Information for international applicants

Information for International Applicants

Our company consists of four hospitals, a nursing home and a hospice in four different locations in Berlin. The company belongs to DRK-Schwesternschaft Berlin e.V., which is a non-religious association within the international Red Cross / Red Crescent movement. Please, do not confuse DRK Kliniken Berlin with national or regional Red Cross / DRK organizations. We are part of the same movement but not connected in business. Find out how to get a job in our company here.

How to get a job as a ...

Professional Nurse (with a Bachelor of Nursing)

To apply for a job as a nurse in our hospitals, please include:

  • recognition of your professional qualification as a nurse by German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“)
  • German language skills certificate „Level B2“
  • if you want to increase your chances, include a letter of motivation in German and proof of working experience as a nurse

Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900.

Nursing Assistant / "Pflegefachkraft in Anerkennung"

You can work as an assistant nurse if …

  • you applied for the recognition of your Bachelor of Nursing by German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) and received a notice of deficiency which says that you have to take an adaptation course („Anpassungskurs“). In this case, please apply for our Anpassungskurs which includes school lessons and a job as an assistant nurse in one of our hospitals.
  • you didn’t achieve a Bachelor of Nursing in your home country, but did some other kind of professional training as a nurse and received the recognition as „Gesundheits- und Krankenpflegehelfer“ or „Pflegefachassistent*in“ by German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“). In this case, apply via our job ads for Pflegefachassistent*innen and include your recognition certificate and an official German language skills certificate level B2 or higher.

Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900.

Nurse or Nursing Assistant in training

We offer a three-year training as a nurse („Pflegefachmann“ or „Pflegefachfrau“) and a one-and-a-half-year-training as a nursing assistant („Pflegefachassistent*in“). The trainings are free of charge, you will earn a salary. Please find our application forms for the trainings here and include:

  • your graduation certificate from high school approved by German authorities (find information here)
  • official German language skills certificate at level C1 (legally, level B2 is sufficient, but we find that trainees can’t follow our classes before they have reached level C1)
  • proof of a three-week nursing internship (apply for an internship here)
  • letter of motivation in German
  • C.V. / resumée in German
  • residence permit (visa)
  • working permit by the Foreigners’ Registration Office
  • copies of the original documents, translated

Meet Claudia from Colombia

Claudia is part of our new employer branding campaign. Her image is published on our company trucks, on our career website and other advertising material. Claudia came to DRK Kliniken Berlin Köpenick from Colombia two years ago. She misses the colourful and lively culture back home, but has found good Latin American restaurants and party locations in Berlin. Claudia works in our Gastroenterology departement together with other international nurses from Albania. Read her interview here (in German).

Meet Neil from the Philippines

Neil was a nurse in a big hospital with 600 beds in the Philippines for 6 years. Because he wanted to support his family financially, he decided to come to Germany as a migrant worker. Today Neil works in our trauma surgery department. Get to know him and his story in the video (in German). Or read his story in English here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which steps are necessary before I can apply?

The legal process is a little tricky. There are many different regulations depending on which country you come from, which job you want to take and whether you are a regular international applicant / migrant / person granted asylum or a refugee / asylum seeker. To sum up, we can say that – depending on your individual background – you might need:

  • an recognition of your professional qualification by  German authorities, e.g. „LaGeSo Berlin“ (Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales, Berlin)
  • or (if applying for an apprenticeship / training) a recognition of your school diploma by Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Berlin
  • a translation of your professional qualification or school diploma
  • an employment contract or preliminary contract by a German employer (see question “Do you offer preliminary contracts?”)
  • a general working permit from the Foreigners’ Registration Office
  • a permission from our Federal Employment Agency to work in the specific position that has been offered to you
  • a residence permit (visa)

Important advice: Take as many necessary steps as you can before applying at our company. Get help with the legal process by a counselling service. Try to find a German native speaker who volunteers to translate your C.V., helps you with the forms and accompanies you to appointments with the authorities. Find more information in English on this website by the German government: anerkennung-in-deutschland.de

Which common mistake should I avoid?

If you already received the recognition of your professional qualification („Anerkennung“, „Erlaubnis zur Führung der Berufsbezeichnung Pflegefachfrau*Pflegefachmann“, „Approbation“) by German authorities, please present it as the most important information at the very beginning of your application!

We receive many applications from international candidates who can’t present their recognition documents, yet. So if you hide them somewhere in the back of your application, we will tend to believe that you can’t present them, either. Don’t start your C.V. or letter of motivation with information about your school education or your professional experiences in your home country or with the story of your migration, but with the very clear hint for us, that you can present your recognition documents by German authorities.

Do you offer preliminary contracts?

German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) might notify you that you need a preliminary contract in order for them to approve your professional qualification.

We can help you with a document stating our interest in seeing your application and considering your employment. In most cases this will be sufficient for the authorities and they will process your request. Please, ask for this document at bewerbung@drk-kliniken-berlin.de.

However, this is not a firm commitment that we will offer you a job. And it is not a preliminary contract. We will still have to check and process your application.

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