Regular training/education:

Regular training is considered to be either training without interruption (at least 4 years of training) or a university degree.

Re-education:

After completing school in another field, at least 2 more years of re-education (without internship) are required to become a health care worker or nurse.
Any training that was interrupted and then completed and lasted at least 2 years (without internship) is also considered re-education.

*Both types of training require a state examination.

Candidates with a regular school diploma can choose between a job in a hospital or a nursing home, while retrainees are almost exclusively only accepted by nursing homes and very rarely considered for hospitals.

For a visa you need at least a German B1 language certificate.

For recognition, a B2 language certificate is required.

In some federal states the B2 language certificate is required even before the preparation for the knowledge exam begins and sometimes even before the deficit notice (Defizitbescheid) is issued.

Currently recognized language certificates are: Goethe, ÖSD, ECL (telc: only if it was taken in Germany).

Also, be aware of the fact that you will generally understand German easier in the north of Germany than in the south (dialects).

To put it simply, you can think of an Anpassungslehrgang (adaptation course) as a longer internship in different departments of a hospital (or other institutions).

A Kenntnisprüfung (knowledge exam) is, as the name suggests, a test, that consists of an oral/theoretical and a practical exam. Before the exam, you will be prepared for everything in a preparatory course.

For more detailed information, please see: https://www.jobsandspirit.com/en/recognition-procedure/ 

You should make sure that the employer pays for B2 language courses in Germany, preparatory courses for the knowledge exam or the adaptation course.

Rents and cost of living: Note that, for example, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart have very high rents and costs of living, and smaller cities sometimes have considerably lower rents and costs of living, which can vary from state to state. The difference between a cheap or expensive area can sometimes be twice as expensive.

https://www.deutschlandatlas.bund.de/DE/Karten/Wie-wir-wohnen/040-Mieten.html

A family reunification is possible before recognition if, roughly speaking, there is an average of about €1400 net left for a couple without children, with about €500 in rent (as of 2021 – figures change every year).

Make sure the employer can provide you with a temporary accommodation.

Please take into consideration that the recognition procedure cannot start immediately after your arrival in Germany, as mostly administrative arrangements still have to be made, which can take up to one month. But you also have to make sure that you start your recognition procedure promptly after arrival, because according to section 16d of the Residence Act, your recognition must be completed within 24 months (18 + 6) after your arrival.

Experienced employers know this and pay attention to it. If nothing happens after 3 months, you should ask your employer.

You must have been vaccinated against Covid at least 3 times with the vaccines recognized in Germany or vaccinated 2 times and recovered 1 time. (In the year 2024 this doesn’t really apply anymore.)

Recognized vaccines: Biontech-Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Astra Zeneca and Moderna.

You must also have been vaccinated against measles.