In 2024, as in previous years, regulated medical professions dominate the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications in Germany. The success rate for positive recognition (full equivalence) in regulated professions ranges between 25 and 74 per cent, with minor deviations. The highest proportion of notices on full equivalence were issued for metal technology specialists (non-regulated profession) and industrial electronics technicians (non-regulated profession), each with 76 per cent. Among the regulated professions, it is geriatric nurses with 74 per cent.
The proportion of full equivalencies varies depending on the profession. The success rate for positive recognition (full equivalence) in regulated professions ranges between 25 and 74 per cent, with the exception of surgical and anaesthesia technical assistants. A large proportion (usually between 45 and 89 per cent) of regulated healthcare professions are subject to a compensation measure that had not yet been completed by the end of the 2024 reporting year. When considering the evaluations, it should be borne in mind that a larger number of applications for certain professions may be attributable to individual countries, which can significantly influence the results of full equivalence.
As illustrated in the chart, among the non-regulated professions with over 100 applications decided, industrial electricians (76%), metal technology specialists (76%), kitchen specialists (75%) and electrical installation technicians (71%) achieve particularly high proportions of full equivalence. In contrast, the non-regulated occupations of IT specialist (22%) and electronics technician for industrial engineering (23%) have very low rates of full equivalence. In which, however, a partial equivalence of over 75 per cent is predominantly determined. Overall, the proportion of partial equivalencies for non-regulated occupations with more than 100 applications in 2024 ranges predominantly between 40 and 80 per cent. The highest negative rates in this area are found among occupations such as kitchen specialist (9 per cent) and hairdresser (8 per cent), but these remain rare overall.
For the exact number of recognition notices, see the figure below.
In 2024, as in previous years, medically regulated professions continue to predominate in the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications in Germany. In terms of the number of recognition notifications, the profession of healthcare and nursing specialist is once again the frontrunner with a total of 32,382 recognition applications (2023: 27,144).
There has also been a significant increase in the number of applications for the profession of doctor: With 10,995 procedures (2023: 9,537), doctors again represent the second largest group among the regulated professions with the highest number of applications.
Compared to the previous year, the number of applications has continued to rise in some professions, particularly in the non-regulated professions. Particularly noteworthy are the professions of electrical installation engineer with 1,152 procedures (2023: 996) and motor vehicle mechatronics technician with 840 procedures (2023: 669). The profession of electrical installation engineer thus remains the only non-regulated profession in the top 5 professions with the highest number of applications for recognition.
The top 10 professions with the highest number of applications include further non-regulated professions, including cooks with 1,029 applications and electronics technicians for industrial engineering with 828 applications. However, with well under 1,500 applications, these occupational groups remain clearly behind the two dominant regulated medical professions.
