Willkommen auf den Seiten des Auswärtigen Amts
Visa for the recognition of foreign qualifications
To find out whether you require a visa to enter Germany, see „Who needs a visa?“.
Are your qualifications not fully recognised? The recognition visa allows you to travel to Germany to take the necessary steps to obtain full recognition. For more information, please visit www.make-it-in-germany.com
What documents must be submitted during the application process?
A current biometric passport photo (3.5 x 4.5 cm with a light-coloured background) according to the photo sample table of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The photo should not be older than three months.
Personally signed passport with at least two completely empty pages and sufficient validity.
If you do not have your habitual residence in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, the German Embassy in Bern is not responsible for processing your application.
Consent to electronic notification. Please complete the form and enclose it with your application documents.
Decision from the relevant recognition authority in Germany.
If already issued: Partial recognition notice Proof of existing deficiencies for recognition: If specified in the deficiency notice, additionally: Registration for theoretical courses, operational qualification measures (with a training plan), or exam preparation courses training contract (where applicable recognized by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
Proof of financial means with one copy: To stay in Germany, each individual applicant must have at their disposal at least 992 € per month (12 month). Proof of these means (blocked account or a formal obligation by a third person in Germany or prove of scholarship
Health insurance in line with EU standards (covering the entire Schengen area, minimum coverage of 30,000 €, valid from the day of entry for the duration of the training
Detailed curriculum vitae in German language with your motivation letter.
The German Embassy Bern reserve the right to ask for additional documents at any time during the processing of your application.
Postage expenses of 7 Swiss Francs
and
Visa fee of 75 Euro payable by cash in Swiss Francs or in Euro by Visa or MasterCard (information here).
Contactless payment is not possible.
Appointment booking
Please book an appointment here to submit your application. New appointments are regularly activated in the appointment system. Unfortunately, there are no additional appointments.
To submit your application, please appear in person at the visa section of the embassy (Willadingweg 78, 3006 Bern) at your pre-booked appointment. Please book one appointment per person. The visa office will accept your complete application documents and the fee and take your biometric data. It is not possible to submit an application without an appointment.
Processing time
In this visa category, most applications are typically processed within 3-5 weeks (calculated from the day you procided all documents).
During the application process
Please do not contact the mission abroad to check the status of your application during the normal processing period. Such inquiries are extremely time-consuming for the visa department and cannot be answered. We will contact you by email as soon as the decision has been made. In principle, all communication can only take place with the applicant themselves, a legal representative or an authorized person.
Decision about the application
You will be informed as soon as the embassy has decided on your application. Your passport is required for the visa to be issued.
Please check your visa label as soon as you have your passport with the visa in your hands. You should inform us immediately of any errors so that we can issue a new visa.