Living & Working

Competency assessment

Recognition of foreign qualifications

Because of the fundamental free movement of professionals, specialised employees are principally allowed to work internationally, exercise their profession and offer their services.

However, special qualifications or a title are required for so-called “regulated professions”. Requirements can differ from one country to the next.

Regulated professions

Directive 2005/36/EC provides the legal basis for the recognition of professional qualifications. These guidelines apply to regulated professions such as nurses, midwives, physicians, dentists, pharmacists, architects and veterinarians.

This directive does not apply to professions in which the recognition of qualifications is regulated by separate legal provisions, such as lawyers, seafarers, insurance brokers, air traffic controllers and others.

If you want to practice a regulated profession in Austria and the equivalence of your qualifications exists (e.g., by completing your studies in an EU member state), you still have to submit an application to the responsible public authority, which must confirm the equivalence of your education. The public authority which is responsible depends on the specific profession you intend to exercise.

If you have completed your qualifications in an EU or EEA member state, it is generally assumed that your education/training is equivalent to the one provided in Austria.

This procedure in connection with an EU education is called professional recognition or professional accreditation.

One possibility is that your education is automatically recognised (only in the case of doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, architects and veterinarians).
Otherwise, your education will also be reviewed with respect to its equivalence to a corresponding Austrian education on a case-by-case basis and, if necessary, this equivalence is then established by supplementary exams.

If you have not completed your education in an EU or EEA member state, it is generally not assumed that your education is equivalent to an Austrian one.

This procedure in connection with education acquired in third countries is called nostrification (“Nostrifizierung”) or validation in the case of school diplomas.

Nevertheless, it is possible that your education is considered to be equivalent to an Austrian one based on the principle of equivalence stipulated within the context of bilateral agreements (e.g., with Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Kosovo, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia and Switzerland). Additional requirements for recognition may be specified depending on the contents of the agreement.
Otherwise, your education will also be reviewed with respect to its equivalence to a corresponding Austrian education. Key criteria are, for example, the duration and contents of education, field of work, professional experience, completion of the education, etc. If your education comprises less than 50% of the scope of the Austrian education, this cannot be compensated by supplementary exams.

Attention

In healthcare professions, German language skills (at least at a B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference) represent an additional requirement for being hired. However, you first have to show this if you want to work in these professions and not for the purpose of getting formal recognition of your education.

Recognition of professional qualifications

The procedure for the formal recognition of professional qualifications (“Berufsanerkennung”) involves recognising qualifications (e.g., university degrees, school-leaving qualifications, apprenticeship diplomas) acquired abroad in order to be able to work in Austria.

There are different procedures you can or must go through depending upon the area for which you want to have your qualifications recognised and where you acquired these qualifications. In many cases, you must go through such procedures before you are allowed to work in Austria.

Professional recognition/accreditation

Have you completed a higher education (university studies) in the EU, EEA or Switzerland and are an EU, EEA or Swiss national? In this case, the EU Professional Qualifications Directive is valid for you.

Additional steps are usually necessary if you have acquired the right to exercise your desired profession in your country of origin and now want to practice this profession, which is a “regulated profession” in Austria. For example, depending upon which profession you want to pursue, you must have completed your studies or have an apprenticeship certificate. There are many regulated professions in Austria, for which different public authorities are responsible. These authorities are also responsible for the particular recognition proceedings.

The following forms of recognition exist depending on the type of regulated professions:

01
Recognition of professional qualifications based on a comparison with Austrian qualification requirements

The recognition of professional qualifications (especially for practicing trades) within the EU can take place on the basis of an equivalence evaluation (“Gleichartigkeitsprüfung”). This is reviewed by the responsible public authority within the context of a nostrification when the profession in question is not one which is automatically recognised.
02
Automatic recognition on the basis of corresponding training experience

For several professions, the qualifications acquired by EU, EEA and Swiss nationals are “automatically” recognised if the right to exercise this profession was acquired in their country of origin and they are allowed to exercise the profession there as a self-employed person. In this case, it does not matter if you intend to exercise this profession as a self-employed person or as a salaried employee in Austria.

The qualifications of the following people are automatically recognised:

- Doctors
- Nurses
- Midwives
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- Architects and
- Veterinarians

This means that you can submit evidence of your qualifications (legalised copy and certified translation) and must wait for the formal approval of Austrian authorities. In this case, the responsible authority does not review the contents of the education itself but only the authenticity of the documents. You will only be allowed to exercise your chosen profession in Austria after being granted formal approval.

Depending on the profession, the requirement involves completing university studies or further professional training (e.g., the induction phase for teachers or the training of doctors after they have received their PhDs) and the existence of a law governing the right to pursue this specific profession.

Please take into account that the responsible public authority can also demand other documents from you in addition to such certificates of professional aptitude (“Berufsbefähigungszeugnissen”)!

03
Notification of the provision of cross-border services

You are considered to provide cross-border services if you temporarily engage in this activity in another EU member state (on a self-employed basis). If you in your capacity as a service provider send employees to another EU member state, the rules for the posting of workers also apply.

The notification of the cross-border provision of services (“Anzeige grenzüberschreitender Dienstleistungen”) is only one possibility if the work is temporary and exercised occasionally and you do not want to settle down in Austria. The notification must be renewed once a year if you, as a company, intend to provide these services in Austria during the year in question. The annual renewal of the notification is entered into the Service Provider Registry (“Dienstleisterregister”).

With respect to regulated trades in Austria (e.g., bakers, floorers, beauticians etc.), the notification of the cross-border provision of services and its confirmation by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy is required.

Attention

You are only not required to have your qualifications formally recognised or subject to nostrification if:

the commercial activity is regulated both in Austria and your country of origin
or you have undergone regulated training
or you engaged in this commercial activity for at least one year out of the last ten years in your country of origin.

Here you can find the most important forms.

As a rule, only citizens of an EU and EEA member state can carry out this activity in accordance with these rules because the procedure is based on the EU Professional Qualifications Directive.

Nostrification of foreign higher education degrees

The objective of recognising (legalising) foreign academic titles and higher education (school) degrees is to ensure the greatest possible conformity to Austrian degrees.

In contrast to an evaluation, nostrification represents a formal act of recognition with direct legal consequences. Nostrification means that a foreign higher education degree is considered to be completely equivalent to an Austrian bachelor, master or doctoral studies. This procedure gives you the legal right to exercise the profession related to the completion of these studies in Austria and to use the corresponding Austrian academic title.

For example, you require nostrification if you want to work independently in a trade.

In order to be able to apply for nostrification (recognition), you must show evidence in Austria to demonstrate the necessity of nostrification.

Nostrification is based on a comparison of courses of studies. If nostrification is not possible or necessary, you can have your degree evaluated or have the equivalence of the studies determined.
Responsibility lies in the hands of the respective university, university of applied sciences or teacher training college. The foreign academic degrees are supposed to be equivalent to the degrees of these institutions. An application for nostrification may only be submitted once to a single Austrian higher education institution. You can find out more about this procedure at www.nostrifizierung.at.

If you want to study in Austria, you can also apply for the nostrification of your foreign school report or school-leaving certificate. The nostrification of school reports and school-leaving certificates aims to ensure the greatest possible conformity of the contents of the certificates presented with the Austrian curriculum. Any major deviations must be compensated by supplementary exams. Bilateral agreements also exist with which certain school-leaving certificates are considered to be equivalent to the Austrian education. The contents no longer need to be reviewed as the basis for equivalence but only need to be confirmed within the context of an administrative procedure. The administrative verification is carried out directly by the university, university of applied sciences or teacher training college where you want to study.

The responsible government body is the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung).

Important notes

As a rule, nostrification is not required in the following cases:

For university degrees acquired within the EU. For example, this is the case if you intend to work in the public sector or legally regulated areas (e.g., as a civil engineer, lawyer, teacher or in certain trades) or if you acquired your diploma in an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland and already have a similar right to exercise your profession there.
If you studied in a country which has concluded a bilateral agreement guaranteeing the equivalence of academic degrees (e.g., Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Kosovo, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Switzerland). In this case, it is usually only necessary to determine the equivalence of the foreign academic degree. The equivalence itself no longer needs to be reviewed but is only subject to administrative confirmation. The responsible body is ENIC NARIC AUSTRIA located in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (“Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung”).
If your qualifications/profession in Austria are not regulated. However, you can undergo a (voluntary) evaluation of your qualifications.
If you do not intend to exercise a regulated trade as a self-employed person but as a salaried employee.

Attention

Independent professions (e.g., working as a doctor, lawyer or musician) are not considered to be trades (“Gewerbe”) pursuant to the Trade Act (“Gewerbeordnung”)!

There are several legal regulations governing a number of independent professions both with respect to self-employed people and in many cases also salaried employees (Austrian Medical Practitioners Act - “Ärztegesetz”, Austrian Lawyers’ Act - “Rechtsanwaltsordnung”, Austrian Civil Technicians Act - “Ziviltechnikergesetz”, etc.). The beginning of professional work must be reported to some interest groups (e.g., chambers) which often stipulate being entered into a list (e.g., the Austrian Doctors Directory). In this case, it is necessary to fulfil certain requirements, usually the nostrification of academic degrees acquired in third countries. There are no special legal regulations and reporting obligations for other independent professions such as artists, writers and journalists.

Evaluation of foreign certificates

If you want to work in a certain profession which is not regulated in Austria, you do not need to undergo recognition or nostrification of your qualifications. Nevertheless, you can still have your diploma evaluated. An evaluation represents an official recommendation or an expert report enabling a better assessment of your diploma for employers in Austria or for the Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS).

The evaluation does not represent an official decision nor is it a formal recognition. This means it is not binding. Nevertheless, the academic assessment of foreign degrees can be extremely helpful and supportive, for example in searching for a job and in application processes.

It often makes sense to apply for the evaluation of a foreign university diploma if nostrification is not necessary or possible. This service is done for a fee:

€150 for the evaluation of up to two qualifications per application
€200 for the evaluation of three of more qualifications per application

The evaluation report (“Bewertungsgutachten”) contains the following contents, amongst others: information on the educational institution, basic classification (level, scope of education etc.) and comparison with Austrian diplomas.

The responsible body is ENIC NARIC AUSTRIA, which is the National Academic Recognition Information Centre located in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Applications are submitted online at www.aais.at.

Foreign school diplomas can also be evaluated. The evaluation of foreign school diplomas (school-leaving certificates) should facilitate an assessment of school qualifications acquired abroad as well as a fundamental assessment of the comparability with an Austrian school-leaving certificate. The evaluation does not replace the recognition process for qualifications enabling access to legally regulated professions or the nostrification of diplomas. The application can be submitted at no charge. The responsible body is the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Applications are submitted online at www.asbb.at.

Attention

In all cases, it is important that you plan for sufficient processing time. Recognition procedures can take several weeks. Moreover, it could happen that your educational documents must be subject to specified legalisation procedures in order to be recognised. Please directly contact the responsible body or public authority for all relevant details.

Equivalence of apprenticeship certificates

Vocational qualifications acquired abroad from schools and/or at work can be considered as equivalent to the relevant Austrian apprenticeship certificate (final apprenticeship examination,) regardless of whether the training took place in an EU/EEA member state or not.

For this purpose, you must show equivalent specialised knowledge in order to correspond to the Austrian job description or apprenticeship diploma. You must also show evidence of the practical part of your education which corresponds to the Austrian apprenticeship diploma. In this case, professional experience in Austria or abroad can be taken into consideration.

The application for equivalence can lead to recognition of complete equivalence (“volle Gleichhaltung”) or admission to a shortened final apprenticeship examination (practical examination and/or technical discussion) or involve supplementary examinations (if differences in the level of education exist).

Several apprenticeship trainings in Germany, Hungary and South Tyrol are considered to be fully equivalent due to vocational training agreements.

Responsibility lies in the hands of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs. More information can be found in the Recognition Guide (“Anerkennungs-Wegweiser”): https://www.berufsanerkennung.at

Special case

Nostrification of education in healthcare and nursing and application for a residence permit

If you want to work in a regulated healthcare and nursing profession (e.g., nursing assistant, advanced practice in healthcare and nursing), you must have your education nostrified.

Exception: If you completed your education in a healthcare or nursing profession in an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland, you can apply for official recognition to the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (“Bundeministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz“).

Your diploma from abroad will only be nostrified when you have passed all the examinations (and internships, if applicable) specified in the nostrification process.

You can apply for a Residence Permit – Student (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student”) when your education at a university of applied sciences has been nostrified. If you are accepted into a nostrification course (e.g., if you study at the School for Healthcare and Nursing in Vienna (“AWZ, Schule für Gesundheits- und Krankenpflege”), you can, under certain circumstances, get a Residence Permit – Pupil (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung Schüler”) during this process.

Note: If you have a Residence Permit - Pupil (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung Schüler”) or a Residence Permit - Student (“Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student”) and would like to work on the side (in compliance with the respective professional requirements), your employer needs a work permit ("Beschäftigungsbewilligung") for you. In the case of an application for a work permit for an activity of up to 20 hours per week, the Austrian Public Employment Service AMS is not allowed to carry out a labour market test ("Ersatzkraftverfahren"). For an activity of more than 20 hours, the AMS may carry out such a labour market test ("Ersatzkraftverfahren") to determine if other skilled workers are already registered for this specific position.

Due to special regulations, temporary employment in the nursing sector is already possible during the recognition or nostrification procedure under certain circumstances.

You need a binding job offer to apply for a Red-White-Red – Card for Skilled Workers in Shortage Occupations via a change of purpose (“Zweckänderung”) of your previous Residence Permit – Student or Residence Permit – Pupil.

Frequently asked questions

01
When must I have my qualifications recognised?

If and how your qualifications can be or must be formally recognised depends on a number of factors, for example if your profession/qualifications are regulated in Austria. If your profession/qualifications are not regulated in Austria, then, in principle, no formal recognition is necessary.

Nevertheless, an evaluation – voluntary recognition – can still make sense, for example when it involves the classification of qualifications in collective agreements, the classification of an employee within a company’s salary scheme or employment in the public sector.

Example: the training or professional practice as a young teacher in Austria is not regulated. For this reason, you need not have your yoga teacher training officially recognised in Austria in order to work as a yoga teacher.
02
What are regulated professions?

In order to be able to exercise a regulated profession as a self-employed person, the individual involved must show specified qualifications or a title. The list of professions which are regulated and the specific requirements for exercising these professions vary within the EU. Qualified specialised workers who want to apply for positions in other EU member states must first inform themselves about which prerequisites have to be fulfilled.
03
Which regulated professions exist?

Every EU member state put together a list of its particular regulated professions in order to provide an overview of the regulated professions in the EU and conditions for gaining access to this profession. Subsequently a mutual evaluation of the prerequisites for gaining access to these professions was carried out.

The underlying objective was to simplify and improve access to information about regulated professions.

Moreover, a database with the updated list of regulated professions was compiled. It also provides information about the prerequisites for practising professions in the individual EU member states and EEA countries and Switzerland: Regulated professions database Furthermore, an interactive map shows the distribution of regulated professions in the individual countries according to specific sectors.
04
For which professions do I need the European Professional Card (EPC)?

The EPC is an electronic certificate which is issued via an EU-wide online process for the recognition of qualifications. The EPC could be expanded in the future to encompass other professions as well.

Since 18 January 2016, the European Professional Card (EPC) has been valid for a total of five professions (for the time being), namely for:

- nurses
- physiotherapists
- pharmacists
- real estate brokers
- mountain guides
05
Where can I have my qualification acquired abroad recognised?

It is important to inform the responsible authorities in Austria to make sure that the qualifications or diplomas acquired elsewhere (EU, EEA or third countries) are recognised as the basis for working in that particular profession. In this way, measures can be taken in a timely manner to ensure the legalisation of qualifications, if necessary.

There are four contact points in Austria which are responsible for the recognition and assessment of qualifications acquired in other countries. They are located in Vienna, Linz, Graz and Innsbruck. Moreover, weekly consultation days take place in all other Austrian state capitals.

- AST Vienna, AST Lower Austria and Northern Burgenland and the coordination of contact points under the auspices of the Counselling Centre for Migrants in Vienna
- AST Upper Austria and Salzburg at migrare – Centre for Migrants in Upper Austria, which is located in Linz
- AST Styria, Carinthia and Southern Burgenland at ZEBRA – Intercultural Centre of Counselling and Therapy, located in Graz and
- AST Tyrol and Vorarlberg at ZeMiT – Centre for Migrants in Tyrol, located in Innsbruck

In line with § 5 Recognition and Assessment Act (AuBG), multilingual information, counselling and support are offered for the entire recognition and assessment process free of charge. These services are provided with the aim of facilitating the integration of skilled workers into the Austrian labour market in accordance with their qualifications.

The first step is to clarify whether the formal recognition of qualifications is necessary or possible. If needed, certified translations of diplomas and certificates are obtained. Support is offered in applying for assessments and if required, also for the recognition process. Furthermore, information is supplied on follow-up counselling options and further education offerings. If the formal recognition of qualifications acquired abroad is not possible, the responsible AST counsellor will present alternatives and potentially establish contact with cooperation partners.

The cost-free services of the AST offices are available to people residing in Austria who have acquired professional qualifications abroad and who have completed more than just their compulsory schooling. The counselling services target people who, in principle, have access to the Austrian labour market. However, these services are offered regardless of the person’s employment status (unemployed or employed), citizenship or national origin.

The underlying objective is to promote the individual potential of qualified people from abroad and thus secure valuable specialised workers for the Austrian labour market.

More information is available at www.anlaufstelle-anerkennung.at
06
How can I study in Austria?

Only people possessing general university entrance qualifications are eligible to study at an Austrian university. The secondary school diploma is usually considered to comprise sufficient proof. If the certificate is not in German or English, it has to be translated in order to be useful for the immigration process to Austria.

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Competency assessment

Recognition of foreign qualifications

Recognition of professional qualifications

Professional recognition/accreditation

Recognition of professional qualifications based on a comparison with Austrian qualification requirements

Automatic recognition on the basis of corresponding training experience

Notification of the provision of cross-border services

Special case

Frequently asked questions

When must I have my qualifications recognised?

What are regulated professions?

Which regulated professions exist?

For which professions do I need the European Professional Card (EPC)?

Where can I have my qualification acquired abroad recognised?

How can I study in Austria?

The Essential Guide to Living and Working in Austria