Upon application, recognized ethnic German immigrants (Section 4 of the Federal Expellees Act - BVFG) and their spouses and descendants (Section 7 of the BVFG) may be granted permission to hold a German university degree, provided that the university degree on which the foreign degree is based and which was acquired in the expulsion area is materially equivalent to a degree acquired at a German university (Section 10 (2) of the BVFG).