Nostrification in Austria: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications Step by Step

Nostrification in Austria: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications Step by Step Nostrification in Austria: how foreign degrees get recognised — authorities, 3–12 months, costs, apostille, translations, ENIC NARIC and diploma-free work. Topics: Work, Labor Market, Career & Education.

A degree earned abroad does not automatically grant the right to work in Austria. For regulated professions — physician, registered nurse, teacher, kindergarten educator — the law demands formal recognition, most often through nostrification (Nostrifizierung — full recognition of a foreign degree as equivalent to an Austrian one). This guide walks the entire route: which authorities decide, how nostrification differs from EU-style recognition and the ENIC NARIC Austria statement, which translations and which apostille you need, and what the whole procedure costs in time and money. According to the official definition by Austria’s science ministry, nostrification declares a foreign degree fully equivalent to its Austrian counterpart — with identical legal consequences. You will find an action checklist and FAQ answers at the end.

What nostrification is and when it is mandatory

Nostrification is the formal recognition of a foreign degree as fully equivalent to the corresponding Austrian study programme. After a positive decision you may practise the regulated profession and use the Austrian academic degree. According to the ministry’s recognition portal, nostrification applies only when the law requires an Austrian degree and no other form of recognition — such as EU-Berufsanerkennung — is possible.

One crucial nuance: the procedure mainly concerns graduates of third countries — states outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens follow the simpler EU recognition track (EU-Berufsanerkennung) under Directive 2005/36/EC. As OeAD ENIC NARIC Austria explains, university nostrifications are numerically rare because they are only required for third-country diplomas seeking access to regulated professions — physicians, teachers and higher non-medical health professions.

A negative decision is not a dead end — it is feedback. Where the university sees gaps in the curriculum, it usually imposes conditions instead of refusing outright. If a rejection does happen, it can be appealed through the remedies listed in the decision notice (Bescheid) itself. For that reason it pays to file not with the nearest institution, but with the one whose programme most closely mirrors your own.

Do not confuse the terms either: Nostrifikation in Austrian law means recognising foreign school reports, while Nostrifizierung means recognising university degrees. The words sound almost identical but lead to different authorities — OeAD keeps them deliberately separate on its page.

Track	For whom	What it grants	Where it runs
Nostrification	Third-country degrees	Full equivalence with an Austrian degree	Universities, universities of applied sciences, teacher-training colleges
EU recognition	EU/EEA/Swiss citizens	Recognition under Directive 2005/36/EC	Profession-specific authorities (e.g. Ärztekammer)
ENIC NARIC statement	Any degree, non-regulated professions	Official evaluation for employers, not formal recognition	OeAD, aais.at portal

Who decides: universities, Fachhochschulen and other authorities

The nostrification decision rests with the Austrian universities, universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) and teacher-training colleges (Pädagogische Hochschulen) that offer the matching programme. The institution compares your curriculum with the Austrian one and issues the decision. The legal basis, as listed by BMFWF, is § 90 of the Universities Act 2002, § 6(6–8) of the Fachhochschule Act and § 68 of the 2005 Higher Education Act.

Several professions use a different machinery. In healthcare, nostrification files for registered nurses (DGKP) are handled by Austrian universities of applied sciences, while Pflegefachassistenz and Pflegeassistenz files go to the provincial governments. The official Nursing in Austria guide by Gesundheit Österreich GmbH maps both branches. For physicians the Austrian Medical Chamber plays the decisive role: it governs professional access, crediting of specialist training and the exams described below.

Future teachers and kindergarten educators pass through the Pädagogische Hochschulen: recognition of a teaching or early-childhood diploma, including subject exams, runs there. Which authority owns your profession is answered by the national recognition portal: type in the job title and it names the regulator and the procedure type. Free multilingual guidance comes from the Anlaufstellen (advisory centres for people with foreign qualifications) — contacts are listed on anlaufstelle-anerkennung.at.

Step 1. Check whether your profession is regulated

Everything starts with one question: does your profession belong to the reglementierte Berufe — occupations for which the law demands an Austrian degree? The list includes physicians, registered nurses, kindergarten educators, teachers and a broad range of non-medical health professions. The full list with responsible authorities sits on the recognition portal berufsanerkennung.at.

If your profession is non-regulated — IT, marketing, accounting — you do not need nostrification at all. An evaluation (Bewertung) from ENIC NARIC Austria is enough: an official statement describing your qualification within the Austrian system. As OeAD stresses, such an evaluation is not formal recognition — it eases access to the labour market, and the hiring decision stays with the employer.

Run this check before moving and before signing any employment contract. It changes the whole relocation budget: a regulated profession means nostrification and exam costs, a non-regulated one only an evaluation statement for your job application. In healthcare the check pays double: recognition there is also the gateway to shortage occupations and labour migration — more on that in the medicine section.

Evaluations describe the academic value of a foreign qualification and certify how it can be used professionally, but they cannot replace formal recognition.

— OeAD, ENIC NARIC Austria

Step 2. Assemble documents: translations and apostille

For nostrification the university asks for a complete document set, and two traps dominate: legalisation and translation quality. The standard package: diploma with transcript, identity document, often a birth certificate and a CV. Foreign documents must be legalised: countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention need only an apostille, everyone else needs full consular legalisation through the foreign ministry and the Austrian embassy.

Translations must be done by court-certified translators (gerichtlich zertifizierte Übersetzer) — an ordinary agency translation without certification will be rejected. The translation must cover the entire document, including stamps and signatures. Austria keeps lists of certified translators by province, and many universities publish their own guidance on translation requirements — ask before ordering so you do not pay twice.

If your diploma is lost, order a duplicate from the issuing university early: it can take weeks, and without the original or a certified copy the application will not be accepted. If the university has closed, its records usually sit with the successor institution or the education ministry of the diploma country — slower, but doable. One more habit worth adopting: make certified copies of the whole package for yourself, since originals sometimes stay with the authority until the procedure ends.

A practical detail from OeAD: stacked degrees are applied for in one file — if you seek an evaluation of your master’s, the bachelor’s diploma belongs in the same application. The same logic applies to nostrification: the educational chain must be complete and consistent.

Step 3. File the application with the university

The application goes directly to the university that runs the matching Austrian programme — berufsanerkennung.at will name it. You specify the Austrian degree you are targeting and attach the document package from the previous step. Most universities accept applications year-round; check the specific institution’s rules, since universities of applied sciences sometimes keep their own application windows.

The university then compares your curriculum with the Austrian one: volume of study, content of modules and the final qualification. Three outcomes are possible — full recognition, recognition with conditions (supplementary exams or practical training), or rejection if the differences are insurmountable. Every outcome is issued as a written decision (Bescheid) with reasons attached.

Physicians face additional procedures at the Medical Chamber: as the Austrian Medical Chamber explains, foreign specialist training periods are credited under § 14 of the Physicians Act 1998, and the nostrified doctorate is the prerequisite for professional access. If you can choose between several provinces, compare not only universities but also how the authorities actually run their exams — the details differ.

Step 4. Fulfil the conditions: supplementary exams and practice

Most often the university imposes Ausgleichsmaßnahmen — compensatory measures. These are supplementary exams (Ergänzungsprüfungen) in individual subjects, coursework or practical training. Scope and format are fixed in the decision notice: exams are listed by name and deadlines are set upfront. For related degrees this usually means one to four subjects; for distant ones, more.

Healthcare offers a pragmatic rule: while nostrification is running, you may already work — one level below the target profession. As Nursing in Austria reports, a person holding a DGKP nostrification notice may work temporarily as a nursing assistant (Pflegefachassistenz), and a holder of a Pflegefachassistenz notice as a health assistant (Pflegeassistenz). The permission is capped at two years, and registration in the Gesundheitsberuferegister (health professions register) is required throughout. For many, this is how they finance the recognition process.

The exams are not only about subjects. In medicine and care, language decides: the Fachsprachprüfung for physicians, daily patient contact for nurses. So plan exams together with a language course — retaking an exam because of language costs more than a month of preparation. Treat imposed internships as an opportunity too: an Austrian internship visibly raises your hiring odds after recognition.

Timelines: how long recognition takes

A realistic range is 3–12 months from filing to decision in a straightforward case without conditions. Clean document packages and small curriculum gaps move fastest. Delays almost always trace back to paperwork: a wrong translation, a missing apostille, a duplicate still in transit.

If supplementary exams or practice are imposed, the timeline stretches accordingly: each exam is tied to the university’s exam calendar, and practical blocks to hospital or school schedules. Summer is traditionally the worst season for exams — teaching pauses and commissions sit rarely. Files with compensatory measures routinely take 1–2 years end to end.

Timelines also depend on the diploma country: documents from slower bureaucracies need extra time before filing — budget about two months for apostille and certificates alone. An early consultation at an Anlaufstelle genuinely saves months: the centre reviews your package, orders the steps sensibly and flags where the university will push back.

What recognition costs

The budget has four parts. The ENIC NARIC evaluation costs €150 for up to two qualifications per application, plus €50 for each additional one; payment is card-only through the aais.at portal — figures published by OeAD ENIC NARIC Austria. The university nostrification itself is tariffed by each institution: an administrative fee plus per-exam charges, so the total depends heavily on the volume of compensatory measures.

The third block is translations and legalisation: court-certified translations run to tens of euros per document, and the apostille is a state fee in the issuing country. A nostrification package usually includes several documents, so budget the whole set rather than one diploma. The fourth block is your exam preparation, above all language: professional German courses often cost the same order of magnitude as the procedure fees themselves.

Refugees, people with subsidiary protection and migrants can recover part of the costs: according to OeAD, the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) reimbursement programme can even refund the evaluation fee. And some employers — especially in care — will pay for nostrification themselves if you commit to staying several years. Always ask before you sign.

The special track: physicians and healthcare

Medicine runs on two levels. First the physician nostrifies the university degree — usually at a medical faculty running a Humanmedizin programme. Then come the professional-access steps: the Fachsprachprüfung (medical German exam), entry in the physician list, and crediting of foreign specialist training under § 14 ÄrzteG. Our guide on foreign doctor recognition in Austria walks that path in detail — German level decides almost everything.

Nurses and care workers follow the split described above: universities of applied sciences for DGKP, provincial governments for the assistant tiers, interim work one tier below, register entry. Because care work sits on the shortage occupations list, recognition is often combined with the Red-White-Red Card, where a recognised qualification carries decisive points. The terms are laid out on migration.gv.at, and our overview of working in Austria as a foreigner shows how a recognised degree moves salary and hiring odds.

Educators should know the role of the Pädagogische Hochschulen: recognition of a teacher or educator diploma almost always includes exams in Austrian pedagogy and school law. This is the most regulated of the social professions — and one of the most in demand. The market pays recognised educators well: current figures sit in our teacher salary overview.

What to do without a diploma, or when it is lost

Nostrification without a diploma is impossible — the procedure exists to establish the equivalence of an existing document. If the diploma is lost, request a duplicate from the issuing university: most send certified copies or a fresh diploma on written request. If the university has closed, its records usually sit with the successor institution or the country’s education ministry — slower, but doable.

If no documents exist at all, work in non-regulated fields: there skills and experience decide, not diplomas. In parallel, consider new education in Austria — we collected the admission rules in our guide to university admission in Austria. Adults also have the second-chance education track: evening schools and courses leading to an Austrian qualification — the system is described on the ministry’s pages on recognition and adult education.

In every difficult situation the Anlaufstellen advise free of charge: complex files without a complete package are exactly their territory. They also help you build a realistic plan: what to recognise, what to relearn, and where experience plus courses will do. Those eyeing teaching should price the market early: our teacher salary overview shows why recognition pays off.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is nostrification different from an ENIC NARIC evaluation? Nostrification is formal recognition: after it, you may practise a regulated profession and use the Austrian degree. The ENIC NARIC evaluation is a statement for employers and is not recognition. For non-regulated professions the evaluation is usually enough — and it costs a fixed €150.

Who needs nostrification, and who needs EU recognition? Degrees from the EU, EEA and Switzerland are recognised under Directive 2005/36/EC — faster and cheaper. Nostrification is for third-country degrees when the law demands an Austrian diploma. The recognition portal berufsanerkennung.at names the procedure type for your profession.

How long does nostrification take? Straightforward files close within 3–12 months. With supplementary exams or practice, expect 1–2 years. Most delays come from translations and apostilles — not from the university itself.

Can I work while recognition is pending? In healthcare — yes, one level below the target profession, for a maximum of 2 years and with Gesundheitsberuferegister registration. Non-regulated professions have no restrictions. Regulated professions are off-limits without a positive decision.

Your action plan

Nostrification looks heavy but breaks into clear steps:

1. Check your profession on berufsanerkennung.at — regulated or not.
2. Non-regulated: order the ENIC NARIC evaluation for €150 via aais.at.
3. Regulated: find the university, assemble duplicates, apostille and certified translations.
4. File the application and budget 3–12 months for the decision.
5. If conditions are imposed, plan the exams and — in healthcare — legal work one tier below.
6. Bring in the free Anlaufstelle at any step — they accompany the whole process.

A recognised degree is not paperwork for its own sake — it is the key to salaries and professions that stay closed without it. Start with the profession check on the recognition portal today: one online query removes half the uncertainty. And to catch every change in migration and labour rules, subscribe to our newsletter — we track them first.