Header Navigation

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 share of applicants granted full equivalence in Germany varies widely among the individual professions and among the professional groups. The proportion of applicants who received full equivalence is especially high in the sales sector. On the other hand, the success rate in the law and administration sector is extremely low due to significant differences in the law and administration systems among the countries.

Recognition as a recruitment strategy: The Horst Busch Elektro-Technik GmbH in Hamburg specifically recruits skilled workers who have obtained their professional qualifications abroad. This Hamburg-based electrical company does not only facilitate the professional recognition of employees who hold foreign qualifications – it also covers the associated costs of the recognition process. They are feeling confident: given the shortage of qualified personnel in this field, this investment will pay off in no time.

As in 2020, the most frequent applications come from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is fol-lowed by the Philippines, Serbia, and Syria. The positive recognition rate in 2021 for Latvia with 94 percent is the highest. It is closely followed by the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, and Hungary, which also have positive recognition rates of over at 90 percent.

As in 2021, the highest number of applications came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by the Philippines, Serbia, and Syria. The Netherlands has the highest positive recognition rate in 2022 with at 94 percent, closely followed by Latvia, as well as Hungary, Switzerland, Lithuania, Austria and the Czech Republic, which also have positive recognition rates of over 90 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.

The rate of full equivalencies varies by profession. For the regulated professions, the rate of full recognition ranges from 25 to 65 percent, with the exception of veterinarian which has a success rate of 80 percent. Furthermore, the highest rate of full equivalence was issued for the non-regulated occupation of cook, at 83 percent. This is immediately followed by the occupations of electrical systems technician, technician for metal technology and hairdresser with over 60 percent.

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.

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.

The majority of applications for recognition are filed by foreign doctors wishing to have their license to practice medicine recognized. The range of countries of origin is enormous. Romania ranks first with 561 applications processed. Syria, a non-European country, ranked second, followed by Austria. Some 400 applications processed were filed by those trained in Egypt.