Is your educational qualification valid in Germany?

Is your educational qualification valid in Germany? now this is one question which is asked many time on my Instagram from many people.

Now this post is for you if you have any of the below questions –

• Are my qualifications Recognised in Germany?
• How do you know if my degree is Recognised in Germany?
• Is distance education degree valid in Germany?
• What is the equivalent of a bachelor degree in Germany?
• What does H+/- means on Anabin?

So let us start the post

If you apply for a job or seek a working visa in Germany, academic credentials will play a key role. And that is very good thing. And that’s very good. After all, it is likely that you’ve spent years purchasing professional and postgraduate certificates.

In Germany, however, it is not enough to have qualifications. You must also officially recognize your qualifications before they can be used as evidence of skills. We will explain in this article how this important process is working, so that all newcomers in Germany can jump into the job market or begin a qualification in no time.

General Information

The recognition process allows job-seekers in Germany to compare their current qualifications with the closest German degree. There is no room for ambiguity in this official process that is mandated by the German federal law. And an additional study may be necessary if your degree doesn’t measure up.

Professional recognition generally takes place via bodies that govern specific sectors such as medicine or psychotherapy. In the academic world, an organization called the Central Office for Foreign Education (better known as ZAB – Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) performs the same role. 

ZAB also issues all “statements of comparability“, which prove that your qualification is suitable. But this is only required when you are not able to find your degree as a valid degree on Anabin. I will be covering about the statements of comparability in other post in future.

Where to look whether your degree is valid or not?

In most cases, admissions personnel can check university qualifications using a tool called Anabin. Anabin, run by ZAB, is a worldwide database of qualifications. It is an essential tool for students to check whether their university qualifications meet German standards. From the standpoint of students.

How to check whether your University is recognized or not?

Checking if your university or college institution is recognised in Germany

The very first step is to check that your institution is recognised in Germany. Here there are three categories:

• H+ (your institution is recognised in Germany)
• H- (your institution is not recognised in Germany and neither are any of the qualifications awarded by your institution)
• H+/- (only certain qualifications from your institution are recognised in Germany. Follow the instructions in the section below titled What to do if your institution is classified as H+/-.

Follow the below step by step process to search your University on the Anabin Database.

1 – Click on Suchen which means search

2 – Select your country by clicking on the below mentioned place.

3 – Enter your college name in the highlighted portion mentioned below

4- Example mentioned below for the college search.

Note: If you cannot find your institution on Anabin, this does not automatically mean your institution is not recognised in Germany. It may simply be because no has previously requested for a qualification from your institution to be compared before. If you are in this situation then you have to apply for Statement of Comparability.

How to check whether you degree is accepted in Germany or not?

Follow the below step by step process to search your University on the Anabin Database.

1. To check the academic degree go to the Anabin Database & Select on „Suchen nach Abschlüssen” (search by academic degree) or „Suchen nach Abschlusstypen” (search by degree type).

2. Select the country in which you got your degree from. Click on „Länderauswahl bestätigen” (confirm country selection).

3. You can also narrow down the search result by selecting the degree as well.

by selecting „Abschlusstypen” (type of degree) or “Studienrichtungen” (field of study). You can also use
the search fields. One term or part of a term can be entered per search field. Any number of search fields can be added. Click on „Suchen starten” (start search) at the end. Alternatively, you can search for your academic degree in the extended list.

4. After finding your academic degree, check the complete search results in the detail window by clicking the purple icon with the white + sign.

Your academic degree is comparable to a German university degree if it is listed as „entspricht“ or
„gleichwertig“ (German for “equivalent” or “corresponding”) to a German university degree.

Please note that degrees that are listed as „entspricht Fachschule” (corresponds to Fachschule) are not comparable to any German university degree.

Example for Engineering Degree

Now we know how to check whether your educational qualification is valid in Germany or not?

What to do if your institution is classified as H+

The institutions of this type are significantly recognised as higher education institutions in the respective country of origin (accredited, attested, etc.) and are based on this as universities in Germany.
Research institutes are also included, especially for countries of the former socialist world, as they offer doctorates and habitations.
Since these qualifications are equivalent to those in higher education institutions, the research institutes are also included in this category.

What to do if your institution is classified as H-

Institutions of this type of institution are not to be regarded as higher education institutions for the time being or in the long term.

What to do if your institution is classified as H+/-

For these institutions, uniform status determination is not possible at the level of the institution type. So in this case you will have to check for the degree offered by this institution and see if it valid degree or not.

You will have to follow the steps mentioned above to see your educational qualification valid in Germany or not.

As mentioned before as well if you are unable to find your degree here then you will have to look and apply for the Statement of Comparability from ZAB.

This was all the information which you need to check if your degree in valid in Germany or not and I have tried to include all the things you need to use the Anabin database to see if your educational qualification is valid in Germany or not.

Do let me know if you have any question is comments or you have any questions about Germany by sending me a message using Contact Me

Few things which you can follow –
How to apply for Statement of Comparability?
12 Reasons Why Moving to Germany From India Might Not Be For You
Moving to Germany
Living in Germany