Apply for recognition as a teacher with professional qualifications from third countries

Procedure

You submit an application to the relevant office. You can send the application by mail, send it electronically or hand it in personally. The competent office informs you.

The competent body receives the application. It confirms to you after a maximum of one month that the application has arrived. When the competent body has received all the documents from you, it processes your application. The competent body then checks: Is your professional qualification equivalent to the professional qualification in your federal state? In doing so, the competent body compares the qualifications using certain criteria. Important criteria are the content and duration of the training. The competent body also takes into account your professional experience, your other qualifications and your other qualifications when carrying out the equivalence test.

If your professional qualification and the professional qualification in the chosen federal state are equivalent, you will receive recognition.

Sometimes there are substantial differences between professional qualifications. If there are substantial differences, you may be able to take a compensatory measure.

There are several compensatory measures:

• Adaptation course: you work as a teacher and maybe you do some additional training. This means you take courses at the university or college, for example.
• Qualifying examination: You do teaching samples and oral examinations. A lesson rehearsal means: you conduct lessons with students. Examiners observe and assess your teaching. The responsible office will inform you about necessary teaching rehearsals and examinations.

You can usually choose between an adaptation course or an aptitude test. Sometimes the competent office decides which compensatory measure you should take. The competent office will inform you.

In some federal states you may not be able to take a compensatory measure.
Then you can take an educational measure, e.g. additional studies and preparatory service. The responsible office will inform you about your options.

If you successfully complete the compensatory measure or educational measure, you will receive recognition.

With the recognition you can apply for the school service in your federal state. This is a different procedure. Then the other requirements for the so-called teaching qualification are checked.

If you meet all the requirements, you will receive the teaching qualification. The teaching qualification is always valid for the teaching profession applied for. This means that you can teach your subjects at a specific school. Professionally, you have the same rights as a person with the German professional qualification.

There are various ways to work as a teacher without recognition, e.g. via lateral entry, side entry or at a private school. The responsible office will inform you about the details.

Legal bases

• Bremisches Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz (BremBQFG)
• Richtlinie 2005/36/EG des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates über die Anerkennung von Berufsqualifikationen
• Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz (BQFG)
• Verordnung zur Anerkennung ausländischer Lehrkräfteberufsqualifikationen in Bremen (AV-L)

More information

Possibilities for the work as a teacher without recognition

There are different possibilities for working as a teacher without recognition. Exactly which possibilities you have also depends on which federal state you would like to work in. The responsible office will inform you.

Possibilities for working as a teacher without recognition are:

• Lateral entry
• lateral entry
• Direct entry
• Working as a substitute teacher
• Working at a private school
• Working at international schools
• Teaching in the language of origin (mother tongue)
• Working in preparatory classes and remedial classes (e.g. German as a Foreign Language - DaF or German as a Second Language - DaZ)
• Working outside a school (e.g. in adult education)

Partial professional access for professional qualifications from third countries:
Your professional qualification is not equivalent and there are many significant differences? In some states, you may be able to work in the profession with partial professional access. With partial professional access, you can also work in the profession without recognition. There are certain requirements for this. As a teacher, you are then only allowed to take on certain tasks. You apply for partial access to the profession at the competent office. The competent office will inform you.

Equivalency with the 1st state examination:
In most federal states, you can also have your professional qualification compared only with the German teaching degree (1st state examination). If your professional qualification is equivalent to the 1st state examination, then admission to e.g. preparatory service or lateral entry is possible. The responsible office will inform you.

The preparatory service is the pedagogical-practical training. This training ends with the 2nd state examination. The practical training is also called: Referendariat.

If you successfully complete the preparatory service, you can apply to become a teacher at public schools. Professionally, you have the same rights as a person with the German professional qualification.