Rate of foreign qualification recognition slows in Germany

German authorities approved approximately 86,600 foreign qualifications in 2025, marking a 10 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). However, the pace of growth has slowed in recent years. In 2023, the number of approved qualifications surged by 21 percent and in 2024 by 25 percent.

In 2025, medical qualifications emerged as the most frequently recognized, followed by elderly care and engineering. Together, these three categories accounted for 58 percent of all foreign qualifications recognized. Turkish qualifications led the list, accounting for 11 percent of all submitted qualifications. Notably, the number of qualifications initially obtained in Syria rose by 42 percent from 2024 to 2025, while the number of qualifications recognized from Bosnia and Herzegovina decreased significantly.