Anabin and Degree Recognition for Nepali Students: How to Read Your Result

anabin is the database German universities, embassies and employers use to judge foreign qualifications. It is run by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) at the Standing Conference of Education Ministers. Most guides tell Nepali students to "check that your university is H+" and stop there. That is only half the check, and for holders of a three-year bachelor's it is the half that does not matter much.

We pulled the Nepal entries from anabin on 9 October 2026. Here is what they say and how to read them.

Step 1: find your university

anabin lists 13 institutions in Nepal, and every one of them currently has the status H+:

• Tribhuvan University
• Kathmandu University
• Pokhara University
• Purbanchal University
• Far-Western University
• Mid-Western University
• Gandaki University
• Lumbini Buddhist University
• Nepal Sanskrit University
• Agriculture and Forestry University
• B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences
• Patan Academy of Health Sciences
• St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu

Many Nepali students study at a constituent or affiliated campus rather than a central university department. Your degree certificate is issued by the university, so look up the university: a BSc from a TU-affiliated college in Butwal is a Tribhuvan University degree.

If your institution is missing, do not panic and do not assume the worst. The Make it in Germany guide to anabin notes that not every foreign university or degree is listed, and that a Statement of Comparability from ZAB is then the way to prove your degree's level.

What H+ really means

anabin's own explanation is more modest than most people think. H+ means the institution is regarded as a higher education institution in Germany. In anabin's words, it "only means" that degrees from it can be put through an equivalence assessment; it is not a decision that those degrees equal German ones. anabin also does not say whether a foreign institution corresponds to a German university or a university of applied sciences. The equivalence judgement happens one level down, at the degree.

Step 2: find your degree, and check its length

This is where Nepali degrees differ, and where the name on your certificate can mislead you. anabin has separate entries for three-year and four-year versions of the same degree name, because Nepali universities run both. What decides your rating is how long your programme lasted after Class 12 (anabin degree types for Nepal):

The reason for the three-year rating is spelled out in anabin's note: the bachelor's itself lasts only three years after Class 12, so a content-level comparison with a German three-year bachelor's "is not yet possible". Notice the knock-on effect. A two-year Nepali master's built on a three-year bachelor's is also rated only conditionally comparable, because anabin looks at the whole chain of study. And the master's rating after a four-year bachelor's assumes a substantial thesis, so keep proof of yours.

If you hold a four-year BSc or BA, pick the four-year entry, and make sure your transcript shows all four years clearly.

What the ratings mean for admission

For university admission, anabin informs the decision but each university makes it. For bachelor's entry, the DAAD admission database (which draws on anabin) says a Nepali bachelor's of four to five years gives general admission to undergraduate study in any subject. For master's entry, programmes set their own rules on whether a three-year degree is enough, usually by counting credits or years. There is no single answer for "Is a Nepali BSc enough?", only programme-by-programme answers. Our uni-assist guide covers how universities evaluate your file, and the grade conversion guide covers the grade side.

What the ratings mean for visas and work

Here the rules are stricter. The Make it in Germany guide says that whatever your university's status, you must also look up your degree, and "only if the degree is also rated as 'entspricht' (comparable) or 'gleichwertig' (equivalent)" is your proof complete. You then print both results and submit them together, for example with a Blue Card application.

For Nepali graduates that means:

• Four-year degrees (BE, B.Tech, BBA, four-year BSc or BA): anabin printouts for the university and the degree normally serve as proof.
• Three-year bachelor's, or a master's built on one: "conditionally comparable" does not meet that test, so you need a ZAB Statement of Comparability. We cannot predict its outcome, since ZAB assesses each case.

This matters for routes such as the Opportunity Card and the Blue Card and skilled worker visas. If you earn a degree in Germany, the question no longer arises for that degree.

The ZAB Statement of Comparability

The Statement of Comparability is an official ZAB certificate comparing your foreign degree with a German qualification. The essentials:

• Fee: EUR 208. If ZAB cannot issue a statement, for example because the programme was not recognised when you graduated, it keeps up to half of the fee. A replacement costs EUR 104.
• Processing time: 3 months for a regular application, 2 months within the fast-track procedure for skilled workers, and 2 weeks when it is needed for an EU Blue Card.
• Application: online, with document uploads and online payment.
• Limits: it does not give you a university place or a licence for a regulated profession, and it does not convert your grades into German grades.

Regulated professions such as medicine, nursing and the protected engineer title need their own recognition procedure on top of this.