Amendments at a glance:

The EU Professional Qualifications Directive was amended in 2013 in order to encourage and simplify the mobility in Europe. Following new provisions, Germany simplified the application procedure under the Recognition Act thereby contributing to dealing with the labor shortage in Germany. Here you can find revised Recognition Act [in German].

Online application

According to the new amendment not only the application itself, but also all relevant documents, including diploma and other certificates, can be submitted online, as long as they were obtained in the European Union or in the European Economic Area. In all Member States a single contact point was established, which serves as a coordinator and mediator between the applicants and the competent authorities. Thus, the applicants are not required any more to find a competent authority responsible for their specific cases. Everything can be organised by this contact point. However, those wishing to have their credentials recognised still can send their application by mail directly to the competent authority.

Advisory centre

As of January 18, 2016, the information and service point for the recognition of foreign credentials of the Federal Government became a national advisory centre. The new national advisory centre is operated by the portal Recognition in Germany. The contact point for the recognition of professional qualifications established by the Federal Ministry for Energy and Economic Affairs was also integrated into the new national advisory centre. The new national advisory centre provides European citizens as well as