In this post you will learn what you need to apply for a “Defizitbescheid” (assessment notice/recognition notice) in Germany, specifically in this case in Hesse.

If you are from a country from outside of the EU and you want to work in Germany as a nurse, recognition of your qualifications will be necessary.

One of the steps in this procedure is to obtain this so called “Defizitbescheid” (assessment notice), which will tell you, how your foreign professional qualifications compare to German ones and if there are differences, what to do in order to get to the desired level so you can be fully recognized in Germany.

List of necessary documents for the Defizitbescheid in Hesse

(in German)

Below you can download the official German documents containing a list of all the necessary documents for a Defizitbescheid in Hesse.

The documents/forms date from the year 2020.

List of documents for the Defizitbescheid in Hesse

(explained in English)

1. Antrag – application for recognition
2. Vertrag – contract from your future employer
3. Meldebestätigung – registration certificate/proof of residence  – only necessary if you already live in Germany
4. Geburtsurkunde/Heiratsurkunde – birth or marriage certificate as proof of name (official certification required*)
5. Ausweisdokument – regular copy of your passport
6. Tabellarischer CV – tabular CV
7. Diplom – diploma
8. Nicht benötigt – not necessary
9. Nicht benötigt – not necessary
10. Zeugnisse der Klassen I bis IV – school certificates (classes 1-4) – only for the Balkans
11. Fach-/Staatsprüfung / Staatsexamen – certificate of the state examination
12. Nachweis über die Ableistung des Anfängerpraktikums/Vorbereitungsdienstes – internship certificate
13. Fächerliste – transcript of records / subject list
14. Nachweis über Berufstätigkeiten als Krankenschwester/Krankenpfleger – proof/verification of work experience (if you have it)
15. Sprachzertifikat – language certificate (a B1 Goethe, ÖSD or telc certificate is sufficient for the visa application, but you’ll need a B2 level in order to fully get recognized)

*Official certification

“Official certification is an attestation from an authority or a notary. An authority or notary uses this is to certify that a document is genuine. Official certification also certifies that a copy or a signature is genuine.” – https://www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de/html/en/service/6651.php#

Important

The following applies, if you have a high school diploma and similar rules apply to you as in the Balkans.

All documents under 4, 7, 10, 11, 12,13 and 14 have to be officially certified by a  notary, in your municipality or at the embassy  and afterwards translated by a translator, who has to be publicly appointed/authorized.

 If you have a master’s or bachelor’s degree:

Your university diploma and diploma supplement should be enough to replace the documents 10-11-12-13. Although, if you have some sort of certificate of the state examination you can add it as well (no. 11).

In short needed documents are: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, your diploma supplement and 14 and 15, if you have them.

Wichtige Hinweise

“Die Unterlagen sind grundsätzlich als beglaubigte Kopien (keine Farbkopien) vorzulegen, es sei denn, es ist bei den einzelnen Unterlagen vermerkt, dass unbeglaubigte Kopien ausreichend sind.

Beglaubigen kann ein Notar oder die Stadt- bzw. Gemeindeverwaltung in Deutschland.

Die deutschen Übersetzungen sind von einem öffentlich bestellten und beeidigtem Übersetzer anzufertigen bzw. zu beglaubigen. Die Übersetzungen müssen vom Original oder beglaubigten Kopien angefertigt werden und dies ist vom Übersetzer zu bescheinigen.

Übersetzungen, die von unbeglaubigten Fotokopien angefertigt wurden, können nicht akzeptiert werden.“

*Every federated state in Germany has its own rules concerning the official certification of documents. In Hesse it is possible to certify documents by a notary, at the embassy or in your municipality, while the federated state of  Rhineland-Palatinante only accepts certifications by a notary or the embassy.

Our advice for the process of the preparation of your documents:

As soon as you have collected all the necessary documents in your native language, we would advise you to make a copy of them first and then have them officially certified. 

Now you can take all the original documents, together with the certified copies, to a publicly authorized translator.

The translator then has to translate all the documents, including the confirmations of certification (which are usually one page long stating that the copies you made are equivalent to the originals).

Without those you will probably not be able to receive your “Defizitbescheid”.

Tabular CV and application for recognition forms

*The documents date from the year 2020 (newest we have at the moment).

How to fill out the “Antrag” (application for recognition form)

First, you have to check the box that applies to your profession (in most cases it is going to be the first one).

Gesundheits- und Krankenpflegerin/Gesundheits- und Krankenpfleger = registered practical nurse

Gesundheits- und Kinderkrankenpflegerin/Gesundheits- und Kinderkrankenpfleger = registered pediatric nurse

Altenpflegerin/Altenpfleger = geriatric nurse

Altenpflegehelferin/Altenpflegehelfer = elderly care assistant

Krankenpflegehelferin/Krankenpflegehelfer= auxiliary nurse

In the box below you’ll write the country where you finished your education.

Now you have to enter your personal data.

If you already live in Germany you can check the box “Ja” next to “Aktuell wohnhaft in Deutschland“, next to “Zeitpunkt, seit dem Sie in Deutschland wohnen” let them know when you started living in Germany.

Next, you can insert your address in Germany – “Wohnanschrift in Deutschland” – , if you don’t live in Germany yet you can leave all the boxes above empty, you’ll check “Nein” and you enter your current address abroad next to “Wohnanschrift im Ausland“.

Presumably due to the data protection act you now have to confirm that you agree to be contacted via e-mail and that your data gets shared this way. Therefore, we recommend that you check every box with “Ja” and provide your e-mail address and your number below.

 If you are applying on your own without the help of anyone else you have to check “Nein“.

If you are planning to apply for your visa via the fast-track procedure for skilled workers – § 81a of the Residence Act (beschleunigtes Fachkräfteverfahren – § 81a Aufenthaltsgesetz) both boxes should be check “Ja” and the name of the authorized person. Usually it is a person on the part of the employer who is in charge of the fast-track procedure.

In the category “Arbeitsstelle” check “Ja” and enter the required employer information.

The field “Begründen Sie Ihre Antragstellung in Hessen (falls kein Arbeitgeber in Hessen)” remains blank if you have an employer.

If you are applying for a Defizitbescheid (assessment notice) for the first time you’ll check “Nein” at the end of the document. If you already applied for a Defizitbescheid before  you’ll have to fill in the necessary data.

At the very bottom you’ll just fill in the date and sign and that’s it.

If you are sending in all the documents yourself, you can use the following address:

Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt
Dezernat II 24.2 Pflege, Pflegefachberufe
64278 Darmstadt

If you are using the fast-track procedure for skilled workers, you’ll have to send all the documents to the address of the   “Ausländerbehörde” (foreigners authority) which cooperates with your employer. Usually it’s the “Zentrale Ausländerbehörde” (central foreigners authority) of the “Bundesland” (federated state) your employer is situated in, but if the federated state has no central foreigners authority it is the local one.

We hope that our first post in English was useful to you and if you want to know more about similar topics, follow our blog or any of our other social media sites.

Your  Jobs & Spirit team