ZAB stands for the Central Office for Foreign Education (in German: Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen). ZAB is the central authority for the evaluation of foreign qualifications in Germany. They assess qualifications from all countries worldwide and all levels of education, including school-leaving certificates, vocational qualifications and academic degrees. If your degree needs to be recognized by the ZAB, you will need to submit an application. After submitting an application to the ZAB, they will review your degree & higher education institution, and then send you a "Statement of Comparability" in response.

The fee for the service is €200 for one degree and another €100 for each additional degree and is not covered by Localyze. In most cases, however, it is enough to have one degree recognized.

You can apply for the ZAB Statement of Comparability online here.

As a first step, please check if your degree is eligible for a Statement of Comparability. If your university on Anabin shows up as H - and/or your degree shows up as A2 and below, then you do not qualify to get a statement of comparability. You can use the Pre-Check tool on the ZAB website to see if your degree is eligible for the Statement of Comparability, and, if so, what documents will be needed for the application. Please see the below screenshot for a guide on how to use the Pre-Check tool:

Please note: If the pre-check tool says that you can apply for a Statement of Comparability, but it will be evaluated as below the level of a German bachelor’s degree, it is most likely not worth applying for the ZAB. If you are unsure of this, please contact your Case Manager and they can advise you on whether you should apply for the ZAB or not.

This is a tricky question to answer for everyone as it all depends on what country your academic qualification was obtained from. Please use the Pre-Check tool to get a full list of the documents that will be needed based on your degree type and the country of issue.

Another very important point is the legalization of your qualification and the translation. You will need to pay close attention to the checklist of your country and ensure you get your document legalized correctly (if required). Often, the original language version of the document is all that is required for the ZAB application, but please be sure to check the document checklist from the pre-check tool carefully to ensure that this is the case for you.

Please note: For the visa and residence permit applications, all non-German documents will still need to have a sworn or certified translation into German, unless the embassy checklist specifically states otherwise. English originals are sometimes accepted, but not in all embassies, so be sure to check this for your visa application.

Once you have determined if your degree is eligible to apply for a Statement of Comparability and the necessary documents, you will need to create a BundID account in order to submit the application online. This guide will show you how to create the BundID account.

After you have created your BundID account, you can log into the ZAB website to submit the application. Please see this guide for instructions on how to log-in using your BundID account.

Once you have logged in on the ZAB website, you will be able to fill out the application and upload the required documents. This guide will help you with filling out the application.

Please note: If you are applying for a Blue Card, be sure to indicate this in the form and upload your employment contract when asked so that the shorter processing time applies! The recognition process takes approximately 2 weeks when applying for a Blue Card, and up to 3 months in any other case.

When everything is filled out and the necessary documents have been uploaded, you will be able to submit your ZAB application and pay the fee. The fee can be paid by SEPA bank transfer, PayPal, or with a credit card.

Once you have submitted the application and made the payment, the ZAB will begin processing your application. Once the Statement of Comparability has been issued, you will be able to find it in your ZAB account. Please be sure to share the PDF with your Case Manager once you have it. If the ZAB is needed for your visa application, you will also need to print a hard copy for your visa appointment.

If you have further questions about the ZAB process that aren't addressed here, please see the FAQ page on the ZAB website.