FAQ Health Professions | Recognition of foreign educational qualificationsDocuments

A list of the required documents can be found here:

Applications

You need a qualified German translation for all foreign-language documents.

A qualified translation is generally a translation prepared by a publicly appointed or sworn interpreter or translator in Germany.

Nationwide interpreter and translator database (DÜD)

Note: Documents in English must also be submitted with a qualified translation.

In principle, a translation from abroad may be sufficient if it is a publicly appointed or sworn translator in the respective country.

The translator's contact details must be clearly recognisable on the relevant documents.

Only a passport or identity card is recognised as proof of identity.
A birth certificate is not sufficient.

If you do not have a current passport or ID card (recognised refugees), you can present a German passport substitute (residence permit with the note ‘Ausweisersatz’).

You generally need current certificates of good conduct from the countries in which you have spent a longer period of time (more than one year). The certificates of good conduct must not be older than 3 months on the day the certificate of appointment is issued.

In exceptional cases (e.g. for refugees), we will accept a sworn declaration (via a notary) that you have not been guilty of any behaviour that makes you unworthy or unreliable to practise the healthcare profession.

Refugees from Syria:
You can apply for your certificate of good conduct via the Syrian embassy in Berlin and, if necessary, through a representative. This also applies to military conscientious objectors.

You have to apply for the official certificate of good conduct (document type OB) at the registration office responsible for your German place of residence (=city administration/town hall) or  online at the Federal Office Of Justice (BfJ).

Please be sure to state the intended purpose and the recipient authority with our address and the name of your responsible clerk.

Please always provide the competent registration authority with the details below:

Only those who have already practised the healthcare profession in another country must submit a Certificate of Good Standing (not older than 3 months after the end of the professional activity).

Here you will find a list of the foreign authorities | DE (pdf) responsible for issuing the Certificate of Good Standing.

No guarantee is given that the list is up to date or correct. In case of doubt, please enquire with your country of origin.

The CV must be submitted as follows:

• clearly laid out
• chronological
• without gaps
• in German
• with date and signature

Please always state:

• WHEN you were in WHICH COUNTRY
• HOW LONG you were in the respective country
• WHAT you did there

Example CV:

All documents and records submitted remain with us after the procedure has been completed and will not be returned. Only the original German B2 language certificate submitted will be returned to you with the certificate.

In order to be able to make a decision, the recognition authority will check whether your vocational training has been completed and whether a German reference occupation exists.

If you are unable to submit the required documents or if it cannot be clearly determined from the documents that your training in the country of training matches the profession applied for and has been fully completed, we must commission the determination of a reference qualification via the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) in Bonn. However, we can only judge whether this determination is necessary when all documents have been submitted in full.

If the ZAB determines that the training does not correspond to a healthcare profession in Germany or has not been completed, we must reject your application.

If a reference occupation or the completion of the training is determined, the recognition process will be initiated.