Regulated Professions in Germany

Reglementierte Berufe

If you come from a non-EU country and would like to work in Germany, you may be wondering if your professional qualification is sufficient to do that. From this article, you'll learn about the so-called regulated professions in Germany and the required professional recognition. Or, to be exact, reglementierte Berufe und berufliche Anerkennung.

Our company, Nexus-Europe GmbH, assists foreigners with starting and developing their own business in Germany and moving to Germany through business. Over 20 years of operation we have helped more than 7000 customers.

Now, without further ado, let's talk about foreign professional qualifications and what you need to do to use them in Germany.

What are regulated professions (reglementierte Berufe)?

Regulated professions in Germany (reglementierte Berufe) are professions in which the activities are legally protected. It means that apart from a specific professional qualification, there are additional requirements to be met to be authorized to practice such professions. That is the case for certain degrees, or if special exams (for example, state examination) need to be passed, or if you need to be registered with a certain professional association to be able to practice the profession. This usually applies to professions in the health, safety and social services sectors.

Examples of regulated professions in Germany (reglementierte Berufe)

There are over 300 regulated professions in Germany that are divided into 5 general categories. The full list of professions can be found on the website of the Federal Employment Agency, and in this article we're going to give you some examples.

1. Qualified jobs (Ausbildungsberufe). Those are jobs acquired through the dual education system, for example: nurse, preschool teacher, speech therapist, medical technical assistant, physical therapist and others.
2. Higher education professions (Hochschulberufe). Those are professions acquired through finishing a university degree, for example: doctor, pharmacist, architect, engineer, teacher etc.
3. Continuing training occupations (Weiterbildungsberufe). Those are occupations acquired though further training after the first stage of training is finished, for example: specialist teacher, specialist nurse, remedial teacher etc.
4. Civil service careers (Beamtenlaufbahnen) that include officials in various branches, such as external service, judicial service, fire service etc.
5. Higher education disciplines (Studienfächer), such as architecture, teaching, speech therapy, medical physics, law, veterinary medicine and others.

Professional recognition (berufliche Anerkennung)

If your professional qualification was obtained in a non-EU country and you'd like to work in Germany, then you need to go through the procedure of professional recognition (berufliche Anerkennung). A foreign professional qualification is recognized in Germany if it is equivalent to a German professional qualification. In case of regulated professions in Germany (reglementierte Berufe) and in certain sectors, there may also be specific criteria to be met for the qualification to be recognized. The recognition procedure is implemented by the competent authority depending on your qualification. After you get your recognition, you receive the same professional rights as persons with a German professional qualification.

In one of our previous articles, we explained how you can check your university degree through the Anabin database or get a Statement of Comparability if needed. Such a check can be used in case of unregulated professions that don't require a special recognition.

Our company, Nexus-Europe GmbH, assists foreigners with establishing their own successful business in Germany, connecting them with the German and European business world. We can also assist you with obtaining the German residence permit because of business.