Germany/ More professional diplomas of foreigners recognized

2025-09-07 14:09:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Nurses, doctors, engineers – qualified workers are increasingly sought after in Germany to meet the needs of the country’s labor market. But bureaucratic obstacles have so far been difficult for migrants, becoming an obstacle to continuing their careers in Germany. Good news in this context comes from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. More and more professional diplomas from other countries are being recognized in Germany.

The quota increased significantly last year. In 2024, around 79,100 applications were positively assessed - this is an increase of 21 percent compared to 2023, the Wiesbaden statisticians point out: "Since the start of the joint registration at state and federal level of the regular procedure for the recognition of professional qualifications in 2016, the number has increased continuously and has tripled."

Qualified employees urgently needed

This is a good development for the economy and the welfare state. According to economists, Germany needs foreign workers, as almost a third of its employees will retire in the next 15 years. "The number of employees from the younger generation will not be able to fill the gap that will be created by the retirement of the generation born in the 1960s," the statisticians emphasize.

"This will put pressure on social security systems in the long term, because many people will have to be paid by fewer employed people who pay contributions and taxes," Stefan Kooths of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy told Reuters. "This exacerbates distributional conflicts." Without radical reforms, employees' social security contributions will increase, making the country unattractive for investment and qualified workers.

Turkey ranks first

Turkey is the country with the highest number of 9,200 professional diplomas recognized in Germany: Compared to 2023, the increase was around 2,600 more. Ukraine follows with 6,400, twice as many as in 2023. Employees with qualifications from countries such as Tunisia, India and Syria were also accepted with over 4,000 to 5,000 diploma recognitions. Professional diplomas from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Philippines were also positively evaluated.

The most sought-after professions are caretakers in the health sector and nurses. About 19 percent more diplomas were recognized for this group of professions than a year ago.

In second place is the profession of doctor with 11,000 diploma recognitions, and in third place is engineering with 4,400 positively evaluated procedures. Next are the professions of teacher, physiotherapist and educator./ DW