Most people researching Anabin qualification recognition assume they need to pay for an official assessment of their degree. Many do not. If your university and your specific degree are both listed in the free database with an H+ rating, that is usually the end of the matter.
Finding that out takes about ten minutes and saves EUR 208 and two to three months. So start there, before you start anything else.
Check anabin first
anabin is a free public database of foreign qualifications and the institutions that award them. It exists precisely so that employers, universities and immigration authorities can look up an answer rather than commission one.
There are two lookups and you need both to come back positive:
- Your institution. Universities carry a rating: H+ means recognised, H+/- means assessed case by case, and H- means not recognised.
- Your specific degree from that institution, listed separately.
If the institution is H+ and the degree is listed, you can usually proceed without any further assessment. The official guidance on assessing higher education qualifications sets out how the process works.
If the institution is H+/- or H-, or your degree is not listed, that is when the paid route becomes relevant. It is not a rejection: it means nobody has published a general answer for your case and someone has to look at it individually.
The ZAB Statement of Comparability
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| What it is | An official assessment by the Central Office for Foreign Education of whether your qualification is comparable to a German one |
| What it says | It describes your qualification and states what it can be used for, professionally and academically |
| Cost | EUR 208 |
| How long | Around two to three months, and reports range from several weeks to a few months |
| When you need it | When anabin does not already answer the question, or when an employer, university or authority asks for it specifically |
Two things follow from the timeline. First, start it before you need it. Two to three months is longer than most visa decisions, so a Statement begun after a job offer arrives becomes the thing everyone waits for. Second, it is worth having even when anabin covers you, if you expect to deal with several employers or a professional body: a single document that states what your degree is worth ends a lot of arguments.
Where this matters most: the EU Blue Card
The German EU Blue Card requires a recognised or comparable higher education qualification, which is exactly the question anabin and the ZAB answer. So this is not paperwork alongside your application. For most people it is the application’s hardest condition.
There is one significant exception, and it is worth knowing before you spend anything. Under Section 18g of the Residence Act, an IT specialist can hold an EU Blue Card with no academic qualification at all, on the basis of three years of relevant professional experience within the last seven, at graduate level, at a salary of at least EUR 45,934.20. If that describes you, the recognition question may not apply to you at all. See software developer jobs abroad and converting your degree for a Blue Card.
Academic recognition is not a professional licence
This is the distinction that costs people the most, and it is worth stating flatly. anabin and the ZAB deal with academic comparability. They do not give you permission to practise a regulated profession.
- Doctors need Approbation, which involves professional German at C1, a medical language examination, and a knowledge examination if equivalence is not certified. Realistically 18 months to three years.
- Nurses need recognition from the relevant state authority, with its own language and adaptation requirements.
- Engineers, teachers and most trades each have their own recognition body, and for trades the chambers and the Meister system decide whether you are hired as a skilled worker or as a helper.
If your occupation is regulated, run both processes in parallel and assume the professional one is the long pole. More on the medical route in countries that need doctors, and on trades in Germany’s bottleneck professions.
What to do, in order
- Look up your institution in anabin. Note whether it is H+, H+/- or H-.
- Look up your specific degree from that institution.
- If both are positive, stop. Keep a screenshot with the date, and proceed with your visa application.
- If either is not, apply for the ZAB Statement and budget EUR 208 and two to three months. Do it now, not after an offer.
- If your profession is regulated, start that separately today. It is slower than everything else here and it does not wait for the visa.
Related: the German Opportunity Card, the German skilled worker salary floor and free German language courses. Browse German shortage jobs with visa sponsorship on our board.
Last checked September 2026. anabin entries are updated continuously and the ZAB fee and timescales are set by the office itself, so check both before budgeting. Professional recognition is handled by regulators at state level and varies between states.
