Foreign professional qualification Recognition as an educator

For recognition, the Regional State Office for Schools and Education Lüneburg checks on the basis of your certificates whether and to what extent your foreign qualification corresponds to a German qualification for the profession of educator. This review is based on defined formal criteria, such as content, professional orientation and duration of the training. Your relevant professional experience will be taken into account as well as other relevant qualifications. The decision on the application is made by means of a written decision.

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.

For more information, visit the anerkennung-in-deutschland.de portal

This internet portal provides quick and easy answers to questions about recognition, for example:

• Do I have to have my professional qualification recognised?

• Is the recognition worth it for me?

• May I submit the application? Do I have a formal right to it?

• Who should I contact?

• What does the procedure look like?

• What documents are required? What form do the documents have to have?

• How long does the procedure take?

• How much does the procedure cost?

• Which laws are relevant to my case?

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

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

• the professional qualification obtained entitles the holder to pursue professional activities comparable to those of an educator 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 corresponding vocational training in Lower Saxony.

1. Completed application form
2. Hand-signed tabular presentation with information about the educational and professional career
3. Officially certified copy of the certificate of school-leaving certificate in German
4. Officially certified copies of the training certificates in the original language and as a German translation:
   1. Final documents (e.g. diploma), if applicable, including attachment in the original language and as a German translation
   2. Proof of training content (subject table, explanations and curricular requirements, if applicable, etc.) in the original language and as a German translation
   3. Certificate from the competent authority stating that you are directly entitled to practise the profession in the country of training in the original language and as a German translation.
5. Officially certified copies of proof of relevant professional experience in Germany or abroad in the form of job references/workbooks in the original language and as a German translation. The evidence should be able to provide information on the activities and the scope of activities.
6. Proof of identity (identity card, passport or residence permit)

In the case of postal applications, the evidence according to No. 3 - 5 must always be submitted as an officially certified copy of the respective original. In the case of digital applications, we reserve the right to request additional certified copies. An "official certification" confirms that the copy corresponds to the original. Municipalities, joint municipalities, cities and districts as well as notaries can issue certified copies.
For the documents in non-German language, additional translations in German are required. The translations must be prepared or at least confirmed by a publicly appointed/sworn translator in Germany. You can find the publicly appointed/sworn translators in Germany here https://www.justiz-dolmetscher.de/Recherche/ .

English-language certificates do not need to be translated.

If you have any questions, please contact the Regional State Office for Schools and Education Lüneburg.

There are no deadlines to be observed by the applicants.

The processing time is generally up to 3 months, provided that the application documents are complete. In individual cases, an extension may be necessary.

The deadline for submitting the application begins with the confirmation of the competent authority that the required documents are complete.

In the event of a refusal of the requested recognition, administrative recourse is open.

The refusal is accompanied by a specific instruction on legal remedies, from which the deadline for filing a complaint and the competent administrative court can be seen.

Recognition procedures for the reference qualification as a "state-approved childhood educator" can be applied for at the responsible universities:

• Emden-Leer University of Applied Sciences
• HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen

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 Culture

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.