Fundamentals

Most professions belong to the non-regulated professions. These include, for example, dual training occupations and many occupations that require a university degree. In principle, recognition of a foreign qualification is not necessary in order to practice such an occupation. For third-country nationals however, it is usually a prerequisite for obtaining a permit for employment (e.g. visa for skilled workers, EU Blue Card). Only a few groups of people are exempt from this, such as IT specialists or professional drivers.

Only someone who has a permit to do so may work in a regulated profession. This can be a state examination, for example. Typical regulated professions include teachers, doctors, pharmacists and lawyers, but also certain master craftsmen who run a business or mountain and ski guides. In the case of regulated professions, the origin of the skilled worker plays a subordinate role. Recognition of the foreign qualification is almost always necessary. Equivalence of qualifications is a key requirement for obtaining a professional license. There is only a special regulation for people from the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland if they only want to practice their profession in Germany occasionally and it is not in the health or security sector. They do not have to go through a recognition procedure. However, proof must be provided that the profession has been practiced in the home country for at least 1 year in the last 10 years. More information on regulated professions at European level can be found online.

You can find out whether an activity is regulated or unregulated using the so-called recognition finder online online.

The project "Unternehmen Berufsanerkennung" (UBA) has detailed information on professional recognition for companies here for companies.