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I am currently residing in Pakistan. I applied for a long term visa at German embassy on 21st of October and got a call today from the embassy to get my degree verified from ZAB. Although my degree is present in the anabin database but still embassy is asking for the degree evaluation certificate.

I found out that it takes around 3 months for the certificate and my joining date is 1st December. How should I proceed about it?

P.S. I even emailed the screenshots from the anabin database to the embassy.

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    I think they expect you to join one or two printouts of the database with the application (not just an email). If the official instructions say it has to be on paper, they need to check that box and keep it in their archive, just looking it up is not good enough. But still, it's odd that they would ask for a full-blown evaluation instead of requesting the relevant document. Or could that be what they mean by “certificate”? Also, what does the entry for your diploma say under Äquivalenzklasse?
    – Gala
    Oct 25, 2016 at 11:14
  • Another wild idea: Are you sure you are communicating with the embassy directly and not with an agent trying to con you out of some extra fees? (It does not seem too likely in this case, given how specific the request is but I thought it still ought to be mentioned.)
    – Gala
    Oct 25, 2016 at 11:17
  • @Gala. Thank you for the comment. The visa officer after the interview gave me an email id of ZAB and told me to get my degree verified. I mailed them the screenshots from anabin but he called me again saying the same thing.
    – Urgent
    Oct 25, 2016 at 11:51
  • @Gala: 'Entspricht' is written under that heading.
    – Urgent
    Oct 25, 2016 at 11:52
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    From the link and some Google translation, I'm getting that 'Entspricht' translates as "corresponds" rather than as "equivalent." Could that be the problem?
    – mkennedy
    Oct 25, 2016 at 19:59

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There are three "equivalence categories" in the anabin database: Bedingt vergleichbar, Entspricht, and Gleichwertig. Based on your comments, the entry for your diploma mentions a German 3-year bachelor degree with the category "Entspricht".

This is how the official website describes this category:

"Entspricht" ist eine neutrale Einstufung, die aussagt, dass der ausländische Abschluss formal einem deutschen Abschluss zugeordnet werden kann, über die Gleichwertigkeit wird keine Aussage getroffen.

Or, in English, (approximate translation):

"Corresponds" is a neutral assessment, which certifies that the foreign diploma can be formally related to the German diploma. No conclusion as to equivalence is provided.

There is a distinction between formal and material equivalence, "Entspricht" only covers the former. Apparently, the consulate requires full equivalence (Gleichwertig, which entails both) and you still need to get your degree evaluated for that. I have no idea how likely you are to succeed.

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    I get it. So formally my degree is equivalent to a 3-year German bachelor degree but material wise nothing can be said.
    – HashimR
    Oct 26, 2016 at 10:07
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    @HashimR Yes, I think that's correct.
    – Gala
    Oct 26, 2016 at 11:23

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