For five years now, the recognition grant has been providing financial support to skilled workers with a foreign professional qualification or degree. The application period has now been extended to the end of 2022.
In some cases, high costs are involved in the recognition of a degree or professional qualification completed abroad. This presents a financial challenge for immigrant skilled workers. To overcome this hurdle, the recognition grant pilot project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research was launched in 2016. This enables individuals with a foreign professional qualification or degree to obtain financial support of up to 600 euros. In addition to fees for the recognition procedure or the statement of comparability, the funding also covers the cost of translations, certifications and assessments. The financial support for training costs in the context of recognition has been trialled as an additional component since January 2020.
The recognition grant and the financial support for training are now being continued. This means applications for both funding instruments can now be made up to 31 December 2022 to the central funding authority in the Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (f-bb). Essentially, applications for the reimbursement of costs can be made within nine months of funding being confirmed but in any case no later than 31 March 2024. In future, the financial support for training will also cover costs incurred for travel and accommodation directly associated with the training being funded. Up to €3,000 per person can be additionally reimbursed.
The training grant closes a funding gap, in particular for employed people on low incomes. The funding is aimed at individuals who have lived in Germany for at least three months regardless of their nationality or residency status. The application for the recognition grant must be made before the start of the recognition procedure and the financial support for training must be applied for early before the start of the training. The funding applications can be completed at most institutions which also provide advice on recognition. So far, more than 500 authorities across Germany are accepting funding applications.
Five years of the recognition grant.
More than 4,500 individuals have received financial support at an average level of 410 euros since the launch of the recognition grant in 2016. People interested in recognition from 150 countries of origin have submitted applications for 360 reference occupations. Most applicants came from Syria, Poland and Romania. Besides the many statements of compatibility, "engineer", "general nurse" and "teacher" are the reference occupations most frequently represented in the recognition procedures to date.
The recognition grant project is being implemented by the Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (f-bb). You can find further information here in the portal or by email to anerkennungszuschuss@f-bb.de.
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