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

Service Description

Working as a teacher is regulated. This means: You have to prove a specific qualification if you want to work as a teacher in Thuringia without any restrictions. To prove a foreign qualification, you can apply for recognition of your professional qualification.

In the recognition procedure, the competent body compares your professional qualification acquired in a foreign EU/EEA country or Switzerland with the professional qualification in the chosen federal state. For recognition, your professional qualification must be equivalent.

You can also apply for the procedure from abroad.

You must meet other requirements for working as a teacher in addition to the equivalence of the professional qualification. Most of the time, you will have to prove these prerequisites when you are hired into the teaching profession. 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 school type-related and includes

  • a first phase of university studies leading to the First State Examination for a teaching profession or a university degree recognized as equivalent, and
  • the second phase is practical pedagogical training in the preparatory service leading to the Second State Examination for a teaching post.

With the completion of the Second State Examination, one acquires the professional qualification for the respective teaching profession and can be employed as a teacher in the state school service.

Teacher training in Thuringia is as follows

  • 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 art education or music;
  • for the teaching profession at vocational schools in one vocational subject and a second subject;
  • for the teaching profession for special education in two special education subjects and in two general education subjects. One of the general education subjects must German (as a native language) or mathematics.

If your professional qualification as a teacher acquired abroad only relates to individual training subjects provided 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

  • You fill out the application form completely and sign it.
  • You 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 this to the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
  • The Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports will review your application and, if necessary, consult with you if documents are missing or if clarification is needed.
  • You will receive a notice of recognition stating the result of the application process.
  • In case of complete equivalence, the procedure is finished. If significant differences to the Thuringian reference training have been identified, the compensatory measures (adaptation course or aptitude test) are listed and it is explained how you must proceed. If no recognition is possible, you can also find this out from the notice.
  • There are different compensatory measures:
    • Adaptation course: you work as a teacher and may be doing additional training. This means that you take part in courses at a university, for example.
    • Aptitude test: You do teaching rehearsals and oral exams. 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 and informs you about it.
  • If you successfully complete the compensatory measure, you will receive recognition.
  • In order to work as a teacher, it is still necessary to establish the German language skills required to practice as a teacher. At present, this requires proof of German language skills at level C1. Information can be found below.

Who should I contact?

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

Requirements

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

Which documents are required?

You will need the following documents:

  • the fully completed and signed application form
  • Proof of identity / proof of place of residence and citizenship (e.g. ID, passport, registration confirmation, birth certificate)
  • Certificate of change of name (if applicable)
  • Diploma or proof of education showing qualification for the teaching profession obtained abroad, including
    • the certificate of the academic degree
    • the certificate annexes to the subjects / modules of study
    • the proof of the duration of education
    • 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 on the duration and type of professional activity as a teacher carried out to date, with details of the school/subjects taught and the grades/age groups of the pupils)
  • if applicable, other certificates of qualification relevant to the profession of teacher
  • certificate of authorization to practice as a teacher in the country of training (indicating which subjects may be taught in which grades/age levels in the country of training)
  • if applicable, a certificate issued by another state 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, as a rule, 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?

minimum 75,00 EUR to maximum 600,00 EUR

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 submission of the complete documentation. The deadline may be reasonably extended once if this is justified by the specifics of the matter. The extension of the deadline is a maximum of one month if you acquired your proof of education in a member state of the EU or a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in a state equated by agreement.

Legal basis

Applications / forms

Action before the administrative court within one month. For further information, please refer to the instructions on appealing the decision.

Appeal

Forms available: Yes

Written form required: Yes

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance required: No

Online services available: No

What else should I know?

Supporting institutions

  • The recognition and qualification counseling offices of the "Integration through Qualification" network (IQ Network) will be happy to advise and accompany you before, during and after the recognition process.
  • Telephone advice on recognition in German and English can be found on the hotline "Working and Living in Germany".

Tel.: 030 1815-1111

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

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

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)