At the government of Upper Franconia.
You can submit the application online at the Bayernportal.
Further information can be found at the government of Upper Franconia
You can submit an application for recognition to your responsible district government.
Which government is responsible for you depends on your qualifications and the place where you want to start your job.
For more information, please visit the homepage:
https://www.regierung.oberfranken.bayern.de/
https://www.regierung.oberbayern.bayern.de/
https://www.regierung.oberpfalz.bayern.de/
https://www.regierung.unterfranken.bayern.de/
https://www.regierung.mittelfranken.bayern.de/
Requirements for a recognition procedure are:
- You want to work in Bavaria.
- You have acquired a state or state-recognized professional qualification in nursing in your country of origin.
- You can prove your professional qualification with a certificate of completion.
- You are allowed to work in your profession without any restrictions in the country where you did your nursing training.
The Bavarian State Office for Nursing compares your professional qualification with the German training/professional qualification as a nursing specialist.
You can submit your application to the Bavarian State Office for Nursing Care. You can submit the application online or by mail.
Yes. You can submit your application online.
Yes, you can submit the application by mail.
Please send your application to:
Bayerisches Landesamt für Pflege
Anerkennungsverfahren
Mildred Scheel Street 4
92224 Amberg
Yes, you can also submit your application for recognition from abroad, online or by mail.
Only the employer may submit a request for an expedited skilled worker procedure. Nursing professionals cannot make this request themselves. The employer submits the application for an expedited skilled worker procedure to the ZSEF (Central Office for the Immigration of Skilled Workers).
After the start of the accelerated skilled worker procedure, the authorized employer or the ZSEF submits the application for recognition of the foreign professional qualification to the Bayerisches Landesamt für Pflege.
Yes. Even if you have fled to Germany, you can apply for recognition of your training/professional qualification. Professional recognition does not depend on your residency status or nationality. For your professional future, the recognition of your professional qualification can be helpful or even necessary.
Yes, you can still submit an application. Please submit a statement affirming that you no longer have the documents.
You do not need to present a language certificate if you can show the following:
- German as native language or
- Completion of at least ten years of school education at a German-speaking school or
- Completion of three years of vocational training in German
If you are asked to submit proof of language proficiency, please submit proof of schooling/vocational training in German instead.
When we receive your application, we will send you a confirmation. We will then review your application. You will get an answer as soon as possible. This may take some time depending on how many applications we currently receive.
Once you have received our confirmation of receipt, you can be sure that your application will be processed by us. You do not need to ask separately.
You can notify us of changes by email or mail. Please include your transaction number with each message.
You must notify us of these changes:
- Name change
- Change of address
Please send us a message that you are withdrawing your application. Also mention your transaction number.
You can send the message by e-mail. A message by mail (letter) is not necessary.
Important for translations:
- Translators must be licensed and sworn in either in the Federal Republic of Germany, in the EU / in the EEA / in Switzerland or in a third country (not EU, not EEA, not Switzerland).
- For translators who are not state certified and sworn in a third country: You need a confirmation that the translation is complete and correct:
This confirmation must be from a translator who is state-licensed and sworn in the Federal Republic of Germany, in the EU / in the EEA / in Switzerland.
The confirmation may alternatively also be from the German embassy. A translator/interpreter from a third country who has been confirmed as trustworthy by the respective embassy is equivalent to a state-approved and generally sworn translator/interpreter.
Here you can find translators who are sworn in Germany.
We verify that you meet all the requirements for recognition. An important prerequisite is professional qualification. The Bavarian State Office for Nursing compares your professional qualification from abroad with the German professional qualification as a nursing specialist.
We check whether your professional qualification is equivalent. The professional qualification is equivalent if there are no significant differences between your foreign professional qualification and the German professional qualification.
In the recognition procedure, the Bavarian State Office for Nursing checks: Are there any important differences between the foreign professional qualification and the German professional qualification of nursing specialist? For example, in the duration of the training, the knowledge and skills imparted and the skills learned.
For individuals who do not receive full recognition, these differences are in the recognition notice. They are called: essential differences. They can compensate for the main differences and thus achieve full equivalence.
If you apply for permission to use the professional title of nurse specialist , the competent body will check in more detail whether your foreign qualification is equivalent to the German training.
You have the option to waive the in-depth equivalency exam.
Waiving the in-depth equivalency test may reduce the time required to process the procedure. There are also usually somewhat lower costs for obtaining and certifying documents, as fewer documents are required than for an in-depth equivalency assessment.
For more information, please see our fact sheet. These documents are continuously updated and adapted.
Some regulated professions are automatically recognized within the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. This includes the profession of nursing specialist. In most cases, these degrees in nursing are equivalent to the German professional qualification of Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann/Pflegefachperson. The prerequisite is either a European Professional Card, training completed after a certain deadline, or a certificate from the competent authority stating that minimum European standards have been met.
An application for automatic recognition must also be submitted to the Bavarian State Office for Nursing. However, in the case of an automatic recognition procedure, there is no equivalence check.
Please refer to our leaflet
No. You do not have to provide proof when you apply.
In order to receive the permit certificate, you must provide us with a language certificate at level B2 of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). At this time, no separate technical language exam is required. The language certificate is not part of the examination for educational equivalence. Therefore, you do not have to present the language certificate until the certificate is issued. You will be asked to submit separately. You do not need to present a language certificate if you can show the following:
- German as native language or
- Completion of at least ten years of school education at a German-speaking school or
- Completion of three years of vocational training in German
For more information, please see our fact sheet.
You will receive a message from us when you need to submit the certificate.
The language certificate must be from a language institute recognized by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE). It must be a standardized test with the areas of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written expression, and oral expression.
Which certificates are recognized?
- the Goethe Certificate B2
- the standardized “Test of German as a Foreign Language” (level TDN 3 corresponds to level B2 of the CEFR)
- the telc – language certificate B2
(Please note: as of 23.06.2022 telc language certificates from Serbian and Bosnian telc institutes can no longer be accepted!) - the ÖSD language certificate B2
- the language certificate B2 AFU GmbH / ECL examinations with examination date starting from December 2020
Yes.
In principle, no original documents need to be submitted. Most of the time, simple color copies, cell phone photos/scans in color are sufficient. Only in cases of doubt you need to present documents in the original. For translations, you must present the original / a certified copy to the interpreter.
For more information, please refer to our fact sheets.
A foreign training/professional qualification is legally equivalent to the German professional qualification of nurse. That is, there is no significant differences. If you demonstrate the criteria of personal suitability for the profession, you can obtain permission to use the professional title of nurse specialist and may then work as a nurse specialist in Germany.
A foreign training/professional qualification is often not equivalent to the German professional qualification as a nurse. The reason for this is: there are significant differences between the foreign professional qualification and the German professional qualification.
Then there are two ways to get full credit after all:
- successful participation in an adaptation course
- Successful completion of a proficiency test or knowledge test, respectively
Yes, if it is professional experience abroad at specialist level and suitable evidence is available. You can find more information in our information sheet on work experience.
Yes, you can apply for recognition as a nursing specialist. We check how large the proportions were in obstetrics and how large the proportions were in nursing. Please send us detailed documents about the content and hours of your training. If your training focused on obstetrics, we will inform you about your further options (application for recognition as a midwife / obstetrician).
An adaptation course is a compensatory measure for regulated Professions. In doing so, you will learn what you are still missing for the recognition of your foreign professional qualification.
By successfully participating, you can compensate for the essential differences to the German professional qualification as a nurse (quoted with kind permission of anerkennung-in-deutschland)
There are three different adaptation courses. The scope of the courses is based on the identified need for compensation:
- Adaptation course I: 240 teaching units of 45 minutes each or
- Adaptation course II: 440 teaching units of 45 minutes each or
- Adaptation course III: 640 teaching units of 45 minutes each
A final interview is the conclusion of an adaptation course. The acquired, deepened and extended competencies are tested. The interview lasts a maximum of 60 minutes.
Three people participate in the final interview:
- one subject examiner from a nursing school
- one subject examiner with a practice guiding qualification
- one other subject examiner from a nursing school
If you do not pass the final interview, the subject examiners will decide how long the adaptation course will be extended. It can be extended a maximum of once and repeated a maximum of once.
You must submit the following proof of a successful adaptation course:
- Third country: Annex 9 Nursing Professions Act (PflBG) Certificate of attendance at the adaptation course
- EU/EEA: Annex 11 Nursing Professions Act (PflBG) Certificate of attendance at adaptation course
The registration can be done by
- she self
- an authorized person or
- Your employer
take place.
More information on recognition procedures can be found here and elsewhere:
https://www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de/html/de/index.php
https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/de/
https://www.stmas.bayern.de/berufsbildung/anerkennung-ausland/index.php
Information on foreign educational qualifications can be found here, among other places:
Yes. If the repeat attempt is also unsuccessful, you can submit a new application to the LfP. Important: Previously completed content of your compensation measure will not be taken into account in the new recognition procedure, which means that we will process your new application in the same way as an application submitted for the first time. You must complete the compensation measure in full again: the duration of the adaptation period / knowledge test cannot be shortened.
Note: You must apply for funding BEFORE submitting an application for recognition to the Bavarian State Office of Nursing.
The following options are available for funding:
- Person abroad (third country): There is no possibility for funding. The costs must be paid by yourself or by the employer or the agency.
- Person abroad in the EU: Various costs may be covered (e.g. recognition fee, translations, relocation). Please contact EURES for more information. ZAV can advise you on this.
- Person in the country: There is the possibility that the Federal Employment Agency pays the costs. It pays if you are registered as unemployed or looking for work.
- If no funding from the Federal Employment Agency is possible and other requirements are met: There are two federal funding options:
- Recognition grant (costs for the recognition procedure up to max. 600 €)
- Qualification grant (costs for the adaptation measures)
