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Have a foreign professional qualification as a teacher from the EU/EEA/Switzerland recognized

Service Description

Working as a teacher is regulated. This means that you must provide proof of a specific qualification if you want to work as a teacher in Thuringia without any restrictions. You can apply for recognition of your professional qualification as proof of a foreign qualification.

In the recognition procedure, the competent authority compares your professional qualification acquired in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland with the professional qualification in the selected federal state. Your professional qualification must be equivalent for recognition.

You can also apply for the procedure from abroad.

In addition to the equivalence of the professional qualification, you must meet further requirements in order to work as a teacher. You usually only have to prove these requirements when you are employed as a teacher. This is a different procedure.

For this, the equivalence of your degree with a Thuringian teaching qualification must be established.

In Thuringia, teacher training is based on the type of school and includes

  • as a first phase, a university degree with the completion of the first state examination for a teaching profession or a university degree recognized as equivalent and
  • as a second phase, practical pedagogical training in the preparatory service leading to the Second State Examination for a Teaching Qualification.

Upon completion of the second state examination, you acquire the professional qualification for the respective teaching profession and can be employed as a teacher in the state school service.

Teacher training in Thuringia takes place

  • for the teaching profession at elementary school in three subjects, including the compulsory subjects German (as a mother tongue), mathematics and a third primary school subject;
  • for the teaching profession at regular schools in two subjects;
  • for the teaching profession at grammar schools in two subjects or in one of the double subjects of art education or music;
  • for the teaching profession at vocational schools in one vocational subject and a second subject;
  • for the teaching qualification for special needs education in two special educational subjects and in two general education subjects. One of the general education subjects must be be German (as a mother tongue) or mathematics.

If your professional qualification as a teacher acquired abroad only relates to some of the subjects provided for in Thuringia, there is also the possibility of partial recognition.

In individual cases, it is also possible to be employed as a teacher at independent schools or state schools within the framework of temporary contracts (e.g. substitute teacher) without recognition of your teaching qualification. In these cases, you should apply directly to the school where you would like to work or to the relevant state education authority.

Process flow

  • Complete the application form in full and sign it.
  • Enclose all required documents in the original or as a certified copy
  • You have foreign documents translated into German by a publicly appointed translator.
  • You submit all of this to the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.
  • The Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport will check your application and, if necessary, consult with you if any documents are missing or clarification is required.
  • You will receive a notice of recognition stating the result of the application procedure.
  • In the case of full equivalence, this concludes the procedure. If significant differences to the Thuringian reference training have been determined, the compensatory measures (adaptation course or aptitude assessment test) are listed and it is explained how you must proceed. If recognition is not possible, you can also find this in the notification.
  • There are various compensation measures:
    • Adaptation course: You work as a teacher and may be doing additional training. This means, for example, that you take part in courses at a university.
    • Aptitude test: You take teaching tests and oral examinations. A teaching sample means that you conduct lessons with pupils. Examiners observe and assess your lessons. The responsible office will inform you about the necessary teaching samples and examinations.
  • You can usually choose between an adaptation period or an aptitude test. Sometimes
  • which compensatory measure you should complete and will inform you accordingly.
  • If you successfully complete the compensatory measure, you will receive recognition.
  • In order to work as a teacher, you will subsequently need to establish the German language skills required to work as a teacher. To do this, you must currently provide proof of German language skills at level C1. You can find more information below.

Who should I contact?

Please contact the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.

Requirements

  • Professional qualification as a teacher acquired abroad
  • Possibly proof of professional practice
  • Possibly certificate of authorization to practice the profession
  • Possibly notification from another country
  • Documents showing that the applicant intends to work as a teacher in Thuringia no significant differences with the Thuringian reference training identified

Which documents are required?

You will need the following documents:

  • the completed and signed application form
  • Proof of identity / proof of place of residence and nationality (e.g. ID card, passport, confirmation of registration, birth certificate)
  • Certificate of change of name (if applicable)
  • Diploma or training certificate showing the qualification for the teaching profession acquired abroad, including
    • the certificate of the academic degree
    • the certificate attachments for the subjects / study modules
    • proof of the duration of training
    • examination and study regulations and overviews of examination and study achievements

If several training courses relevant to the professional qualification as a teacher have been completed, the training certificates for all degrees must be submitted.

  • Proof of relevant professional experience as a teacher (certificates of the duration and type of professional activity as a teacher to date, stating the school/subjects taught and the grade levels/age groups of the pupils)
  • If applicable, other certificates of qualification relevant to the teaching profession
  • Certificate of authorization to practice the profession as a teacher in the country of training (stating which subjects may be taught in which grades/age groups in the country of training)
  • If applicable, notification issued by another country of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Documents showing that you intend to work as a teacher in Thuringia, e.g. proof of application for an entry visa, proof of contact with school authorities or schools (these documents are not required for applicants residing in a member state of the European Union, another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or for nationals of these states).

All documents must be submitted in the original or as a certified copy and generally in German. If the documents are written in another language, you will also need a translation by a publicly appointed translator. You can find these at the Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators - Thuringia.

What are the fees?

at least EUR 75.00 up to a maximum of EUR 600.00

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

There are no deadlines for the application.

Processing duration

You will be notified of a decision on the determination of the equivalence of your training certificate within three months of submitting the complete documents. The deadline may be extended once if this is justified due to the particularities of the matter. The deadline will be extended by a maximum of one month if you have obtained your training certificate in an EU member state or a signatory state to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in a country treated as such by agreement.

Legal basis

Applications / forms

Appeal to the administrative court within one month. Further information can be found in the information on legal remedies in the decision.

Appeal

Forms available: Yes

Written form required: Yes

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance necessary: No

Online services available: No

What else should I know?

Supporting institutions

  • The recognition and qualification advice centers of the "Integration through Qualification" network (IQ network) will be happy to advise and support you before, during and after the recognition procedure.
  • Telephone advice on recognition in German and English can be found on the "Working and living in Germany" hotline

Tel.: 030 1815-1111

Availability: Monday to Friday from 09:00 - 18:00

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport

Professionally released on

17.10.2022

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6Plus)

Start your request directly online:

Competent Authority

Thüringer Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport

Address
Werner-Seelenbinder-Straße 7
99096 Erfurt

Postal address
Post office box 90 04 63
99107 Erfurt
Telephone
+49 361 57341-1100
Fax
+49 361 573411690
E-Mail
Contact us
WWW
Website of the authority
Parking spaces
Parking Place
Gästeparkplatz des Regierungsviertels
Number: 5
Fees: no

Parking Place
P+R Parkplatz Thüringenhalle
Number: 500
Fees: no

Building access
Description

Thuringia's highest state authority: Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

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Forms

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Application for recognition of professional qualifications for teaching positions acquired abroad - (Thuringia)