Law to improve the identification and recognition of professional qualifications acquired abroad

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Basic data
Title: Law to improve the identification and recognition of professional qualifications acquired abroad
Short title: Recognition Act (not official)
Professional Recognition Act (not official)
Type: Federal law
Scope: Federal Republic of Germany
Legal matter:
Issued on: 6 December 2011 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 2515 )
Entry into force on: April 1, 2012, for derogation see Article 62
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The law to improve the determination and recognition of professional qualifications acquired abroad is an amending law , the core of which is the Professional Qualification Determination Act and amending the existing specialist laws. It grants natural persons a legal right to have their qualifications acquired abroad examined and to prompt notification of the results of the examination. This claim is largely independent of the nationality and the residence title. Applications can be submitted from within Germany or abroad.

content

Article 1 of the Recognition Act is the Professional Qualification Assessment Act (BQFG). Articles 2 to 61 regulate changes in professional laws, Article 62 the entry into force of the Recognition Act.

Professional Qualification Assessment Act

Basic data
Title: Law on Determining the Equivalence of Professional Qualifications
Short title: Professional Qualification Assessment Act
Abbreviation: BQFG
Type: Federal law
Scope: Federal Republic of Germany
Legal matter:
References : 806-23
Issued on: 6 December 2011 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 2515 )
Entry into force on: mainly from April 1, 2012
Last change by: Art. 114 G of November 20, 2019
( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1626, 1689 )
Effective date of the
last change: 		November 26, 2019
(Art. 155 G of November 20, 2019)
GESTA : B030
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Professional Qualifications Assessment Act (BQFG) set out in Article 1 of the Recognition Act lays down a legal right for natural persons to have their qualifications obtained abroad checked. At the same time, it grants the right to prompt notification of whether the qualifications concerned are recognized in Germany. In the case of regulated professions, the notification (the so-called notification) must also state which measures can be used to compensate for the essential differences compared to the required domestic evidence of training.

Professional regulations take precedence in accordance with Section 2 (1) BQFG and in some cases Section 11 (3) BQFG. They are to be used in equivalence procedures in these professions ( subsidiarity ).

In § 17 BQFG the collection of annual statistics is specified. Section 18 BGFG provides for an evaluation four years after it came into force, which is to be reported to the Bundestag and the Bundesrat .

Change of existing specialist laws

Articles 2 to 61 of the Recognition Act stipulate changes in professional laws. Above all, these specialist laws will be adapted to the new Professional Qualification Assessment Act and the existing regulations, some of which only applied to EU qualifications, will be extended to third-country qualifications.

Eligible

The application for an examination can be submitted by any natural person , regardless of citizenship and residence status , who can prove that they have a foreign professional qualification and that they intend to work in Germany. In addition, citizens of the EU / EEA / Switzerland as well as people who are resident there can also submit an application for examination without stating their intention to work.

jobs

The Recognition Act applies to:

  • Non-regulated professions (Part 2, Chapter 1 BQFG with Sections 4–8 and Chapter 3 BQFG with Sections 14–16), for which a determination of equivalence can offer advantages on the labor market but is not necessary for practicing a profession, e.g. for dual training professions that are regulated by the Vocational Training Act (BBiG) or the Crafts Code (HwO);
  • Nationwide regulated professions (recognition regulations in professional professional laws e.g. BÄO, BAKrPflG, or - if there are no professional regulations Part 2, Chapter 2 BQFG with §§ 9-13 and Chapter 3 BQFG with §§ 14-16), e.g. doctor, Pharmacist, psychotherapist, nurse, lawyer.

Regulated professions are professional activities, the taking up or pursuit of which is bound by legal or administrative regulations to the possession of certain professional qualifications. The determination of equivalency is therefore a mandatory requirement for practicing the profession.

In contrast to other regulations, the Recognition Act does not apply to:

  • Professions regulated by state law and regulated there, such as teacher, educator, social worker, engineer, architect. For these professions there are partially recognition laws of the federal states, which regulate the recognition of professional qualifications, if necessary, and the degrees can be assessed by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB), whose assessments have been available in the anabin database since 2000 . State laws have also been passed for some non-regulated professions.
  • the recognition of university degrees that do not lead to a regulated profession, such as mathematician, chemist, economist or journalist, and the academic recognition of study and examination achievements, university admissions or school qualifications obtained abroad ( for Europe see: Bologna Process , European Credit Transfer System , Lisbon Convention ).

The Professional Qualification Assessment Act is expressly not applicable to the appointment as a notary ( Section 5 BNotO ).

criticism

Among other things, it is criticized that the law does not go far enough and does not develop the effect that it was originally awarded. The number of 44,094 applications in the three years after the law came into force falls far short of the federal government's original forecast that up to 300,000 people will benefit from the federal law. The jungle of responsibilities, also known as the jungle of recognition, has largely been retained in line with the federal organization of professional law. This means that there are still several hundred competent bodies nationwide that process the applications for recognition.

It is also criticized that the recognition does not apply nationwide in every case. The law assigns responsibility for teachers, engineers, educators and all degrees that cannot be assigned to a specific legally regulated profession to the federal state, not the federal government. This means that someone who moves to another federal state after their training has been recognized in a first federal state has to go through a new recognition process. However, this results from the lack of legislative competence of the federal government for these professions.

It is also criticized that the public discourse about the terminology of "recognition" stirs up false expectations among potential applicants and thus sends misleading signals into the world. It is not about a legal right to recognition, but to a procedure that checks equivalence with a German reference occupation. It is thus a selective act that inevitably produces not only those who are recognized but also those who are not recognized (law of misunderstanding). The official statistics show very low rejection rates of only 4%. According to a recent study, however, most applicants for recognition do not make it to a formally complete application, e.g. B. because they no longer have any documents due to their flight or because their occupation cannot be assigned to a German reference occupation. As a result, they do not appear in the official statistics and cannot file an objection or complaint. Sociologists call this a "legitimation of misunderstanding in the name of recognition" and recommend speaking better of an "assessment procedure law". According to the study, the value of qualifications acquired around the world cannot be objectively compared, so that power relations between the countries of training play an essential role in the assessment. It is also a popular misconception that recognition of qualifications is only relevant for the labor market. Since the characteristic "qualification" structures our everyday social interactions , the recognition in all social sub-areas (including small talk) is significant for the question of integration and the appreciation that is shown to those with foreign qualifications in Germany.

background

The Recognition Act is aimed at improving the labor market -related integration of immigrants and reducing the skills shortage .

Under European law, the recognition of professional qualifications that EU citizens have acquired in other EU member states is prescribed by Directive 2005/36 / EC on the recognition of professional qualifications , according to which significant differences between the training courses in the member states can be compensated for - by "Additional training, an adaptation course in practice under supervision, an aptitude test, a prescribed minimum of professional experience or a combination of such requirements". The law for the implementation of the EU Professional Recognition Directive in Germany of December 2, 2007 already served to convert this directive into German law . The Recognition Act goes in part beyond this directive: the scope is not limited to nationals of the member states of the European Union , but applies also for other countries (so-called third countries ); In addition, the Recognition Act does not require that the professional qualification has been achieved in the European Union.

In the coalition agreement for the 18th electoral term of the Bundestag from November 2013, the following was agreed with regard to the Recognition Act:

“We will adapt the law to improve the determination and recognition of professional qualifications acquired abroad (“ Recognition Act ”) where necessary. We want to provide financial support to migrants who still have to complete qualification measures so that their qualifications are recognized as equivalent. We will strengthen the advisory structures at home and abroad and improve support. "

By far the largest number of recognition procedures under the BQFG in 2016 and in previous years concerned nurses, doctors and physiotherapists. Around half of the recognition procedures in 2016 related to qualifications obtained within the EU. When it comes to recognition, it is important for nursing professions whether the training was completed in an EU / EEA country or in a third country, and whether this country was also an EU member during the training period.

See also

further reading

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b FAQ. In: Website "Recognition in Germany". Federal Ministry of Education and Research, accessed on April 26, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b Federal Recognition Act. In: Website "Recognition in Germany". Federal Ministry of Education and Research, accessed on 26 April 2014 .
  3. ↑ State regulations. In: Website "Recognition in Germany". Federal Ministry of Education and Research, accessed on April 26, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Recognition laws of the federal and state governments. Conference of Ministers of Education , accessed on August 20, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Daria Braun, Federal Agency for Civic Education: More uniform, more transparent, more effective? The process of assessing qualifications acquired abroad is changing . 2012 ( bpb.de [accessed on January 10, 2015]).
  6. ^ Antje Scheidler, Federal Agency for Civic Education: Germany: One Year Recognition Act . 2013 ( bpb.de [accessed on January 10, 2015]).
  7. ^ Statistics on the federal law. Federal Ministry of Education and Research / Federal Institute for Vocational Training, 2015, accessed on January 10, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Markus Flohr, Maximilian Popp: Recognition of foreign qualifications Migration Council castigates "jungle of responsibility". Spiegel online, April 12, 2013, accessed October 17, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Heinrich Böll Foundation: Is the Recognition Act a Misrecognition Act? 2014, accessed January 10, 2015 .
  10. ^ Ilka Sommer: The violence of the collective know-it-all. Fight for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications in Germany . Bielefeld 2015 ( transcript-verlag.de [accessed on January 10, 2015]).
  11. ↑ Educational counseling in focus: Popular errors in the debate about the recognition of foreign qualifications: A reflection on the German system. 2015, accessed January 10, 2015 .
  12. ^ Ilka Sommer: The violence of the collective know-it-all. Fight for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications in Germany . Bielefeld 2015 ( transcript-verlag.de [accessed on January 10, 2015]).
  13. ^ Germany: One year recognition law. Federal Agency for Civic Education , April 30, 2013, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  14. ↑ Full recognition for around 12,700 foreign professional qualifications in 2015. In: Press release. destatis, Federal Statistical Office, October 6, 2016, accessed on October 3, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Ilka Somm: Is the Recognition Act a Misrecognition Act? Heinrich Böll Foundation, July 2014, accessed on October 3, 2017 . Pp. 13-14.