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Counseling and contact points (Beratung und Anlaufstellen) for labor migration in Berlin
recognition counseling (Anerkennungsberatung)
LaRA Plus II
ZAB
IHK Berlin
Handwerkskammer Berlin (Berlin Chamber of Crafts)
Willkommenszentrum (Welcome Center)
Landesamt für Einwanderung (State Office for Immigration)
migration counseling (Migrationsberatung)
Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin (Berlin Bar Association)
Briefly explained
This page lists eight contact points for labor migration in Berlin. Five entries are confirmed (as of 06.09.2026); three entries are expressly marked as not confirmed because address, costs, or contact details were contradictory or incompletely documented. This is stated openly here rather than smoothed over.
Step by step
- Clarify recognition of a foreign qualificationSince the restructuring of the funding system as of 1.1.2026, the first point of contact for general recognition counseling is La Red Anerkennungsberatung Plus II (LaRA Plus II), Alt-Reinickendorf 25, 13407 Berlin, tel. +49 30 457 989 555, free of charge. For academic qualifications, the Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB, Central Office for Foreign Education) is responsible nationwide.
- Clarify regulated vs. non-regulated professions with the chambersFor non-regulated commercial occupations: IHK Berlin, tel. 030 31510-900. For craft occupations: Handwerkskammer Berlin, tel. 030 25903-487, anerkennung@hwk-berlin.de (initial consultation free of charge, the procedure itself subject to fees).
- Apply for a residence title at the LEALandesamt für Einwanderung (LEA, State Office for Immigration), Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin, tel. 030 90269-4000, only after online appointment booking.
- Use general migration counselingMigrationsberatung für erwachsene Zuwanderer (MBE, migration counseling for adult immigrants), e.g. Caritaszentrum Helene-Weigel-Platz 10, 12681 Berlin, tel. +49 172 7791852 – one location of several providers (among others DRK, AWO, Diakonie, GIZ), assigned by district of residence.
- For legal questions: the Bar Association's lawyer directoryRechtsanwaltskammer Berlin (Berlin Bar Association), Littenstraße 9, 10179 Berlin, tel. 030 306931-0 – does not provide advice itself, but refers to the lawyer directory (fee-based advice) with a foreign-language filter.
Caution – common mistakes
- IHK Berlin – recognition counseling for non-regulated professions: listed as not confirmed. According to the available information, the address and cost of the counseling are unresolved; applications for IHK occupations go through the IHK FOSA in Nuremberg, not through this office directly.
- Willkommenszentrum Berlin – recognition of international qualifications: listed as not confirmed. The address and telephone number contradict each other across the available sources; both details therefore remain open. No confirmed information is available on this.
- The restructuring of recognition counseling as of 1.1.2026 means: there is no longer a single central recognition counseling office in Berlin, but several parallel providers (among others BIbA II at the TBB, Fahrplan Anerkennung Plus II at Club Dialog, and BBeFaP alongside LaRA Plus II) – this page lists only the provider LaRA Plus II, not all parallel offers in full.
- ZAB, Handwerkskammer, LEA, MBE Caritas, and RAK Berlin are confirmed entries (as of 06.09.2026); no additional independent re-check was carried out for this page.
In depth · Legal basis, figures and practice – for counsellors and professionals
Status of this list
The eight contact points listed here are shown with their confirmation status: five are confirmed (as of 06.09.2026), three are not confirmed.
Confirmed entries
- La Red Anerkennungsberatung Plus II (LaRA Plus II) – Alt-Reinickendorf 25, 13407 Berlin, tel. +49 30 457 989 555, anerkennung@la-red.eu, la-red.eu/projekt/lara-plus-2. Languages: Arabic, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish. Free of charge. Hours: Mon 12:00–15:00, Wed and Thu 10:00–14:00, by phone. Note: the funding program was restructured as of 1.1.2026 – no longer a single central recognition counseling service, but several parallel providers (among others BIbA II at the TBB, Fahrplan Anerkennung Plus II at Club Dialog, and BBeFaP).
- Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen (ZAB, Central Office for Foreign Education) – Graurheindorfer Straße 157, 53117 Bonn, tel. +49 228 501-664, zabservice@kmk.org, kmk.org/zab. Subject to fees. Hours: Mon, Tue, Thu 9–12 and 14–15, Fri 9–12, no in-person public service. Note: the body responsible nationwide, at the Secretariat of the Kultusministerkonferenz (Standing Conference of Education Ministers), based in Bonn, not in Berlin.
- Handwerkskammer Berlin – recognition counseling for foreign vocational qualifications – tel. 030 25903-487, anerkennung@hwk-berlin.de, hwk-berlin.de/ausbildung/auslaendische-qualifikationen. Costs mixed (initial consultation free of charge, procedure subject to fees). Hours: by phone Tue 13–16, in-person appointments Mon–Thu by arrangement, no counseling on Fridays. Note: only the chamber's head office could be documented, not the address of the recognition team, so it is listed without an address.
- Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA, State Office for Immigration) – Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin, tel. 030 90269-4000, berlin.de/einwanderung/en/about-us/contact. Languages: German, English. Costs unknown (fees for residence titles apply, amount not recorded). Only after online appointment booking. Note: no published general citizen email, only an online contact form.
- Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zuwanderer (MBE, migration counseling for adult immigrants) – Caritaszentrum Helene-Weigel-Platz – Helene-Weigel-Platz 10, 12681 Berlin, tel. +49 172 7791852, mbe-marzahn@caritas.de, caritas.de. Free of charge. Note: one location of several; other providers of migration counseling in Berlin include DRK, AWO, Diakonie, and GIZ, assigned by district of residence.
- Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin (Berlin Bar Association) – lawyer directory – Littenstraße 9, 10179 Berlin, tel. 030 306931-0, info@rak-berlin.org, rak-berlin.de/anwaltssuche/anwaltsverzeichnis. Use of the directory is free of charge; legal advice itself is fee-based. Note: the chamber does not advise, but refers; alternatively, there is the specialist lawyer search of the Deutscher Anwaltverein (German Bar Association) at dav-migrationsrecht.de/de/anwaltssuche.
Entries not confirmed
- IHK Berlin – recognition counseling for non-regulated professions – tel. 030 31510-900, ihk.de/berlin. Languages: German, English, Turkish, Ukrainian. Costs unknown. Hours: Mon–Thu 10–15. Note: the address and cost of the counseling are unresolved; applications for IHK occupations go through the IHK FOSA in Nuremberg, not through this office directly.
- Willkommenszentrum Berlin (Berlin Welcome Center) – recognition of international qualifications – beratung@intmig.berlin.de, willkommenszentrum.berlin.de. Languages: German, English, Russian, Ukrainian. Free of charge. Note: the address and telephone number contradict each other across the available sources; both details therefore remain open.
Federal law vs. Berlin implementation
The ZAB as the body responsible nationwide and the existence of the chambers' recognition procedures are prescribed by federal law (Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz, Professional Qualifications Assessment Act, and the chambers' specialist law). What is Berlin-specific are the concrete local providers (LaRA Plus II and the other programs restructured as of 1.1.2026), the LEA as Berlin's immigration authority, and the local chamber and migration counseling offices.
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