Bildungsurlaub (also referred to as Bildungsfreistellung or Bildungszeit) is a government-backed programme, offering paid educational leave to employees of any company in any field, in 14 German states. German professionals are entitled to 5 days paid leave every year to upskill at a recognised institution and in most states can apply to take two years at once.

To become recognised, a school must meet a variety of criteria, set at state-level for Bildungsurlaub. This means that the requirements for Bildungsurlaub recognition can be different from state to state. In order to recruit German employees, your school must be first Bildungsurlaub accredited. German companies are increasingly international and often require employees to speak more than one language. For this reason, language courses are a popular option for Bildungsurlaub. However, some states require classes in things such as local politics or culture in addition to the language course component.

Once you are approved for Bildungsurlaub, your institution will be added in the list of officially recognised schools.

You may wonder why you should go through the process of becoming recognised for Bildungsurlaub? The answer is quite straight forward – if you were a German professional and you could go abroad and learn a language for up to two weeks and STILL get your full salary, wouldn’t you do it?

Each year thousands of Germans take advantage of this programme – the only catch for them is that the school they enrol in must be approved by the appropriate state. After your course/courses are approved, the Bildungsurlaub programme provides you with amazing opportunities to recruit German individuals, companies, and organisations. Remember, employees in Germany qualify for Bildungsurlaub every year – the potential for repeat enrolments by satisfied students is very high!

Germans are generally concerned about quality. In fact, for most quality is even more important than cost! Being approved for Bildungsurlaub signals to the German-speaking market that your school has met the strict criteria set by the state government. This is why using your Bildungsurlaub-Approval logo is important. It is a quick way for Germans to recognise that your school has past these requirements and offers quality courses.

• you haven’t heard of Bildungsurlaub before
• you tried to apply for Bildungsurlaub but gave up on the tedious paper work?
• you are approved for Bildungsurlaub but it takes you too long to keep up with permanent changes, reporting documents, re-application, etc. while you really should do all your other work
• you do your approvals yourself but are often uncertain when clients ask about particular requirements
• you are approved but would like to promote your courses on a webpage catering for the kind of clients you are looking for
• you don`t get enough clients from Germany
• you have difficulties finding the right doucment for the right state and the corresponding forms

• advice you which of your courses could get the approval
• check and if necessary adjust your program and time tables to meet the criteria for Bildungsurlaub
• prepare all the necessary documents in german language (where required)
• apply for the Bildungsurlaub recognition on behalf of your school in as many federal states as you wish
• do all correspondence with the german ministries on behalf of your school
• settle the ministry application fees on your behalf, where applicable
• if necessary, have your time tables and program translated if not provided in german (additional fees apply)
• re-apply and re-new the recognition
• support you in filling in the documents required for your clients
• support you in answering your questions about Bildungsurlaub
• help you with client enquiries about Bildungsurlaub
• act as german speaking contact person of your school, might be required by some states
• provide you with the „Bildungsurlaub approval“ logo to be used on your publications and website
• list your school on our webpage
• give you access to our upload and download area
• provide you with our logo, which may be used for promotional purposes

The criterias very much vary from each federal state. Bildungsurlaub-Approval will advice you in which states your language courses will meet the requirements for Bildungsurlaub. In general the minimum requirements are 30 lessons a week, a detailed syllabus must be provided. Some states require an application for each level and each destination of the language school, while others accept all levels and all destinations of one language school.

• professional handling of your documents and approvals
• time saving for your school admin staff
• online training of school administration staff regarding handling of Bildungsurlaub
• attracting new clients for Bildungsurlaub through our webpage
• use of the „Bildungsurlaub approved“ logo
• fair, transparent pricing
• all your documents securely filed in one place
• creating the documents for your clients easily in our log in area

• you can find all official Bildungsurlaub documents in our download center
• you find prepared documents, which your clients require for Bildungsurlaub
• you can upload all your documents (time table, teacher certificates, etc.) and approvals in our upload center, so you always have all the documents needed in one secured place
• you have access to our instruction videos
• download the „Bildungsurlaub approved logo“ and other marketing support
• chat online with us and take part in discussion groups with other educators