To work as a pharmacist in Germany, you will need the permit to practice as a pharmacist otherwise known as approbation. Currently, Germany has one of the most employable healthcare sectors in the world. As long as you have a license as a pharmacist and meet certain conditions, you should have no trouble finding employment. How to become a Pharmacist in Germany There are two options to become a pharmacist in Germany. Study pharmacy in Germany in a German university Migrate to Germany as an experienced Pharmacist Study Pharmacy in a German university This is probably the most expensive way to become a pharmacist in Germany. However, the chances of getting hired in a German hospital, apotheke or other organizations are much higher than the other options. It is the same process as coming to Germany to study any other courses. As soon as you’ve completed your higher secondary school, you can explore diploma or degree courses in pharmacy in Germany and start applying. In addition, you may be able to get scholarships that cover your entire stay in Germany, including your flight tickets, accommodation, and health insurance. Therefore, don’t forget to explore how to get a scholarship in Germany. Migrate to Germany as a professional Pharmacist If you have completed your degree in Pharmacy in a non EU member state or Switzerland, you need to get your academic credentials recognized in Germany. The process evaluates whether your education is equivalent to a German degree. Those who have earned degrees in another country are entitled to have their degrees equivalence assessed. It will be easier if you have already had your degree recognized in an EU-member country. The process for assessing equivalency As part of the equivalency assessment, the competent authorities compare your degree with the corresponding German degree to determine whether the two are comparable in terms of content or duration. If there are no significant differences, the authorities will certify equivalency. You don't receive a German degree certificate. However, it grants you the same legal rights as someone who has completed the corresponding degree in Germany. Pharmacist degree recognition Procedure in Germany To understand the procedure easily, the information portal of the German government for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has prepared a very detailed documentation in English. Documents required for the recognition procedure in Germany To start with you need to translate your degree certificates and your experience certificates to German. You can find translation services in your home country which might be cheaper. However, make sure that they are certified translators for official purposes. Alternatively, here’s a list of translation services listed in muenchen.de, an official website of the city of Munich. In addition to the application form, the following documents and additional supporting evidences must be submitted: Proof of identity - copy of passport Proof of work experience, education, and training If applicable, evidence of your right to practice in your country of origin Fitness certificate from a certified doctor Certificate of good conduct (Führungszeugnis) from a certified doctor Proof of German language skills. Please note that you only need to send the certified translations of your certificates for the recognition process. The competent authority will let you know if they need to see any original documents. The cost of your degree recognition process will be depending on the state you choose. The corresponding competent authority will inform you about the actual costs. When your degree is only partially recognized in Germany If substantial differences between your education and the German standard are determined, you can prove that you have the occupational knowledge and skills necessary to practice the pharmacist profession as per paragraph 3 of the Federal Pharmacists Regulation by taking the assessment exam. The assessment exam’s content is similar to that of the final state exams for German pharmacists. It covers the pharmaceutical practices as well as some legal points related to pharmacies. Additionally, it will touch the subject that was determined to have considerable differences by the competent authority. As per our research, the classes offered to intern pharmacists (PhiP) to prepare for this exam could help you too. The pharmacist's chamber offers the classes to help the pharmacist trainees to prepare for their state exams. You can get more information from the Chamber of Pharmacists in the state where you wish to work. You may also apply for a permit to practice pharmacy in Germany for a period of up to two years. This Permit is granted to persons who have completed pharmacy studies outside the EU, EEA, or Switzerland. However, you may be limited to certain types of activities. In general, you may be restricted to working in a specific pharmacy or under the supervision of another pharmacist. Please note that the permit does not represent the recognition of your degree or qualifications obtained in a foreign country. It does not, however, prevent you from receiving approbation too! You can only practice limited tasks during this practice period. You can, however, gain first-hand practical experience while preparing for the language or other assessment exams. German language skills required to become a pharmacist in Germany In order to obtain approbation as a pharmacist, your general and occupational German language skills must be sufficient. It is required that you have a level B2 knowledge of German according to the Common European Reference Framework. Additionally, you must pass the specialist language examination at level C1. The specialist language examination is administered by the chamber of pharmacists in most federal states. You are not required to prove language skills when initially submitting the application for approbation. It is sufficient to prove these during the process. The occupational language exam has no effect on the process of having your degree and education recognized and pharmaceutical knowledge is not tested as part of this examination. It is, however, not too difficult to learn German these days. You can find many courses online or you can even come to Germany for a short period to learn the language if you find that practical. This will help you get a first impression about the culture, the people and the system. Furthermore, you can also make connections in Germany that will help you land a job in the future. How to prepare for the occupational language examination in Germany as a pharmacist? For people who are preparing for the occupational language exam, a community pharmacy is a good place to start. You can improve your occupational German skills through observational work-shadowing. This involves observing a pharmacy team at work but not actively participating in pharmaceutical activities. As well as observing colleagues consult patients, you can learn about pharmaceutical packaging, medicinal product information, as well as the general processes and routines involved in working in a German pharmacy. The best places to find German Pharmacist jobs According to the ABDA - The Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists, the following job and recruitment portals are available and provide information about pharmacist jobs. Please note that this is not a complete list and only contains, primarily, positions available in community pharmacies. Job portals of the Chambers of Pharmacists and Pharmacist Associations and Societies Pharmazeutischen Zeitung Job Market European Job Mobility Portal - EURES workeer (Training and Job Portal for Refugees) Visa for Pharmacists to Germany As a citizen of the European Union, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, you require neither a visa nor a residence permit to work in Germany. Citizens of other countries on the other hand require a residence permit. Once you have successfully completed an interview and secured a job offer, you can apply for a German visa and work permit. The procedure is not different to other job categories. Upon completion of your professional training, you can also come to Germany to look for a job for up to 6 months on a German job seeker visa. On your way to Germany You can find all the information you need about living and working in Germany at www.expatova.com. If you enjoyed the content and feel like you learned something from it, consider supporting us by buying us a Ko - fi

Allowances for children make the subsistence level of children tax-free in Germany. The allowances for children are more valuable to some parents than the child benefit. Parents either receive child benefit or the child allowance for income tax. During the annual income tax assessment, the tax office determines whether the allowances for children or child benefit paid out are more favorable to the parents. There is no need to apply for this check since it is automatic. Allowance for children has been increased In 2021 and 2022, the child allowance will be 5460 euros (2730 euros per parent). There is also an allowance of EUR 2,928 (EUR 1,464 per parent) for childcare and education. Both allowances are combined when assessing income tax. Tax allowances for children in the individual years are taken into account with the following total if the parents are married and assessed jointly: 2020: 7812 Euro 2021 and 2022: 8388 euros When spouses are assessed separately, each parent is assessed half the amount. Children up to the age of 18 are generally considered during the assessment. In addition, children under 21 who are unemployed and registered as looking for work in Germany are also considered. Adult children under the age of 25 will be considered if they be trained for a profession (apprenticeship, study), are in a transitional period of no more than four months between two training phases, cannot start or continue vocational training due to a lack of training places, do a voluntary social year, a voluntary ecological year, a federal voluntary service or an international youth voluntary service. Children who are physically, mentally, or emotionally incapable of supporting themselves, if the disability occurred before the age of 25, are also considered. On your way to Germany You can find all the information you need about living and working in Germany at www.expatova.com. If you enjoyed the content and feel like you learned something from it, consider supporting us by buying us a Ko - fi

It is always sparky when thinking about the holidays and planning the vacation. Unfortunately, 2021 was not so favorable in terms of holidays as most of them came to pass by the weekend. Most commonly, a German employee gets 30 paid leaves annually. If you fall under this category, you might be able to get some 50+ holidays this year if you plan ahead! Jan 06 - Epiphany For the people who work in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt got a chance to have 17 days of holidays from December 24 2021 (Friday), to January 9 2022 (Sunday) if you spend 10 paid leaves. Mar 08 - International Women’s day (only for Berliners) The next public holiday comes after 61 long days in March! However, only for Berliners. In January 2019, Berlin's parliament approved a bill to make International Women's Day, observed annually on 8th March, a public holiday. Apr 15 - Good Friday For the rest of the people in Germany, it's a 99 days long wait until April 14 for Good Friday. Since Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays, you get a long weekend. A clever marking of 4 days off before Good Friday or after Easter Monday would give you a relaxing 10 days off! May 26 - Ascension Day Since Labour Day (May 01) comes on a Sunday in 2022, the Ascension Day is on Thursday (like always). Take a day off on Friday and enjoy a long weekend! One of the well liked options is to bridge between Ascension Day and Whit Monday (June 6). If you manage to take off for 6 days (from May 27 to Jun 3), you can avail 12 days of vacation with probably nice sunny days. Jun 16 - Corpus Christi People in western Germany (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)get the Corpus Christi on a Thursday. Therefore, marking Out of Office on Jun 17 would give you a 4 days weekend. Aug 08 - Peace Festival (Only for Augsburgers) The Peace festival in Augsburg gives the people living there an opportunity to take the Friday before off or the Tuesday after off and get a 4 days long weekend. Aug 15 - Assumption day (Only Bavaria and Saarland) The Assumption of Mary is only celebrated in Bavaria and Saarland. Since it is a Monday, make a day off on the Friday before or the Tuesday after and get a 4 days weekend As we head into July, August and September, there aren’t many bridge days to make use of, unless you’re lucky enough to live in one of the three states with regional holidays. Assumption of Mary, for example, is only celebrated in Catholic areas of Bavaria and Saarland. Sep 20 - World Children’s Day (Only Thuringia) Thuringia celebrates the World Children’s Day on September 20. Its a Tuesday. Therefore, an off on Monday gets you a long weekend to enjoy! Oct 03 - German Unity Day German Unity day is a national holiday and this time thankfully on a Monday. Choose between Friday before or Tuesday after and get a long weekend. Oct 31 - Reformation Day (regional holiday) This regional Public holiday on a Monday gives the people in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen gives the opportunity to get a long weekend! Nov 1 - All Saints' Day (regional holiday) Public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Mark the Monday off and there’s a chance to get a 4 day weekend. Dec 26 - Boxing Day It's a Monday and therefore, a Friday before or a Tuesday after gives you a 4 day weekend. For the most part, 2022 is neither a bad year nor a good year for holidays. The best part is, it isn't as bad as 20212 either! Anyway, depending on which state in Germany you live in, it's possible to avail more than 50 holidays in 2022 if you combine your 26 annual vacation days with the public holidays cleverly!

Since 2019, the discussions about permanently switching to winter time have been heating up. The people in Germany, as well as the political parties have been voting positively for this change. On Sunday the 28th of October, people in Germany as well as other European countries that follow the Central European Summer Time (CEST) got an extra hour to sleep as clocks switched back an hour at 3 a.m The process of switching back the clocks was started in Germany in 1980 soon after the global oil crisis. The idea was to save energy by gaining an extra hour of sunlight. Since then the act has been followed by Germans by changing their clocks twice a year in October and March. EU parliament drafted a law to scrap the DST On March 26, 2019, the European Parliament voted in to support the EU Committee draft order to stop changing the clocks in the European Union. While the draft law was opposed by 192 members, 410 members voted in favor of it. The aim was initially to implement the law by 2021. However, Europe, like the rest of the world, was affected by Covid-19 and the leaders were busy handling the pandemic. Since Germany, like other European countries, switched to the winter time, the discussions have been heated up once again. The negotiations as well as the final decision is yet to be made, the likelihood of the EU to scrap daylight saving in 2021 is very narrow.