Since the Professional Qualifications Assessment Act (BQFG) came into force in April 2012, a total of 383,253 applications for recognition of professions under federal law have been submitted. In 2024, 55,332 applications for recognition of the equivalence of a qualification acquired abroad were finally processed. The competent authorities first formally compare the differences between the curricula in the country of origin and in Germany. They also consider the individual professional experience demonstrated to be able to certify whether there are significant differences to a German qualification.
In most cases, namely 46.6 per cent, the response is a notice requiring compensatory measures, closely followed by "full equivalence" at 43.2 per cent. In 8.9 per cent of cases, "partial equivalence" was granted. "Partial equivalence" is defined very broadly, ranging from very minor to very significant overlaps. The deficits listed in the notices vary accordingly and can then be remedied by means of adaptation qualifications. Only 1.3 per cent of recognition procedures resulted in a "negative" notice.
In 2024, 87.6 per cent of new applications were submitted for qualifications that the applicants had obtained in a third country. This means that 12.4 per cent of qualifications were obtained in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. The countries with the highest number of applications for recognition were Turkey, Tunisia and India. Most applications were for healthcare professions, followed by electrical professions and the profession of a cook. A detailed analysis of the data on the Federal Recognition Act by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training can be found at Anerkennung in Deutschland.
The BQ-Portal provides an overview of applications for professional recognition by professions and countries.
Glossary
Regulated professions: Regulated professions: Full equivalence is required for these professions to be practiced. This is primarily the case in health professions (e.g., doctors, general care nurses etc.) and regulated master craftsman occupations. 81.7 per cent of new applications in 2024 relate to regulated professions In case it is not possible to attest full equivalence, the assessment notification imposes compensation measures which have to be fulfilled in order to acquire full equivalence.
Non-regulated professions: These include occupations that require prior vocational and advanced training qualifications such as electronics technician, mechatronics technician, office clerk etc.In 2024, about 18.3 per cent of the recognition procedures concern non-regulated professions. In case it is not possible to grant full equivalence, a partial equivalence is certified. After the fulfillment of the imposed compensation measures full equivalence can be acquired.
Equivalence quotas: The equivalence evaluation generally consists of two stages: the formal and the individual evaluation. The formal evaluation is sometimes sufficient for determining equivalence. In such cases, an official notification is issued stating that the foreign professional qualification is equivalent to the German reference qualification. If it is not possible to determine equivalence based on formal qualifications alone, the individual evaluation will take additional evidence of training and relevant work experience into consideration. Therefore, the equivalence quotas in the recognition statistics base on mostly individual equivalence evaluations.
