Anyone wishing to have their school certificates and educational qualifications recognized in Germany can do so in Baden-Württemberg by post or by sending a PDF as an email attachment to the Stuttgart Regional Council. Care must be taken when filling out the forms: one wrong tick and all your work will have been in vain.
Enclose application for recognition of school qualifications
In addition to the documents, which should never be sent as originals but only as certified copies, a signed ‘Application for recognition of school qualifications’ must be enclosed. The application form can be downloaded online (see download link below). While the one-page form can be completed in three minutes, obtaining the documents to be submitted may take more effort. Copies of the original certificates from the country of origin can be certified by the immigration office or the local authority.
Tick the correct boxes
There is one pitfall when filling out the form: all your efforts will be in vain if you tick the box ‘for studying at a university in Baden-Württemberg’ in the section ‘I am applying for recognition of my certificates as a school leaving certificate …’. If you do so, the Stuttgart Regional Council will no longer be responsible and will reject your application.
Take care of it early
Sven Jäger, head of the integration department at the Tübingen District Office, emphasises that the recognition of educational qualifications is fundamentally important. He recommends that all newcomers take care of this as early as possible. Even those who do not formally need them later on can include them with a job application: The stamp and coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg on the recognition certificate are understood by employers, says Jäger. The 100 Euro processing fee is money well spent. Those on a low family income can apply for exemption from the fee and enclose current proof of income for verification.
The recognition procedure can be used, for example, to prove that you have an intermediate school leaving certificate for certain skilled trades or to attend an evening school. Anyone who has been certified by the Stuttgart Regional Council as having a school leaving certificate equivalent to the German Abitur can, of course, also present this if they still wish to study.
Further information and links
Postal address of the recognition office: Regional Council of Stuttgart, Department 71 – Certificate Recognition Office, Ruppmannstraße 21, 70565 Stuttgart
Email address of the recognition office:
anerkennungsstelle@rps.bwl.de
Online information on the recognition of educational qualifications and form downloads:
https://rp.baden-wuerttemberg.de/rps/abt7/zeugnisanerkennungsstelle/anerkennung-eines-deutschen-schulabschlusses/
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