FAQ Health Professions

How can I work in a healthcare profession in Baden-Württemberg?

Have you completed your training abroad and would like to work in a healthcare profession in Germany? Then you must submit an application to us for a professional certificate.

You can find the relevant application documents and information here.

When submitting the application, a distinction is made as to whether you completed your training in the EU, an EEA state or Switzerland or in another country (third country).

As soon as you have submitted the complete application to us, we will check whether the legal requirements have been met. The equivalence of your foreign training with the current German training in this profession is required. Among other things, the following will also be checked

• a fully completed apprenticeship
• health suitability
• absence of criminal record
• sufficient German language skills

If you have completed a university or college degree and would like to work in an academic healthcare profession, you will find further information and documents here.

Who is responsible for recognition?

The professional certificate is issued by the Stuttgart Regional Council if you wish to work in a healthcare profession in Baden-Württemberg.

The Stuttgart Regional Council must be responsible at all times during the entire procedure. If, for example, you change your place of work during the procedure and this place is in another federal state, the procedure cannot be continued with us.

You must provide evidence of this responsibility in the form of a confirmation of employment or other plausible information.

Only if we receive this proof from you are we the authority responsible for you and can check the content of your documents.  

Note if you change federal state: If you have previously applied for a professional certificate in another federal state or are/were resident in another federal state, you must prove by means of a specific job offer that you will practice your profession in Baden-Württemberg after receiving the professional certificate. You must submit a single copy of the complete application documents. We will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to request the procedural file of the previously responsible federal state.

How does the recognition procedure work?

• Determining the equivalence of the training
  
  As soon as you have submitted the complete application to us, we will check whether the legal requirements have been met. The equivalence of your foreign training with the current German training in this profession is required for this.
  
  Some training completed abroad (EU/EEA/Switzerland) can be directly recognized as equivalent. The decisive factors here are the proven job title and the date on which the training began. In this case, you do not need an aptitude or knowledge test or an adaptation period. You will then receive the professional certificate in the relevant healthcare profession after submitting proof of health suitability, exemption from criminal prosecution and sufficient German language skills.
  
  For all other foreign training courses, proof of equivalence with German training must be provided. To do this, you can either successfully take a knowledge test or complete an adaptation period.
   

• Identification of significant differences in training
  
  If there are significant differences between the training courses, you will receive a so-called deficiency notice.
  
  You can then choose to what extent you would like to take an aptitude or knowledge test or alternatively take part in an adaptation period.
  
  If you have successfully completed the course or examination, you will receive the professional certificate in the relevant healthcare profession after submitting proof of health suitability, exemption from criminal prosecution and sufficient German language skills.
   
•  Can I obtain recognition as a nursing assistant?
  
  Once you have received the deficiency notice in the recognition procedure as a nurse or nursing specialist or healthcare and pediatric nurse, you can apply for the certificate as a healthcare and nursing assistant.
  
  You will receive this certificate without further examination of the equivalence of your training. However, you must have sufficient German language skills at level B2 (see Language skills).
  
  If you have completed training in nursing assistance abroad, you can apply for recognition as a healthcare and nursing assistant. The equivalence of your training may be checked in this case.

How long does the processing take?

You will receive confirmation of receipt within one month. As soon as you have submitted all the documents in full, a decision can be made on the application. Applications are generally processed in the order in which they are received.

We ask for your understanding that longer processing times must be expected due to the large number of applications. To ensure that applications are processed as quickly as possible, please make sure that your application documents are complete.

What does the recognition cost?

The costs of recognition are individual. Below you will find a rough overview.

The costs for the decision on the equivalence of your training (deficiency notice) usually amount to 100 euros. An additional 200 euros (EU) or 250 euros (EEA, Switzerland, third country) will be charged for issuing the professional certificate.

Separate costs may be incurred for the preparation of an expert opinion to determine the reference qualification, the equivalence of the training and the authenticity of documents.

I would like to withdraw my application, what do I have to do?

To withdraw your application, please send us an informal letter by post stating that you wish to withdraw your application for recognition. The letter must contain the current date and your signature. You will then receive a confirmation letter with a fee assessment. Withdrawing the application usually costs 50 euros.

The documents you have already submitted will remain with us. As soon as another authority (another federal state) requests the documents and the costs have been paid by you, we will send the documents to the other authority.

I am moving, what do I have to do?

Please always state your current address (postal address/email address). If you change your address, please report the new address directly to your responsible administrative department so that we can continue to contact you. Please make sure to always put your name on your front door and letterbox so that our notices can be delivered.

Where can I get advice?

Due to the large number of applications, we are unfortunately unable to offer advice. However, the following advice centers will be happy to help you:

Are you abroad and do not yet have a job offer or are not resident in Baden-Württemberg?

Then please contact the Central Service Center for Professional Recognition (ZSBA).

recognition@arbeitsagentur.de.

Do you have questions about entering and working in Baden-Württemberg?

Please contact the IQ Network Baden-Württemberg.

Which documents must be submitted?

The following documents must be submitted:

Application documents and checklist

In what form must the documents be submitted?

Please send us your application by post only.

The following documents must be submitted in the original:

• Application
• Curriculum vitae
• Credible evidence (confirmation of employment, employment contract, expression of interest, proof of counselling) Language certificate German B2 (you will receive this back with the certificate)
• Certificates of good conduct from your home country/country of training and Germany Document type OB (for submission to an authority)
• Medical certificate

All other documents can be submitted as copies. Official notarisations are not required.

All documents in foreign languages must be submitted with a qualified translation.

IMPORTANT:
All documents and records submitted remain with us after the procedure has been completed and will not be returned.

Do the documents need to be translated?

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.

Can the documents also be translated abroad?

In principle, a translation from abroad may be sufficient if

•  the German embassy confirms the accuracy and completeness of the translation or
• the German embassy has a list of translators recognised abroad and the translation was carried out by a translator on this list.

If the latter is not the case, please contact us.

Which document can I submit as proof of identity?

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

I cannot present a current identity document, what can I do?

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’).

What do I have to consider when submitting a certificate of good conduct?

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.

I cannot provide a certificate of good conduct from my home country. What can I do?

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.

Where can I get my German certificate of good conduct?

You must apply for the official certificate of good conduct (document type OB) at your local registration office (city administration/town hall).

Please always provide the following information to the relevant registration office:

Do I have to submit a Certificate of Good Standing?

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 (pdf, 240 KB - in German) 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.

How should my CV be submitted?

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:

The CV must always be signed and dated with the current date.

Will I receive my submitted documents back later?

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.

What can I do if I am unable to submit the documents for the completion of training in the healthcare profession?

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.