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The report was adopted by the Federal Government on 11 December 2019 and subsequently submitted to the German Bundestag. The complete report is now also available in an English version and can be downloaded as a PDF document or ordered as a printed version.

The Federal Statistical Office published the statistics on the Recognition Act this October. The number of new applications, filed for the recognition of professional qualifications obtained abroad, in 2015 was 19,389. This represents an increase of 10 percent compared to the previous year. Since the Act came into effect in 2012, more than 63,000 applications have already been submitted. The recognition process is becoming increasingly popular. This is a positive signal, especially for economy, because it implies that, more skilled international workers with recognized professional qualifications can strengthen local companies.

Changes in public life and entry restrictions now also come into force in Germany.

The Federal Statistical Office published the statistics on the Recognition Act this October. Over 17.000 applications for recognition of foreign professional qualifications were processed in 2015 in Germany. In most of the cases, full or partial equivalence could be established. Only 2.6% of the applicants received a negative ruling.

The IQ Competence Centre for Counselling and Job Training of Migrants in cooperation with the IQ Competence Centre for Securing Skill Base supports the implementation of § 17a of the German Residence Act with a new guideline in English. This guide, which was originally published in German, aims to provide all relevant stakeholders with a practical, easy-to-understand summary of the main steps, players and requirements involved in the procedures around Section 17a of the German Residence Act.

The Federal Cabinet adopted today the report on the Recognition Act. Since the introduction of the Recognition Act four years ago, the number of applications has been growing significantly. In 2012-2014 some 44.000 applications for recognition of professional qualifications were submitted only in the field of federally regulated professions, 17.600 of which were filed in 2014. Those who submit an application for recognition of a qualification obtained abroad have good chances of receiving positive ruling.

During a two-day workshop “Migration and Skills: Successful Labour Market Integration through Professional Recognition Systems”, the organisations involved in labour market integration of migrants from six different European countries gained valuable insights into the BQ-Portal project, a European Public Sector Award (EPSA) winner of 2015.

In recognition of its brilliant public achievements, the BQ-Portal gets into the final for the European Public Sector Award. The European Public Sector Award (EPSA) was launched to identify particularly innovative and successful projects. This award is aimed to encourage administrative agencies throughout Europe to learn from the best practices of others and to modernize their structures.

In Germany thanks to the three central information portals for recognition of foreign professional qualifications, “BQ-Portal”, “Recognition in Germany” and “anabin”, there is a wide range of information on the recognition process. From now on, the new project “ProRecognition” aims to offer also in other countries comprehensive information on the possibilities of having foreign qualifications recognised in Germany.

More than 13,200 foreign professional qualifications were recognised in 2014, the Federal Statistic Office reports. This is a twelve percent increase over the previous year. Since the Recognition Act entered in force in April 2012, some 32,500 applications were granted full or limited recognition, which is good news in view of rising skills shortages.