Your path to a permanent employment contract

1. Apply for a notice of assessment
First you can expect the process of professional recognition. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the district government in Münster is responsible for this. The central recognition office for healthcare professions checks the authenticity of the documents and classifies the foreign professional qualification as equivalent.

After your foreign professional qualification has been checked, you will therefore receive a notice of assessment which determines which measures are suitable for qualification (adaptation course or knowledge test). You can only start working for an employer with this document.

2. Contact Uniklinik RWTH Aachen and send the required documents
Collect the required documents and send them to us together.

3. Job interview
The next step is the job interview. The employees of the integration program and the nursing management will conduct an interview with you and decide whether they can open up the path to professional recognition for you. In addition to assessing your personal suitability, important criteria include your language skills and whether the Uniklinik RWTH Aachen can provide the training you need.

When you arrive in Germany, you will have to take the professional knowledge test or an adaptation period (further information in step 5).

4. Preparation and administrative processes
Now comes the rather complex process of administrative requirements. Among other things, you will need to apply for a visa or residence permit and a work permit. Various documents are usually required for this (confirmation of accommodation, proof of health insurance, approval from the Federal Employment Agency). There are also other things to take care of. For example: applying for a police clearance certificate, obtaining a language certificate, giving notice of termination of employment in the home country, updating vaccinations, travel planning, etc.

5. Welcome to the Uniklinik RWTH Aachen
You can now look forward to arriving at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen. We will be happy to guide you through the initial period in an onboarding program lasting several weeks. Integration is not the same as induction – everyone involved can make a contribution. After all, a successful integration is in everyone's interest!

Integration measures:

• Professional knowledge test: The greater the differences between the training content in Germany and that from your country of origin, the more likely it is that you will have to take a specialist knowledge test. To do this, you attend a preparatory course and can then achieve equivalence of the qualifications by passing an oral and a practical examination.
• Adaptation course: If the amount of theoretical and practical knowledge to be acquired is less, you can take an adaptation course, which usually comprises a few weeks of theory lessons and rotations in various practical areas. In your case, the course does not end with an examination, but with an evaluation.

6. Obtain professional recognition (professional certificate)
As soon as you have received the equivalence certificate, you can apply for the professional certificate together with a certificate of good conduct, your B2 language certificate and other documents at the health authority in Aachen (nurse and midwifes) or at the district government in Cologne (nursing staff) or at the DKG in Berlin (technical assistants in anesthesia, operating assistents). This process usually only takes a few weeks.

7. Permanent employment contract
As soon as your professional certificate is available, your contract will be converted into a permanent employment contract.