Fast lane for nursing staff in Bavaria

The fast lane for nursing staff was introduced in Bavaria in June 2023 – an experimental move to accelerate the recognition of qualifications and integration of international skilled workers into the labour market. Since then, 10,000 applications for recognition of foreign qualifications have been processed, about 1,000 of which led to recognition. The processing time of applications has been reduced to less than four weeks, thanks to digital procedures. Because of this, the fast lane in Bavaria has now been generalised and extended to include other occupational groups.  

Our article will tell you more about the fast lane, what it is, what advantages it offers, and which new professional groups are now also benefiting from this model.

The fast lane was introduced in June 2023 in Bavaria as an experimental move to speed up lengthy recognition procedures for nursing staff and thus integrate skilled workers into the labour market more quickly.  

This acceleration is achieved by centralising the recognition and entry procedure. For some professional groups, up to seven different recognition offices were involved in the process. Now, with the fast lane, it is just one. This has reduced the average processing time by almost 50 percent.  

For health and licenced professions, the Central Office for the Immigration of Skilled Workers (ZSEF) takes care of reviewing residence law issues and the recognition procedure. In the fast lane, the Coordination and Advice Centre for Professional Recognition (KuBB) deals only with advising employers on procedural issues.

This centralisation not only demonstrably shortens the processing time for the recognition of skilled workers’ qualifications but also creates clarity and transparency. Moreover, employers can rest assured that uniform decisions are made for every country of origin, making personnel planning much easier for clinics and facilities.

The fast lane in Bavaria is basically the accelerated procedure for skilled workers. In Bavaria, this procedure has been centralised and optimised further for certain occupational groups – this is how the “fast lane” model came about.

Initially, the fast lane in Bavaria only applied to nursing staff. As of 1 July 2025, however, the fast lane has been extended to include other occupational groups and now also applies to the following professionals:

• Healthcare professionals (e.g. nursing staff, physiotherapists, emergency paramedics, midwives)
• Licenced professions (e.g. doctor, dentist)
• Driving instructors
• Chamber of Industry and Commerce professions

Employers apply for an accelerated skilled worker procedure with a power of attorney from their skilled worker. In Bavaria, this will then generally take place via the optimised “fast lane” model in the case of the above-mentioned occupational groups.

The fast lane generally has the same requirements as the accelerated skilled worker procedure, but the skilled workers must also practice one of the above-mentioned professions.

The general requirements are:

• Skilled workers from third countries: Skilled workers and trainees must be from third countries and still be resident abroad.
• Authorised employer: The application is submitted by the employer who requires a power of attorney from the skilled worker for this purpose.
• Concrete job offer: The skilled worker needs a concrete job offer for a job or training place in Bavaria.
• Sufficient language skills: The skilled worker must have sufficient knowledge of German and be able to provide evidence of this.

The accelerated skilled worker procedure costs 411 euros. Visa fees of 75 euros and costs for the certified translation of documents will be on top of this. It is best to clarify in advance who will cover which costs.