Foreign professional qualification Recognition as a teacher

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 Lower Saxony teacher training course. 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 as a 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 secondary and secondary schools as well as the teaching profession at grammar schools, two subjects must also be proven to the same extent.
• For the teaching profession for special education, two special education specialties and one teaching subject must be available.
• For the teaching profession at vocational schools, a vocational subject and a teaching subject must be available.

Compared to a 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, no focus was set (especially in primary school),
• there is a lack of practical school training comparable to the preparatory service in Lower Saxony after graduation.

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.

The foreign professional qualification is also recognised by means of a decision.

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 requirements must be met for teachers:

• the professional qualification obtained entitles the holder to practise as a 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. an informal application, which also mentions the magisterium to which the assessment is to relate,
2. a tabular presentation of your educational and professional career written 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. Educational qualifications acquired:
   1. higher education diplomas,
   2. Proof of the course content of your completed training for obtaining the diplomas (e.g. study book, annex to the diploma, transcript of records),
   3. other evidence 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 were taught),
7. an official certificate of good conduct (with translation if necessary),
8. the declaration form,
9. if you do not reside in Germany or another member state of the European Union or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland: proof that you want to practice the profession as a teacher in Lower Saxony,
10. If applicable, an informal power of attorney, if another person (e.g. spouse/partner, employees of the counselling centres) may also receive information about your application.

The documents Nos. 3 to 6 must be submitted in the form of an officially certified copy of the respective original. Translations of the documents in Nos. 5 and 6 into German are also required. The translations are to be carried out by publicly appointed or sworn interpreters or translators. The publicly appointed/sworn interpreters/translators in Germany can be found here.

An "official certification" confirms that the copy corresponds to the original. Municipal authorities (e.g. a town hall) and notaries can issue certified copies.

If a certificate evaluation from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) is already available, it should be submitted as a simple copy.

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.

Once the complete documents have been submitted, the processing will take place within the next 3 to 4 months. In individual cases, this processing time may be extended.

Appeal to the Administrative Court.

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

Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.