Anabin

Anabin is an online database which lists all foreign Universities and University degrees, that are accredited by the ZAB (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) in Germany.

Generally, foreign employees must have a work contract with a certain minimum salary and an accredited university degree from an accredited university to be allowed to work in Germany. Therefore, the University and the University degree of the respective country must be found in the database.

You can use the Anabin database to verify if your university and your specific degree are considered fully recognized in Germany. You will need to check that both your university and the specific degree are listed in the database and that the records for each meet certain criteria.

To search for your degree in the Anabin site, choose "Suchen nach Abschlüssen", select your country and look for your degree:

Once you have found your degree, click on the little plus symbol and print the selection as a PDF.

Next, click on "Institutionen" and proceed like described above to find your university. Tip: The easiest way to find your university is to enter only one word of the university name (e.g. the city or other unique identifier).

Once you have found your university, click on the little plus symbol and print the selection as a PDF.

When clicking on a search result, a new tab opens up with detailed information regarding the degree/institution. This tab must be saved as a PDF file (it is best to click print and then save as a PDF) and always needs to be attached to the application for the labour market approval (LMA), visa application, and the application for a residence permit. It is important that there is an Anabin document available for both degree and university.

Please note: The records for your university and your degree must contain certain information to verify that your university and degree are both recognized in Germany!

The institutions are grouped into so-called "institution types" and assigned a specific “status” (H+, H- and H+/-). H+ means that the institution is regarded as a higher education institution. For example:

Degrees are classified - among other factors - on the length of the studies (A2, A3, A4, A5,..). The minimum requirements are A3-A4, but it is also important that the record for the degree has a Bewertung section which contains the note "entspricht" = "corresponds" or “gleichwertig” = “equivalent” to e.g. a German bachelor's or master's degree. For example:

Please note: If your degree is listed as "bedingt vergleichbar" = "conditionally comparable", this is not sufficient to prove that your degree is recognized in Germany. In this case, you will most likely need to apply for an individual ZAB Statement of Comparability for your degree (see below for more information on this).

If you can't find your degree in the list at the bottom of your Anabin document for your university (or vice versa), don't worry! It is not necessary that on the Anabin document for the degree, the university is mentioned under "rewarding institution" as long as there is a separate Anabin document for the respective institution rating it as H+. It is sufficient if both the university and the degree are verified independently of each other:

While a university generally needs to be rated H+ for your degree to be considered recognized, there are certain circumstances where H+/- can be sufficient. Please see the below table for more information:

Please note: In some cases, if a university is rated H+/- the embassy or immigration office may still insist on a ZAB Statement of Comparability, even if the evaluation of the degree lists it as corresponding or equivalent (entspricht or gleichwertig).

In case the degree or university is not available in the Anabin database, it is possible to request an individual degree evaluation (Statement of Comparability) via the ZAB. You can find more information on this below.

If you are unsure if the Anabin records you found will be sufficient, please check with your Case Manager and they will be able to verify this for you.

The ZAB Statement of Comparability is an official document that describes your foreign academic qualifications and indicates the level of the German academic qualification to which your foreign qualification is comparable. The individual statement can be requested from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) in Bonn. You must request an individual Statement of Comparability if you can't find your degree in Anabin (even though your university might be recognized as H+).

For more information on the ZAB Statement of Comparability process and how to apply, please see the following article: