German Translation of Diplomas, Transcripts and Qualifications for Recognition

Academic degrees: anabin, ZAB and the Statement of Comparability

German employers, the Ausländerbehörde and the embassy check Georgian degrees against the anabin database of the Kultusministerkonferenz. Where the university and degree are listed as H+ and gleichwertig, a certified translation of the diploma and supplement is enough; where they are not listed or are listed with conditions, the applicant obtains a Zeugnisbewertung (Statement of Comparability) from the ZAB in Bonn, which requires certified translations of the diploma, the supplement and the transcript, submitted with copies of the originals. The ZAB is strict about complete supplements and about translations that reproduce the university's seal text and reverse-side notes. We keep anabin's own German renderings of Georgian university and degree names so the translation matches what the officer sees in the database, and we translate the full course list with ECTS credits and the Georgian grading scale explained in a translator's note.

Nurses, doctors and dentists: Approbation and Berufsanerkennung

Georgian nurses are recruited to German hospitals and care homes in large numbers, and their recognition by the Regierungspräsidium or Landesamt requires certified translations of the nursing diploma, the full curriculum with theoretical and practical hours, the state exam certificate, work records and the Georgian conviction certificate; many Länder also ask for the syllabus of each subject to compare hours, which produces packets of 30 to 80 pages. Doctors and dentists seeking Approbation through the Landesprüfungsamt or Ärztekammer need the medical diploma, the supplement, the residency and specialist certificates, the Georgian license to practice, and a Bescheinigung of good standing, and later the Fachsprachprüfung. Our medical translators are physicians and use the terminology of German medical faculties for clinical subjects, which speeds the Gleichwertigkeitsprüfung. Pharmacists, physiotherapists and midwives follow similar routes.

Vocational qualifications: IHK FOSA, Handwerkskammern and Ausbildung

Craftsmen, technicians, cooks, electricians, mechanics and other skilled workers with Georgian vocational diplomas apply for recognition through IHK FOSA in Nuremberg or the regional Handwerkskammer, which compare the Georgian training to the German Ausbildungsberuf. They require certified translations of the vocational diploma, the curriculum with hours, work certificates (Arbeitszeugnisse) describing actual tasks, and sometimes employer references, and a Gleichwertigkeitsbescheid follows. Georgians going to Germany for an Ausbildung rather than with a finished qualification need their school leaving certificate, national exam results and any partial studies translated for the training company and the embassy. We prepare these packets with the Berufsbezeichnungen used by the German chambers so the comparison is straightforward.

University admission: uni-assist, TestDaF, Studienkolleg and enrollment

Georgian applicants to German universities go through uni-assist or apply directly, uploading certified translations of the school leaving certificate with national exam results, the diploma and Notenübersicht for each year of higher education, and language certificates (TestDaF, DSH, Goethe, telc, or IELTS for English-language programs). Because Georgian school leaving certificates do not give direct university access in Germany for every program, some applicants go through a Studienkolleg or need proof of a year of Georgian university study; the translation must show this clearly. Universities and the Ausländerbehörde later require apostilled and notarized versions for enrollment and the Aufenthaltstitel zum Studium. Austrian universities and the Nostrifizierung procedure, and Swiss universities, accept certified translations with apostilled originals. We translate the full Georgian packet in one business day.

German degrees for recognition and employment in Georgia

A German, Austrian or Swiss degree used in Georgia - for a work permit, for a teaching, medical or engineering position, for admission to a Georgian master's or doctoral program, or for recognition at the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement - must be apostilled in its country of origin and translated into Georgian and notarized in Tbilisi. We translate the Urkunde, the Zeugnis, the Diploma Supplement and the Transcript of Records and, when recognition is sought, Modulbeschreibungen. German medical graduates should expect the recognition body to ask for the Approbationsurkunde and Facharzt certificates, and Ausbildung graduates for the Prüfungszeugnis and Gesellenbrief or Meisterbrief. Graduates of Fachhochschulen and dual study programs sometimes need a translator's note explaining the system to a Georgian committee, which we provide.

School certificates, student letters, motivation letters and timing

German-speaking families enrolling children in Tbilisi's German school, in international schools or in Georgian public schools need Zeugnisse and Schulbescheinigungen translated so the child is placed in the right year; families moving to Germany need Georgian school records translated for the Schulamt. Students need Immatrikulationsbescheinigungen and student status letters in the other language for visas, residence permits, banks and Kindergeld. Applicants ask us to translate or edit Motivationsschreiben and Lebensläufe to German conventions, to translate Empfehlungsschreiben while preserving the signature block, and doctoral candidates to translate thesis abstracts and publication lists; native German editors with academic backgrounds handle these.

On timing: recognition procedures take months, uni-assist deadlines fall in January and July, and the apostille on a Georgian diploma can take up to five business days. Start the apostille early, since the apostilled diploma is reusable for every future step, and ask for a digital certified translation first so you can upload it while the paper originals are in process.

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