Foreign Professional Qualification Recognition as a Teacher

For recognition, the Regional State Office for School and Education Lüneburg will check on the basis of your certificates whether and to what extent your foreign qualification corresponds to a teacher training course in Lower Saxony. In order for the professional qualification obtained abroad to be recognised, the following requirements must be met for teachers:

1. the professional qualification obtained entitles the holder to practise the profession of teacher in the country in which it was obtained, and
2. there are no significant differences between the professional qualification obtained in the country of origin and the teacher training in Lower Saxony.

In Lower Saxony, the teaching qualification for a teaching profession is obtained through a Master's degree (Master of Education) and a preparatory service (Referendariat) with a final state examination.

• For the teaching profession at primary schools, two subjects must be studied to the same extent, whereby at least one of the subjects must be German or mathematics.
• For the teaching profession at lower secondary and secondary schools as well as the teaching profession at grammar schools, two teaching subjects must also be proven to the same extent.
• For the teaching profession for special education, there must be two special education specialties and one teaching subject.
• For the teaching profession at vocational schools, a vocational subject and a teaching subject must be available.

Compared to teacher training in Lower Saxony, there are therefore often significant differences. Below are some examples of significant differences to teacher training in Lower Saxony:

• There is a lack of a second subject,
• the degree corresponds to a bachelor's level,
• the subject German was studied as a foreign language,
• a large number of subjects were studied, there was no focus (especially in the primary school sector),
• there is a lack of practical school training comparable to the Lower Saxony preparatory service after completion of the studies.

If there are significant differences, a compensatory measure (adaptation period or aptitude test) is required before the professional qualification acquired abroad can be recognised. The scope of the compensatory measure is determined by the Regional State Office for School and Education Lüneburg in a decision.

Recognition of the foreign professional qualification is also carried out by means of a decision.

The responsibility lies with the Regional State Office for School and Education Lüneburg.

In order for the professional qualification obtained abroad to be recognised, the following requirements must be met for teachers:

• the professional qualification obtained entitles the holder to practise the profession of teacher in public schools in the country in which it was obtained, and
• there are no significant differences between the professional qualification obtained in the country of origin and the teacher training in Lower Saxony.

The application for recognition of the professional qualification must be accompanied by the following documents:

1. Completed application form (not applicable for online application)
2. Handwritten tabular description of the school and professional career (curriculum vitae) in German
3. proof of identity (identity card, passport, residence permit, etc.) and, if applicable, proof of name change (e.g. marriage certificate),
4. Proof of your university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur or a comparable degree),
5. Qualifications obtained:
   1. higher education diplomas,
   2. Proof showing the course content of your completed training in order to obtain the diplomas (e.g. study book, annex to the diploma, transcript of records),
   3. other documents that must be obtained in addition to university studies in order to obtain the professional qualification as a teacher in the country of origin (e.g. CAP, QTS + Induction Period, Definitivat, Teaching Certificate),
6. Proof of your work as a teacher at state schools in Germany and/or abroad (required information: duration, scope of employment, grade levels and subjects in which you taught),
7. an official certificate of good conduct (with translation, if applicable),
8. if you do not live in Germany or another member state of the European Union or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland: proof that you intend to work as a teacher in Lower Saxony,
9. if applicable, an informal power of attorney, if another person (e.g. spouse/life partner, employees of the counselling centres) may also receive information about your application.

Translations into German are also required for documents Nos. 5 and 6. The translations must be carried out by publicly appointed or sworn interpreters or translators.

The Regional State Office for School and Education reserves the right to request officially certified copies of the above-mentioned documents.

There are no deadlines to be observed.

No later than one month after receipt of your application, the competent authority will inform you of the receipt of the documents and, if necessary, request missing documents.

After submission of the complete documents, the processing will take place within the next 3 to 4 months. In individual cases, this processing time is extended.

Appeal to the Administrative Court.

The service centres of the network "Integration through Qualification" (IQ Network) will be happy to advise and accompany you before, during and after the recognition procedure.

Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.