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Taking up employment within the framework of a recognition partnership

26.11.2025 - Artikel

To whom does this leaflet apply

Employees with a state-recognized foreign (but not yet equivalent or comparable) university or professional qualification who wish to pursue qualified employment in a non-regulated profession in Germany.

The professional qualification acquired abroad (university or professional qualification) should be recognized in Germany during the period of employment.

Additional information is available on the website www.make-it-in-germany.com

https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa-residence/types/work-qualified-professionals

https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/pdf-visa-skilled-workers

What kind of documents need to be submitted

These documents depend on the type of visa you are applying for and must be submitted in addition to the standard proofs:

signed employment contract

(and a non-certified copy)

The contract/offer must contain information on the nature of the intended activity:

  • duration of the job (at least 6 months)
  • place of work
  • salary and
  • working hours.

OR

concrete job offer (and a non-certified copy)

Agreement to enter into the recognition partnership

(and a non-certified copy)

  • As a separate signed agreement or integrated into the employment contract
  • The applicant and the employer are obliged to apply for recognition of the qualification after entry into Germany and to actively pursue the procedure and enable the compensation of the deficits identified within a maximum of three years.

Form „Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis“ from Federal Employment Agency

-For a qualified employment or, if the qualified employment requires a professional permit, for a non-qualified employment.

-Please have this form filled in by a responsible person at your future workplace and then submit it.

Additional form A from Federal Employment Agency Please have this form filled in by a responsible person at your future workplace and then submit it.

Complete curriculum vitae in tabular form in German or English In your CV, please summarize all previous activities, trainings and qualifications up to the current application date in one table.

University diploma

OR

Proof of completed professional training

AND

notarized translation (Diploma in the English language do not require translation.)

(original document with a non-certified copy)


For university degrees:

Determination of the (conditional) comparability of the foreign university degree (printout from the anabin database for your university degree with „conditionally comparable“ and your university with „H+“ or „H+/-“)

OR

Certificate from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) confirming the state recognition of the degree (certificate evaluation), information at: https://zab.kmk.org/de/zeugnisbewertung

For vocational qualifications:

Deficiency notice / partial recognition notice from the authority responsible for the verification. Information at: https://zab.kmk.org/de/dab

Certified A2 language certificate

(original document with one non-certified copy)

To find out which certificates are currently recognized, please visit https://www.alte.org/Our-Full-Members.

Minimum salary of 55.770 Euros gross per year or proof of adequate retirement provision (original document with a non-certified copy)

AND notarized translation (English-language proofs do not need to be translated)

Proof of additional retirement provision can be, for example, claims in a statutory pension scheme in your country of origin or other countries, private pension or life insurance policies or real estate or other assets.

General information

  • Please note:
  • Due to the high workload and in order to ensure equal treatment of all applicants, the visa section can only accept applications in the requested form for processing.
  • Submitting incomplete documents may lead to the rejection of the application.
  • Unsolicited documents cannot be assigned to your application.
  • All documents, leaflets and application forms provided by the Embassy are free of charge.
  • All information on the application procedure is available on our website.
  • Please refrain from submitting status requests. Status requests do not speed up the visa process.
  • Processing time: Approximately between two and four weeks, in individual cases shorter or longer.
  • If the Embassy has questions during the course of the visa procedure or if additional documents need to be submitted, we will contact you directly.
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