Wunderflats

What should I do after moving to Germany? An arrival checklist for expats

  1. Register your address (Anmeldung) at the Bürgeramt, within 14 days of move-in. Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord first: it's a legal requirement and the Bürgeramt won't process your registration without it. Book the Bürgeramt appointment the day you get your keys. Slots fill up fast and this is the single biggest bottleneck. You can read more about Wohnungsgeberbestätigung here.
  2. Non-EU citizens: book your residence permit appointment (Ausländerbehörde) the same week as Anmeldung. Anmeldung doesn't cover your legal right to stay: that's a separate application, and waits run weeks to months in Berlin or Munich. If your visa expires before the appointment, ask for a Fiktionsbescheinigung to stay legal in the meantime.
  3. Get a German SIM card, in parallel with step 1. All providers need passport plus a German contact address (your temporary accommodation is fine), no Anmeldung required. Lebara is the easiest for non-German speakers: fully English website and support. Budget prepaid alternatives: Aldi Talk and Lidl Connect. For an instant eSIM, Vodafone CallYa or O2 Prepaid deliver it digitally right after ID check.
  4. Start your health insurance. Mandatory from day one. If you're an employee under the income threshold, you're in the public system: TK is the strongest pick for English speakers, with a fully English app and hotline. Self-employed or above the threshold, you can go private: Ottonova and Feather are the most English-friendly options.
  5. Open a bank account, once you have your Meldebescheinigung (step 1). For the widest acceptance and no SCHUFA check, Wise is the safest starting point: it opens before you even land in Germany, works for almost any passport, and gives you a Belgian IBAN that most employers and landlords accept. N26 is fast too (English app, five-minute video ID, no SCHUFA) but restricts some nationalities, so check their accepted ID list first.
  6. Your Tax ID arrives by post, automatically, 2 to 5 weeks after step 1. No action needed: keep it safe and hand it to your employer. Note it's different from a Steuernummer, which you only get later if you're self-employed or file a tax return.
  7. Rundfunkbeitrag: nothing to register, but know what it is. This is Germany's mandatory public broadcasting fee, 18,36€/month per household, billed quarterly (55,08€). It's not optional and not tied to whether you own a TV: every household pays it, the same way everyone pays for public radio and TV infrastructure. It's triggered automatically by the address data shared after your Anmeldung (step 1), so you'll simply get a letter with your account details; no self-registration needed. Read more about it here.
  8. Find a GP (Hausarzt) before you need one. Not dependent on anything above, but start early: appointment wait times run several weeks.