Procedure descriptions

Having foreign job qualifications recognised for IHK professions

You have a foreign qualification in a Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) profession and are looking for work in Baden-Württemberg? Or you would like to become self-employed? If so, you can have your job qualification recognised by IHK FOSA (IHK Foreign Skills Approval) in Nürnberg. They will tell you which German job qualification your foreign qualification is equivalent to.

Tip: There are initial points of contact in Baden-Württemberg where you can request advice concerning the recognition of your foreign job qualification. You will find more information about equivalency and the addresses of initial contacts in the IQ-Netzwerk portal for Baden-Württemberg.

You will find a list of Chamber of Commerce and Industry professions on the IHK FOSA website.

Forms/Online Services

Responsible authority

IHK FOSA

IHK FOSA (Foreign Skills Approval)

Details

Prerequisite

  • You have a foreign qualification for a Chamber of Commerce and Industry profession.
  • You would like to work in Baden-Württemberg.

Procedure

Have the initial point of contact or your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry advise you on the procedure. You must then apply to the competent authority to have your foreign job qualification recognised.

They will send you a confirmation of receipt together with an invoice of fees. Once they have received your payment, the competent authority will check whether there are any significant differences between your job qualification and the German equivalent.

If the jobs are comparable, you will receive a certificate of equivalency. If there are significant discrepancies but the qualifications are comparable, you will receive a certificate of partial equivalency.

Note: If your job qualification is not equivalent to the required German qualification, the competent authority will check whether you can make up the difference, for example by work experience or further training.

Required documents

  • passport or personal ID card
  • personal data sheet listing your training and work experience
  • evidence of your training (certified copies)
    • references
    • final qualifications
  • The competent authority may request additional documents, e.g.
    • evidence of relevant work experience
    • other evidence of your ability

Note: Except for English-language documents, you must have all foreign-language documents translated into German. The translations must be prepared by official sworn translators in Germany or abroad.

Costs

EUR 100.00 - 600.00 depending on the individual case

Processing time

The competent authority must conclude the procedure to establish the equivalency of your qualifications within three months. This deadline begins on the date they receive all the necessary documents.

Miscellaneous

You will find detailed information about this topic in the portal www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de provided by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung.

Legal basis

Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz (BQFG)

Release note

The German original version of this text was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant departments. The  Industrie- und Handelskammer Region Stuttgart released it on 25.03.2015. Only the German text is legally binding. The Federal State does not assume any liability for the translated texts.
In cases of doubt or if you have any questions or problems, please contact the relevant authorities directly.