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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.

Every year, the BIBB Recognition Monitoring Project takes a closer look at recognition figures. Applications for federal occupations saw growth of 10 percent compared to the previous year. 34,700 new applications for federal occupations were received in the recognition offices in 2021 ; 41% of these – and therefore significantly more than in previous years – were submitted from abroad, in particular from third countries.

In the beginning of July, the Federal Government passed an act revising the residence rights and thereby created new options for immigration of skilled workers wishing to have their foreign credentials recognized in Germany. A new act is aimed at facilitating immigration of professionals who received only partial recognition and want to obtain full recognition in order to find a job in Germany that matches their skills. For this purpose, the Federal Government introduced a new residence permit.

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.

An analysis of vocational training in thirteen focus countries from four country clusters. The analysis provides an initial orientation for the recruitment of skilled workers from abroad and the recognition potential of different vocational qualifications.

The Service Center for Professional Recognition (ZSBA) started work on 1 February 2020. The ZSBA complements and strengthens existing structures for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications in Germany with a range of advisory services and personal support during the recognition procedure. This is primarily intended to help skilled workers who are still abroad and are at the beginning of their job search in Germany.

The specialist unit at the Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (f-bb) evaluated the cases processed by the contact points of the “Integration through Qualification (IQ)” in the period from mid-2012 until the end of 2014. A total of 37.562 guidance services on recognition of foreign professional qualifications were provided all over Germany in this period. Those aged 25 to 44 made up 75.8 percent of people seeking counselling. Furthermore, far more women (63.2 percent) than men (36.8 percent) contacted the IQ advisory centers.