What Do You Need to Do in Your First 3 Months in Germany? (2026)
One deadline governs everything else: the Anmeldung, due within two weeks of moving in (section 17(1) Bundesmeldegesetz), with a fine of up to EUR 1,000 behind it. It is also the task that unlocks the most others, because your Steuer-ID, your bank account and your Ausländerbehörde file all wait on it. This page lists the 9 dated obligations of your first 90 days in the order the deadlines actually fall.
Jump to section
The Deadlines, in Order
Every task here has a real deadline and a source for it. Anything without one, such as buying a SIM card, is deliberately not on this page. The detail lives on the page that owns each task, linked from every entry.
Before you fly
Two of these gate the visa itself, so they happen while you are still abroad.Take out health insurance
Before the visa is issuedGerman missions and universities both treat cover as a precondition rather than an afterthought, which is why blocked-account bundles pair the Sperrkonto with statutory or private cover. Decide this before you land, not after.
- Counted from
- the visa appointment
Fund the blocked account
Before the visa appointmentHow much depends entirely on which route you are on: EUR 11,904 for the student visa, released at EUR 992 a month, and EUR 13,092 for the Chancenkarte and the recognition, language-course and study-place-search visas, released at EUR 1,091 a month in 2026.
- Counted from
- the visa appointment
Week 1
One task dominates this week, and almost everything later waits on it.Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord
Before your Anmeldung appointmentThis is the written confirmation from your landlord or main tenant that you moved in, and on what date. A signed lease is not a substitute. It is the single most common reason newcomers are sent home from the counter.
- Counted from
- the day you move in
- Needs first
- A tenancy, including a sublet, with the person who actually gives you the home
Register your address (Anmeldung)
Within 2 weeksThe law is federal and says two weeks after moving in; the booking system, the waiting time and whether walk-in slots exist are set by your own city. Book the appointment before you land if your Bürgeramt lets you, because in the large cities the queue, not the law, is the binding constraint.
- Counted from
- the day you move into the home
- Statute
- Bundesmeldegesetz section 17(1)
- If missed
- Fine of up to EUR 1,000 (Bundesmeldegesetz section 54(2) no. 1)
- Needs first
- The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
Weeks 2 to 4
The documents the Anmeldung set in motion arrive here, mostly by post.Apply for the residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde
Before the national visa expiresThe national visa in your passport is the entry document; the Aufenthaltstitel is what you actually live on. Non-EU arrivals convert one into the other at the local immigration office, and the appointment queue in the big cities runs to weeks.
- Counted from
- the date on the visa sticker
- Statute
- Aufenthaltsgesetz
- If missed
- Falling out of legal status when the visa lapses
- Needs first
- The Anmeldung, which the Ausländerbehörde expects to be done first
Wait for the Steuer-ID to arrive
Arrives by post, no action requiredYou do not apply for the Steuer-ID separately. It is issued off the back of the Anmeldung and posted to the address you registered, which is the whole reason the Anmeldung sits first on every arrival list.
- Counted from
- the Anmeldung
- If missed
- No fine, but a missing Steuer-ID shows up as an over-taxed first payslip
- Needs first
- The Anmeldung
Open a bank account
No legal deadlineIt is on the timeline because of what it gates rather than because a law demands it. Branch banks generally ask for the Meldebescheinigung; several app-based banks open an account before you are registered, which is why new arrivals often run both.
- Counted from
- n/a
- Needs first
- Usually the Meldebescheinigung; the app-based banks open before it
Months 2 and 3
The deadlines with the longest fuse, and the ones newcomers most often miss.Register the household for the Rundfunkbeitrag
Owed from the month you move inThe broadcasting fee is EUR 18.36 a month and is charged once per dwelling, not per person, so one registration covers a shared flat and the flatmates settle it between themselves. You register the household yourself: it does not follow automatically from the Anmeldung.
- Counted from
- the month you move into the dwelling
- If missed
- Arrears are billed back to the month you moved in
Exchange a non-EU driving licence
Within 6 monthsA licence issued outside the EU and EEA lets you drive here for six months after you establish normal residence, and the authority can extend that by up to six more on application if you will not stay beyond twelve months. EU and EEA licences are governed by section 28 instead and are not on this clock.
- Counted from
- establishing normal residence in Germany
- Statute
- Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung section 29(1)
- If missed
- Driving without a valid licence once the six months lapse
What Unlocks What?
Deadlines are rarely missed because someone does not know the tasks. They are missed because nobody said that the third task cannot start until the first one has produced a document. This is the chain:
- 1A tenancy gives you the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
- 2The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung lets you complete the Anmeldung
- 3The Anmeldung produces the Meldebescheinigung and triggers the Steuer-ID
- 4The Meldebescheinigung opens the bank account and the Ausländerbehörde file
- 5The Steuer-ID lets your employer tax you correctly
In practice that means the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is the first bottleneck, not the Anmeldung itself. Arrive without it and you are sent home from the counter, and the two-week clock keeps running. The Anmeldung in detail.
If You Are Already Late
Most readers arrive at this page after a deadline has already passed, which is usually why they searched. Here is what to do in that case, task by task.
Register your address (Anmeldung)
Book the earliest appointment you can get and go anyway. The offence is failing to register, and registering late is treated very differently from not registering at all. Where the next free slot falls after the deadline, book it and keep the confirmation as evidence of when you tried.
Apply for the residence permit at the Ausländerbehörde
Contact the Ausländerbehörde before the visa expires rather than after, even if the appointment itself falls later. A booked appointment is the thing that protects your status.
Wait for the Steuer-ID to arrive
Chase the tax administration rather than the Bürgeramt, and quote your registration date. Put your name on the letterbox before the appointment: post that cannot be delivered is the usual reason it never arrives.
Register the household for the Rundfunkbeitrag
Register anyway. The charge is backdated to the month you moved in whether or not you registered, so a late registration costs the same as an on-time one plus the letters.
Exchange a non-EU driving licence
Stop driving until the exchange is done. The authorisation ends by operation of law at six months; nobody writes to tell you it has.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important deadline after arriving in Germany?
The Anmeldung. Anyone who moves into a home must register with the registration authority within two weeks of moving in (section 17(1) Bundesmeldegesetz). Failing to register, or registering incorrectly or late, is an administrative offence punishable by a fine of up to EUR 1,000 (section 54(2) no. 1 BMG). It is also the task most of the others depend on.
What do you do if the next free appointment is after the two-week deadline?
Book the earliest appointment you can get and keep the confirmation. In the large cities the queue, not the law, is the binding constraint. Registering late is treated very differently from not registering at all, and the booked appointment is evidence of when you tried.
Does the Steuer-ID arrive automatically?
Yes. You do not apply for the Steuer-ID separately: it is issued after the Anmeldung and posted to the address you registered. That is why the Anmeldung sits first on every arrival list. Make sure your name is on the letterbox.
How long can you drive on a foreign licence in Germany?
Six months from establishing normal residence, for licences issued outside the EU and EEA (section 29(1) Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung). The authority can extend that by up to six further months on application where the stay will not exceed twelve months. EU and EEA licences are governed by section 28 instead and are not on this clock.
Do you have to register for the Rundfunkbeitrag yourself?
Yes. Registering with the Beitragsservice does not follow automatically from the Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt. The fee is EUR 18.36 a month and is charged per dwelling rather than per person, so one registration covers a shared flat. It is backdated to the month you moved in, so a late registration costs the same as an on-time one.