Academic qualifications

If you have a foreign academic degree and wish to work in a regulated profession (e.g. as a doctor or lawyer) in Germany, the recognition of your foreign academic degree is obligatory. In our sections “Who needs recognition?” and “Recognition procedure”, you will find detailed information on this matter.

For non-regulated professions, such as computer specialist or mathematician, you do not need the recognition to work in Germany. However, if you are entering the country from a non-EU country and wish to apply for the EU Blue Card or the work visa for qualified professionals, you must provide proof of your foreign academic degree being comparable to a German one. To provide this evidence, you have the following options:

Positive results in the anabin database

With the information from the anabin database, you can prove that your foreign academic degree is comparable to a German degree. It is made up of two important entries:

• University: your university should be indicated evaluated as “H+” in anabin. This means that the university is recognised in Germany.
  if the university is evaluated as “H+/-”, the academic degree must additionally be indicated with the university.
• Academic degree: in addition, the degree itself must be evaluated as entspricht or gleichwertig (“corresponds” or “equivalent”) in the database.

If both results you are looking for are positive, your foreign academic degree is deemed as comparable to a German degree. You can use the printouts as a proof of equivalence for your visa application.

Is your university or your academic degree not listed or evaluated as equivalent/corresponding in the anabin database? Then you can have your degree evaluated individually. The Statement of Comparability for Foreign University degrees is an official document describing your foreign academic qualifications, and it states the German education qualification your foreign degree is comparable to. You can submit a request for the Statement of Comparability for Foreign University degrees to the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB). The entire process, from submitting the application to issuing the Statement, is conducted digitally.

For example, a Statement of Comparability is required if your university is evaluated as “H+” in the anabin database, however, your specific degree is not listed.

Detailed information on the evaluation procedure, the required documents, the costs and the persons authorized to apply for a Statement of Comparability can be found on the ZAB website.