Qualifications Assessment Office

The Hannover Chamber of Commerce and Industry is your competent authority for the assessment and recognition of foreign vocational qualifications in the industrial, trade and service sectors for the CCI areas of Hannover and Brunswick. It carries out equivalence assessment examinations pursuant to the Vocational Qualifications Assessment Law (BQFG) and issues formal confirmations thereof.

In their countries of origin, numerous people have acquired formal professional qualifications which are now in high demand in Germany. Unfortunately, businesses can barely assess such foreign certificates and degrees. This leads to the problem that many foreign residents struggle finding a job or are forced to work far below their actual level of education. The relief has dawned ever since the Vocational Qualifications Assessment Law (BQFG) was released in April 2012. Everyone who has acquired his professional qualification abroad can now have his/her certificates checked, and assess to what extent the certificates and degrees equal a formal German certification.  Businesses can therefore receive better, more precise statements on foreign certifications of their prospective employees. Immigrants, for their part, have a chance to either improve their chances in the job search by receiving an assessment and ranking of their foreign qualification, or to strategically pursue future qualifications.

Qualifications Assessment Application Process

To apply for the recognition of your foreign vocational qualifications, one must file a written and signed application with the Recognition Office. Please fill in the form carefully, sign it and send it along with the necessary documents to the Hannover CCI. You will find recommendations on how to fill in the form and which documents may be deemed necessary on the Information on Qualifications Assessment.

Application Form and the Necessary Documents leaflet

• Qualifications Assessment Application Form / BQFG
• Information on the Qualifications Assessment Application Form and the Necessary Documents Leaflet

In case you are not sure, for example, which German reference qualification may apply in your case, or which documents are deemed necessary, the Hannover CCI Recognition Consultation office will be happy to help you. During a personal appointment, our motivated consultants will explain the application process and tell you which documents are needed and which German profession would rather apply in terms of your qualifications. Consultation appointment can also be held in Russian, English, French, Arabic, Farsi and Kurdish.

The Qualifications Assessment Process

The Hannover CCI will confirm receipt of your application or claim further documents within a month’s time. Should all necessary documents have been submitted, the qualifications assessment process will usually be completed within a three months’ time.

When assessing the equivalence, the Hannover CCI will first check for any particular essential differences between a foreign vocational qualification and the selected German qualification in terms of the duration and the content thereof. Should such essential differences exist, one must examine whether any relevant working experience or any further evidence of formal qualification might compensate for the existing differences.

A full recognition is certified when there is no evidence of the essential differences between a foreign qualification and a German reference qualification. Should there be not only a number of comparable qualifications but also evidence of the essential differences, a partial recognition is certified. In such cases the recognition note lists both the existing skills and the essential differences offset against the German reference qualification. With such assessment at hand, the applicants can qualify themselves in order to file a follow-up assessment application and possibly receive a full equivalence certification.

Download:

• Qualifications Assessment Application Form (BQFG)
• Information on the Qualifications Assessment Application Form and the Necessary Documents (Leaflet)
• Follow-Up Assessment Application Form (after an accomplished BQFG assessment process)
• Information leaflet by Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (in German, Arabic, English, Spanish, French, Croatian, Polish, Turkish and Greek)
• Recognition Act
• Comments on the Professional Qualifications Assessment Act (BQFG) by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
• Information leaflet on the Professional Qualifications Assessment Act by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research