According to Health Minister Klaus Holetschek, the project for the permanent recognition of foreign nursing staff in Bavaria, which has been running since July, has started successfully. “Since July 1, 34 applications have already been received by the State Office for Nursing,” said the CSU politician at the request of the German Press Agency in Munich.
The applicants completed their vocational training in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hungary, among other places. “Six of the applications have already been fully checked for equivalence. The first assessment notices were sent out on July 3rd. That went really quickly,” stressed Holetschek.
In cases in which the full equivalence of the professional qualifications has been determined, the next step is to provide further personal evidence – such as a language certificate and a certificate of good conduct. “After that, the license to use the professional title can be issued – and then nothing stands in the way of starting work as a nurse,” said Holetschek.
In February, Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) promoted the “Fastlane”, a kind of fast lane for nursing staff, on a trip to the Balkans. The state government hopes to use the accelerated procedures to combat the shortage of nursing staff that is prevalent in many places in the Free State. If you want to work as a nurse in Germany, you need recognition of your professional qualifications.
On average, the Bavarian governments, which were responsible for this until the end of June, received around 5,000 applications a year. This shows that there was already great interest abroad in a job in Bavaria. Since July, the recognition procedures for carers have been centralized at the State Office for Nursing (LfP).
“The centralization at the LfP is an important milestone in attracting more specialists who are so urgently needed in nursing,” emphasized Holetschek. The recruitment, recognition and sustainable integration of foreign nursing professionals is a key component in closing staffing gaps in nursing. “By centralizing the LfP, we make the process easier and faster.”