Visa Procedures and Migration

Germany

Federal Foreign Office

Recognition of the ECL certificate as proof of German language proficiency in visa procedures (Visa Handbook).

Important Update about International ECL Certificates (29 January 2026):

Please note that some German embassies only accept ECL language certificates in German if candidates achieve at least 60% in each individual skill (reading, writing, listening and speaking).

Because requirements may differ by embassy, we strongly recommend checking with your local German embassy to confirm under which conditions your ECL certificate is recognised.

Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)

Acceptance as an alternative to the “German Test for Immigrants” (bamf.de).

The language certificate should not be older than one year, especially for visa applications (auswaertiges-amt.de).

Switzerland

State Secretariat for Migration (SEM): ECL certificates are included in the list of recognized language certificates for residence and settlement permits as well as for naturalization procedures (sem.admin.ch).

Austria

ECL certificates are NOT officially recognized for residence and settlement permits (oesterreich.gv.at).