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In 2023, as in previous years, the regulated medical professions dominated in the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications in Germany. For the regulated professions, the rate of positive recognition ranged between 25 and 66 percent. The highest rate of decisions on full equivalence for the non-regulated professions was issued for kitchen specialists, at 89 percent.

More than 70 percent of the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications obtained in EU member states end with a full equivalence. The positive recognition rate for the Netherlands is the highest as it reaches 94 percent. It is followed by Austria, Latvia, Hungary, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.

More than 65 percent of the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications obtained in EU member states end with a full equivalence. The positive recognition rate for Austria and the Czech Republic is the highest as it reaches 93 percent. It is followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia.

The rate of full equivalencies varies by profession. The success rate of positive recognition for the regulated professions is between 35 and 70 percent, except for the profession of general care and pediatric nurse, which has a low success rate of 24 percent. Furthermore, the proportion of decisions of full equivalence for the non-regulated occupation of cook is the highest at 86 percent. This is immediately followed by the occupations of elec-trician, industrial electrician, and metal technology specialist with over 70 percent.

If you as a company would like to support an international candidate or employee in having their foreign qualification recognized, you may use or point them to existing offers of information and advice.

In 2022, as in previous years, the medical regulated professions will predominate in the recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications in Germany. For the regulated professions, the rate of positive recognition ranges between 35 and 65 percent, except of the profession of the profession of geriatric nurse, which has a low success rate of 19 percent. The highest rate of decisions of full equivalence for the non-regulated professions was issued for cook, at 81 percent. This is immediately followed by the professions of restaurant specialist, industrial electricians, specialist for metal technology, and electrical systems technician with over 60 percent.

Most applications in 2023 come from Turkey, followed by the Philippines and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Austria has the highest positive recognition rate in 2023 with 96 percent, followed by Latvia with 94 percent, as well as the Netherlands, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which also have positive recognition rates of over 90 percent.