central element of skilled migration. The procedure examines whether a qualification obtained abroad is equivalent to a corresponding German one. Responsibility differs by profession: for regulated professions the supervising authority, for non-regulated professions the IHK FOSA or chambers of crafts.
The procedure has three possible outcomes: full equivalence, partial equivalence (with adjustment measures such as a bridge course or aptitude test), or lack of equivalence. Regulated professions – nursing, medicine, teaching, law – have particularly strict requirements because the right to practise is legally protected.
For candidates the procedure is often time-consuming and costly, but is regularly supported by funding programmes. Key contacts are the counselling centres of the IQ Network (Integration through Qualification) and the portal anerkennung-in-deutschland.de.
Lunigi supports candidates with recognised or in-progress qualifications through curated roles that realistically take recognition and language status into account.