Recognition of foreign qualifications in Austria

Austria has different formal recognition paths for foreign qualifications, and the right procedure depends on what you want to do with your qualification: work in a regulated profession, enter or continue study, or use your qualification on the labour market. The main forms include berufliche Anerkennung, Nostrifikation, Nostrifizierung, and Gleichhaltung, with different authorities depending on the qualification and field 2.

Who needs this

• You need a formal recognition procedure if your qualification is required for a regulated profession in Austria 23.
• For academic qualifications, an evaluation can help employers or the Arbeitsmarktservice (AMS) assess a foreign university degree, but it is not a formal recognition and does not have direct legal effect 23.
• For foreign school leaving certificates, there is a separate nostrifikation or a free online evaluation, depending on what you need the certificate for 2.
• In health professions, recognition rules apply for certain non-physician health professions, and for nursing professions a shortened one-stop procedure exists 4.
• If you are an asylum or subsidiary protection beneficiary or a displaced person and cannot provide certificates because of flight-related reasons, you can contact a counselling centre about your options 2.

Step by step

1. Check which procedure applies to your qualification and purpose, because Austria has no single uniform recognition rule for all foreign qualifications 2.
2. Identify the competent authority: for example, universities, Fachhochschulen or Pädagogische Hochschulen for some academic procedures; ENIC NARIC AUSTRIA for academic evaluation; the Bundesministerium für Bildung for some school-qualification procedures; and the Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz for certain health professions 234.
3. Submit the application through the required channel: online via www.aais.at for academic evaluation, online via www.asbb.at for school-certificate evaluation, or to the relevant authority for the other procedures 234.
4. For health professions, if you are eligible for the shortened one-stop procedure, attend the appointment on Tuesday, except public holidays, and bring the required documents 4.
5. If you are applying for a health-profession recognition decision, the application can be submitted in person, by post, or electronically to the ministry 4.

Documents

• For academic evaluation, ENIC NARIC AUSTRIA requires all related higher-education qualifications together; if you apply for a master’s degree evaluation, the matching bachelor’s degree is also needed 3.
• For the academic evaluation, the application is only possible through the online portal www.aais.at 3.
• For health-profession recognition, documents depend on the profession, and some applications require a personally signed application 4.
• If you have no residence in Austria, you need a Zustellungsbevollmächtigte/r for certain health-profession applications 4.
• For some certificates or confirmations, originals or certified copies (beglaubigte Abschrift) are required; ordinary photocopies are not accepted 4.

Cost and time

• Academic evaluation by ENIC NARIC AUSTRIA costs 150 euro for up to two qualifications per application, plus 50 euro for each additional qualification 23.
• Payment for academic evaluation is by credit card only 3.
• A health-profession duplicate decision costs about 80 euro in administrative fees 4.
• A confirmation under Directive 2005/36/EC for health professions costs about 80 euro in administrative fees, and the processing time is about 2 to 3 weeks 4.
• In the nursing one-stop procedure, recognition can be issued within one hour if all necessary documents are complete 4.