Each of these shows up repeatedly in forums, Facebook groups, and agent pitches. Each one is specific enough to check, not vague enough to argue about.
Myth: You can enter on a tourist visa and switch to a training visa once you find a company.
Fact: You can't. The §17 job-seeker visa has to be applied for from your home country, with B1 already certified, before you travel. A Schengen tourist visa doesn't convert.
Myth: Switzerland and Austria work the same way as Germany, just smaller.
Fact: They don't. Neither has a dedicated visa route for a fresh non-EU applicant to start an apprenticeship from abroad — see the Austria & Switzerland guide for why.
Myth: Ausbildung is basically an internship — low pay is normal and temporary.
Fact: It's a legally structured, paid training contract with a statutory minimum (€724/month, Year 1, 2026) that rises every year. Low first-year pay is real, but it's not informal or unregulated.
Myth: Any MBO course in the Netherlands can be studied in English.
Fact: Most of the 700+ MBO courses are taught in Dutch, and Dutch itself is a mandatory, diploma-gating subject. English-taught MBO exists only at specific schools and courses.
Myth: A recognised agency can guarantee you a visa if you pay enough.
Fact: No agent, licensed or not, can guarantee a visa outcome. The decision sits with the consular officer alone. Any guarantee is a red flag, not a service.
Myth: Once you have a B1 certificate, any level of German is 'enough' forever.
Fact: B1 is a floor, not a destination — nursing specifically needs B2 for professional recognition in most German states, and your actual day-to-day experience improves a lot between a fresh B1 and a confident one.
Myth: If your diploma isn't recognised, your application is dead.
Fact: Recognition can take months but is rarely a dead end — most employers set their own hiring bar for company-based Ausbildung and don't require formal recognition the way school-based training or the visa's school-certificate requirement does.