Since April 1, 2012, the Federal Recognition Act has introduced and partially simplified a procedure for assessing foreign professional qualifications.
Qualifications from non-EU countries (so-called third countries) can now also be recognized as “skilled workers within the meaning of § 18 AufenthG”.
For the first time, strict legal entitlements were created to determine the equivalence of foreign professional qualifications with German professional qualifications. A processing period of 3 months is envisaged. If the equivalence assessment is rejected, legal recourse to the administrative courts is possible.