Moving to Germany (2026)
The spine of a German move is the Anmeldung, the address registration at your local Bürgeramt, generally due within 14 days of moving in. It needs a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord, and it is what releases your Steuer-ID by post. Non-EU arrivals then collect an Aufenthaltstitel from the Ausländerbehörde. Students and Chancenkarte applicants prove funds with a Sperrkonto holding EUR 11,904 or EUR 13,092 a year respectively.
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What Should You Do in Your First Weeks in Germany?
The order matters, because each German step is the input to the next one. The registration produces the certificate the bank wants, the tax number arrives only after the registration, and the residence permit appointment expects both.
- 1
Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
Ask whoever gives you the flat for the written move-in confirmation. Without it the Bürgeramt cannot register you.
- 2
Book and attend the Anmeldung
Register your address at the Bürgeramt, generally within 14 days of moving in. Confirm the exact deadline and booking route with your own city.
- 3
Wait for the Steuer-ID by post
The tax identification number is sent to your registered address after the Anmeldung. Your employer needs it to tax you correctly.
- 4
Open a German bank account
Most accounts want the Meldebescheinigung from the Anmeldung. Some Sperrkonto bundles include a Girokonto so the first payout lands somewhere.
- 5
Sort health insurance
Insurance proof is required for enrolment and for the residence permit. Blocked-account bundles pair statutory or private cover with the account.
- 6
Go to the Ausländerbehörde
Non-EU arrivals convert the entry visa into an Aufenthaltstitel at the local foreigners authority, not at BAMF.
Why Does the Anmeldung Come Before Everything Else?
The Anmeldung is the mandatory registration of your address at the Bürgeramt, generally within 14 days of moving in. It is not a formality: it produces the Meldebescheinigung, the registration certificate that banks, employers, insurers and the Ausländerbehörde ask for, and it triggers the postal delivery of your Steuer-ID.
The document that stops people is the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, a written confirmation from the landlord or main tenant that you moved in. A lease alone is not a substitute. Ask for it before you hand over the deposit, and if you are booking a furnished flat from abroad, get written confirmation that the address permits Anmeldung at all.
Appointment availability, the exact deadline and whether walk-ins are possible are set city by city, so confirm the rules with your own Bürgeramt rather than with a guide.
Which Authority Handles What?
Bürgeramt
Your city's registration office. It performs the Anmeldung and issues the Meldebescheinigung.
Ausländerbehörde
The local foreigners authority. It issues and renews residence permits and the Aufenthaltstitel card.
BAMF
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. It handles asylum and the integration courses, not ordinary residence permits.
How Do You Prove You Can Afford to Move?
Germany does use a blocked account. The Sperrkonto holds a year of living costs that you cannot touch faster than a fixed monthly payout, and the blocking confirmation is what the mission wants to see.
- Students: EUR 11,904 for the year, released at EUR 992 a month. The figure applies to 2025 and 2026 and has been unchanged since September 2024.
- Chancenkarte and job-seeker routes, plus language-course and qualification-recognition visas: EUR 13,092 for the year, released at EUR 1,091 a month in 2026.
The Federal Foreign Office abolished its official provider list in mid-2022 and endorses no provider, so the choice is yours and the fees vary a lot. Our Sperrkonto comparison puts the current first-year fees side by side.
How Do You Find Housing in Germany?
ImmoScout24 carries the deepest inventory, Kleinanzeigen.de the largest private-landlord supply, and WG-Gesucht.de is the reference marketplace for a room in a shared flat. Landlords routinely ask for a SCHUFA credit record that a newcomer does not have yet, which is why furnished platforms such as Wunderflats and HousingAnywhere are the usual bridge. Check in writing whether the address permits Anmeldung before you book.
How Do You Find Work in Germany?
LinkedIn is the default board for English-speaking professional hiring in Germany, and Arbeitnow is the rare aggregator that tags visa sponsorship and relocation explicitly. For sheer volume the Jobbörse der Bundesagentur für Arbeit is unmatched, with roughly 600,000 vacancies reported to it in mid-2026, but its interface and its ads are overwhelmingly German.
What Are the Best Universities in Germany?
Our catalogue covers 143 German universities. 117 of them charge no tuition to EU students, and 99 charge nothing to non-EU students either. The main exceptions are Baden-Württemberg, where non-EU students pay EUR 1,500 per semester, and Bavaria, which reintroduced non-EU fees from the summer semester of 2026. What everyone pays is the Semesterbeitrag, usually a few hundred euro per semester and often including a transport pass.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first thing to do when moving to Germany?
The Anmeldung, the address registration at your local Bürgeramt. It is mandatory, generally due within 14 days of moving in, and almost everything else waits on it: your Steuer-ID arrives by post afterwards, and banks, employers and the Ausländerbehörde all ask for the Meldebescheinigung it produces. Deadlines and appointment systems are set by each city, so check your own Bürgeramt.
What is a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung and why does it stop people?
It is the written confirmation from whoever gives you the flat, the landlord or the main tenant, that you actually moved in on a given date. The Bürgeramt will not complete an Anmeldung without it. Newcomers routinely arrive with a signed lease and no Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, and get turned away, which is why furnished platforms that state in writing whether an address permits Anmeldung, such as Wunderflats, are worth the higher rent for the first months.
How much money do you have to show for a German student visa?
German missions expect a Sperrkonto holding EUR 11,904 for a year, released at EUR 992 per month. That figure applies to the 2025 and 2026 intakes and has been unchanged since September 2024. For the Chancenkarte and job-seeker route, and for language-course and qualification-recognition visas, the amount is EUR 13,092 a year, released at EUR 1,091 per month in 2026.
Who issues residence permits in Germany?
The Ausländerbehörde, the local foreigners authority in your city, handles residence permits and the Aufenthaltstitel card. BAMF, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, is a different body: it handles asylum and the integration courses. Do not book one when you need the other.