Germany: Recognition of Professional Qualifications Received Abroad Increased by 5% in 2021
According to the German website for statistics, a total of 46,900 professional qualifications from foreign countries were recognised in Germany by 2021 by fully or partially meeting criteria set by the authorities, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
Destatis also reports that the recognition rates were up by five per cent in 2020, which stood at 44,800 – 2,100 fewer than in 2021. However, the growth rates recorded from 2016 to 2019 haven’t been reached yet.
The number of recently lodged applications for the recognition of professional qualifications obtained outside Germany also increased by five per cent year on year in 2021 to 43,900 – up from 42,000 recorded in 2020, indicating these rates dropped in 2020 compared with 2019.
According to data from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, the highest recognition stands between 35 and 75 per cent for regulated professions, while those with veterinarian and nursing qualifications have a success rate of 90 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively. Other occupations to follow are electrical systems technicians, specialists in metal technology and industrial electricians, with over 70 per cent success rate.
“As in previous years, in 2020, healthcare regulated professions played a major role in recognition procedures for foreign professional qualifications in Germany. The majority of processed applications concerned general care nurses and doctors. The processed applications for the nursing profession (15,864) fell slightly compared to the previous year (15,925), while only a slight increase was recorded for the doctor profession,” a report published by the BQ portal, under the wing of the German Finance Ministry, reads.
As per the countries, the highest recognition rates are those from Austria and the Czech Republic, as the share of qualifications recognised by German authorities from these countries is 93 per cent, followed by the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia.
In addition, more than 60 per cent of the applicants with qualification documents issued in Tunisia, Mexico, Serbia and Kosovo received a ruling with a compensatory measure, which was open at the end of the reporting year. Albania, Brazil, the Philippines and Libya, as countries of origin for the applicants, follow behind.
As per vocational qualifications, those from Spain, Kazakhstan and Morocco have proven successful in above 20 per cent of the cases.
The country of origin to record the highest number of applications for qualification recognition is Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 3,426 applications recorded in 2020, followed by Serbia (3,291), Philippines (2,979), Syria (2,514), and Albania (1,830).
