Nursing training: registered nurse (Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann) and nursing assistant

Nursing training in Germany has two paths you need to tell apart: training to become a registered nurse (Pflegefachfrau, Pflegefachmann or Pflegefachperson) and training as a nursing assistant (Pflegefachassistenz). The uniform nationwide nursing assistant training starts on 1 January 2027, replacing the different rules each federal state had before. 45

Who needs this

• You can apply for registered nurse training if you have an intermediate school-leaving certificate (mittlerer Schulabschluss) or have completed another ten years of general schooling. People with a Hauptschulabschluss after nine years of school can also enter the programme after completing nursing assistant training, or after another vocational training lasting at least two years. 11
• For the uniform nursing assistant training, the usual requirement is a Hauptschulabschluss or a qualification recognised as equivalent; completed vocational training is also accepted. Even without a formal school-leaving certificate, you can still be admitted if the nursing school gives a positive, reasoned assessment that you will complete the training and pass the final state examination. 6

Step by step

1. Choose your training path and find a placement. For registered nurse training, trainees sign the training contract (Ausbildungsvertrag) with the organisation responsible for the practical training, such as a hospital, a residential care home or a home care service; the contract is not signed with the nursing school. 11
2. Check the contract: for registered nurse training, the contract states, among other things, the occupational goal, the specialisation placement, the start date, the length of training, the plan for practical training and the monthly training pay. 11
3. Attend classes at the nursing school and placements at the care facilities. Registered nurse training has at least 2,100 hours of theory and practical lessons at school and at least 2,500 hours of practical training; it ends with a state examination. 84

Documents

• If you apply from Vietnam for a vocational training visa, you need a German certificate at level B1 or higher, issued no more than 12 months before you submit your application. If you take a German course in Germany before starting your training, a lower level may be enough, but you must submit a certificate of your current level and proof of that course. 2
• You must show at least 1,048 euros per month (before tax) for the whole training period; your training pay counts towards this. If your pay is lower, you cover the gap with a blocked account (Sperrkonto) or, depending on the case, a formal obligation letter (Verpflichtungserklärung). 2
• Your visa application needs proof of health insurance under one of the options the German mission lists, for example German statutory health insurance plus travel health insurance for the first three weeks. 2

Cost and time

• Neither training path charges tuition, not even at private schools; trainees get the learning materials and equipment they need free of charge and receive appropriate training pay. For registered nurses, the published average is about 1,400 euros a month in the first year and 1,600 euros in the third year; the actual amount depends on the training provider. 6710
• Registered nurse training lasts three years full-time or up to five years part-time. The uniform nursing assistant training lasts 18 months full-time or up to 36 months part-time. 469
• The vocational training visa fee is 75 euros; applicants under 18 pay 37.50 euros. The fee is paid in cash, in Vietnamese dong. 2

Deadlines

• The uniform nursing assistant training starts on 1 January 2027. For registered nurse training, the interim examination takes place at the end of the second third of the training, which is the end of the second year if you train full-time for three years. 59

City by city

• In Vietnam, VFS Global has visa application centres in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. VFS receives and forwards applications; the decision to grant or refuse a visa is still made by the decision-making officers of the German mission. 2