Anerkennungspartnerschaft (recognition partnership): working in Berlin while recognition is ongoing
Normally, you must first have your foreign professional qualification recognized before you may work as a skilled worker. The Anerkennungspartnerschaft (recognition partnership, § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG) breaks through this: you can enter Germany and work in a qualified job immediately while the recognition procedure only runs here – provided that you and your employer conclude a written agreement on this beforehand.
Requirements include, among others, vocational training of at least two years that is state-recognized in the country of origin (or a state-recognized university degree), a concrete job offer, sufficient German language skills, and the approval of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency). The residence permit is initially valid for at most one year and can be extended to a total of up to three years – but only as long as you demonstrably pursue the recognition procedure.
If your qualification is fully recognized in the end, you switch to the regular title for skilled workers with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG). With only partial recognition, you make up the missing knowledge through an adaptation qualification (Anpassungsqualifizierung), often with a qualification plan from the responsible chamber (IHK or Handwerkskammer). What happens at the end of the three years if recognition has not yet been completed is not expressly regulated in the official sources – the only clear point is that afterwards no further temporary residence title is granted by this route.
- Have your professional qualification checked digitally before entryObtain digital information on your professional qualification from the Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB, Central Office for Foreign Education) before you sign an employment contract. This shows you whether a recognition partnership is realistic for you.
- Conclude an agreement with the employerYou and your employer conclude a written agreement (often as part of the employment contract): you undertake to apply for the recognition procedure directly after entry, and your employer undertakes to enable the necessary qualification within the employment relationship. For this, the employer fills out the forms "Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis" (declaration on the employment relationship) and "Zusatzblatt A" (supplementary sheet A).
- Apply for a visa and enterWith the employment contract, agreement, and proof of professional qualification, you apply for a visa under § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG at the responsible German mission abroad.
- Apply for the recognition procedure without delay after entryDirectly after entry, apply for recognition at the responsible body (depending on the profession: ZAB, IHK FOSA, or Handwerkskammer Berlin) and at the same time for the residence permit at the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA, State Office for Immigration) Berlin.
- Proceed depending on the resultWith full equivalence, you switch to the title for skilled workers with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG). With partial equivalence, you complete an adaptation qualification according to a qualification plan and then file a follow-up application for full recognition.
- What happens legally if recognition has not been completed by the end of the maximum stay of three years, or if the responsible body finds "no equivalence", is not expressly regulated in the available sources. Only the statutory consequence for the residence title itself is documented: under § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG, after the maximum period has expired, no further residence permit under §§ 16d or 19c Absatz 1 AufenthG for temporary employment may be granted, and § 9 AufenthG (counting toward the Niederlassungserlaubnis, settlement permit) does not apply to this period. What this means concretely depends on the individual case – no confirmed information is available on this.
- No confirmed information is available on the specific Berlin role of IHK Berlin and Handwerkskammer Berlin in the recognition partnership (e.g. their own statement or registration): the checked websites of IHK Berlin and Handwerkskammer Berlin (both as of 16.09.2026) do not expressly mention the term "Anerkennungspartnerschaft". Nationwide, the DIHK source only describes in general terms that with partial equivalence a qualification plan is drawn up, e.g. by the responsible IHK or Handwerkskammer – whether and how this works concretely in Berlin is not separately documented.
- No dedicated service page of the LEA Berlin was found specifically for the application for the residence permit under § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG: the Service-Portal Berlin only lists a page on § 16d Absatz 1/2 AufenthG (qualification measure without accompanying employment), not on Absatz 3. Fees and exact documents for the route via Absatz 3 are therefore not separately documented.
- The law provides exceptions to the generally required "qualified" employment: for employers bound by collective agreements or church employers who pay according to these conditions, and for care facilities licensed under § 72 SGB XI. Check in the individual case whether one of these exceptions applies.
In depth · Legal basis, figures and practice – for counsellors and professionals
Legal basis: § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG
Under § 16d Abs. 3 Satz 1 AufenthG, a foreign national should be granted a residence permit to carry out a procedure for recognition of their professional qualification acquired abroad with accompanying exercise of qualified employment if the following requirements are met cumulatively: (1) the person has either a foreign professional qualification state-recognized in the country of origin with a training duration of at least two years, or a foreign university degree state-recognized in the country of origin; (2) there is a concrete job offer; (3) there is an agreement between the foreign national and the employer in which the person undertakes to initiate the recognition procedure at the responsible body without delay after entry, and the employer undertakes to enable the qualification measures necessary for this within the employment relationship; (4) the employer is suitable for training or further qualification; (5) the person has sufficient German language skills; (6) the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) has approved, or the employment does not require approval. The generally required "qualified" employment is waived if a license to practice the profession would be necessary and the employer is bound by collective agreements or subject to church working conditions and pays according to these conditions, or if the employer is a care facility licensed under § 72 SGB XI – in both cases, classification and pay must correspond to the intended target activity.
Duration and approval of the Federal Employment Agency
On first issuance, the residence permit is granted for the duration of the Federal Employment Agency's approval, but for at most one year, and is extended up to a maximum stay of three years. Under § 2a Abs. 2 BeschV, the Federal Employment Agency's approval is also granted for at most one year and can only be granted again if the recognition procedure is actually being pursued at the responsible body – this includes participation in necessary qualification measures including the associated examinations. An additional requirement for approval under § 2a Abs. 1 BeschV is that the employment exercised has an occupational connection to the foreign professional qualification and that the recognition procedure is to be conducted for a profession in the same occupational group as the employment exercised. After the maximum stay of three years has expired, no further residence permit under § 16d or § 19c Absatz 1 AufenthG (in conjunction with a BeschV provision for temporary employment) may be granted; § 9 AufenthG – counting periods of residence toward the Niederlassungserlaubnis (settlement permit) – does not apply to the period of the recognition partnership. Throughout the entire period, secondary employment of up to 20 hours per week is additionally permitted.
The agreement between employer and skilled worker
According to the explanations of the project "Unternehmen Berufsanerkennung" of DIHK Service GmbH (funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Federal Ministry of Education and Research), the recognition partnership agreement should be concluded in text or written form, for example as part of or a supplement to the employment contract. It must record that the skilled worker undertakes to apply for recognition directly after entry, that the employer undertakes to enable the necessary qualification, and the specific target profession in which recognition is sought; there must be an occupational connection between the original qualification, the employment exercised during the recognition partnership, and the target profession. An employer is considered "suitable" for training or further qualification if it is either itself authorized to provide vocational training or has sufficient, current, and verifiable experience with vocational further qualifications; according to this source, employers that have so far only employed unskilled workers and have had no contact with qualification measures are not suitable. The employer provides this information in the forms "Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis" and "Zusatzblatt A".
Procedure and what happens after the recognition decision
In practice, according to the same source, the recognition partnership proceeds in four steps: digital information on the professional qualification from the ZAB before entry, conclusion of the employment contract and agreement, visa application under § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG and entry, and finally start of work with simultaneous application for the recognition procedure in Germany. According to this source, the recognition decision can certify full, partial, or no equivalence of the qualification. With full equivalence, a switch to the regular residence title for skilled workers with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG) is intended. With partial equivalence, a written qualification plan is drawn up – according to the DIHK source, for example by the responsible IHK or Handwerkskammer – listing which adaptation qualification of what duration is needed; after completing it, the skilled worker files a follow-up application for full recognition and then likewise switches to § 18a AufenthG. For the third possible outcome – no equivalence – the evaluated source itself names no further steps; no confirmed information is available on this.
Implementation in Berlin: IHK Berlin, Handwerkskammer Berlin, LEA
For the recognition itself, the same bodies are responsible depending on the profession as in the regular recognition procedure – IHK FOSA for IHK occupations, Handwerkskammer Berlin for craft trades, ZAB for academic and general-education qualifications; details, addresses, and the current structure of recognition counseling in Berlin (IQ Netzwerk Berlin) are on the topic page "Anerkennung ausländischer Abschlüsse in Berlin" (recognition of foreign qualifications in Berlin) and are not repeated here. The skilled worker applies for the residence permit itself after entry at the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA, State Office for Immigration), location Keplerstraße 2, 10589 Berlin; a dedicated, publicly accessible LEA service page specifically for § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG could not be found (see "Attention" above).
Federal law vs. Berlin implementation
The requirements, deadlines, and legal consequences of the recognition partnership are regulated uniformly nationwide in the Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act) and the Beschäftigungsverordnung (Employment Ordinance). What is Berlin-specific is which chamber (IHK Berlin or Handwerkskammer Berlin) is responsible in the individual case for recognition and any qualification plan, as well as the application at the local LEA.
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