First 30 days in Germany – Anmeldung, permit, insurance and bank account in the right order
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Your first month decides how quickly everything else falls into place. Register your address and the tax ID, health insurance and bank account follow; get the order wrong and you wait. Here is the checklist for your first 30 days in Germany, with the figures that apply in 2026.
A few numbers changed in 2026. The minimum wage rose to €13.90 an hour on 1 January 2026, the Deutschlandticket costs €63 a month instead of €58, and the average additional health insurance contribution is 2.9 per cent. Since 1 January 2025 all German visa sections have been connected to the Federal Foreign Office's online Consular Services Portal, where you can apply for work, study and family visas. The order of your first 30 days in Germany stays the same.
Almost everything hangs on the Anmeldung (address registration): only once you are registered can you receive your Steuer-ID (tax ID), and banks generally ask for your registration certificate.
Before you travel: do you need a visa for Germany?
EU and EEA citizens need no visa or residence permit; you simply register your address, and your employer does not need to see a work permit. If you need a visa, you enter with a national (D) visa, usually issued for 90 days, or up to a year for study or work, and apply for a residence permit at the local Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) while it is valid. You may already work or study on the visa.
Citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK and the USA can enter visa-free and apply in Germany within 90 days – but may not start work until the permit is issued. Make it in Germany, the federal portal, advises travel health insurance from home to cover the gap until your job starts.
The checklist: your first 30 days in Germany in the right order
| Step | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Settle your right to stay: visa, visa-free entry or EU ID card | German mission, via the Consular Services Portal – not needed for EU/EEA citizens |
| 2 | Get the landlord's written move-in confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) | Your landlord |
| 3 | Anmeldung within two weeks of moving in | Bürgeramt in Berlin and Frankfurt, Bürgerbüro in Munich, Hamburg Service office in Hamburg |
| 4 | Choose a Krankenkasse (health insurance fund) and tell your employer | Any statutory fund, or a private insurer |
| 5 | Non-EU: apply for your residence permit in person | Ausländerbehörde – in Berlin the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), in Frankfurt the Frankfurt Immigration Office |
| 6 | Open a bank account | Any bank – a Basiskonto (basic account) is a legal right |
| 7 | Wait for your Steuer-ID by post | Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (Federal Central Tax Office) |
| 8 | Start work – you are registered for social insurance | Your employer and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German pension insurance) |
Source: BAMF, Federal Foreign Office, Federal Registration Act, Make it in Germany and the cities of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt, read 23 September 2026.
Week one: the Anmeldung
The law gives you two weeks from moving in to register with the Meldebehörde (registration office) – in Berlin and Frankfurt the Bürgeramt (citizens' office). Bring a valid passport or ID card and the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. Your landlord must provide it within the same two weeks; if they refuse, tell the registration office straight away. Registering late is an administrative offence, with a fine of up to €1,000.
The details are local. In Berlin you have 14 days, go to any Bürgeramt with an appointment and get your confirmation on the spot, free of charge. A rental contract does not replace the landlord's confirmation there, and newcomers from abroad cannot register online. Munich also registers you free of charge. Part 3 covers Hamburg, Frankfurt and every step.
Weeks two to four: insurance, permit, bank and your numbers
Health insurance is compulsory, statutory or private. Tell your employer which Krankenkasse you chose within two weeks of becoming insured, or the employer registers you itself; you are then bound to the fund for at least 12 months. Long-term care cover comes automatically, and a spouse who does not work and your children can be insured free in the statutory system.
From outside the EU, apply in person at the Ausländerbehörde. Your permit comes as an eAT (electronic residence permit) card and costs €100. In Berlin the LEA no longer books through its old online system: you apply online where possible, it allocates an appointment, and some departments have waits of a few months.
For a bank account you generally need your passport, residence permit, registration certificate and possibly a payslip. Every consumer lawfully resident in the EU has a legal right to a Basiskonto, which the bank must offer within ten business days.
Your Steuer-ID arrives by post; the City of Munich says about two to four weeks after your first registration. Your employer registers you with the pension insurance from day one, and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung then writes to you with your social security number.
What does your first month in Germany cost?
| Item | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| National (D) visa | €75 | Apply via the Consular Services Portal |
| Anmeldung | Free in Berlin and Munich | The registration confirmation is free by law |
| Rental deposit | Up to three months' rent excluding service charges | You may pay it in three monthly instalments |
| Statutory health insurance | 14.6 per cent of gross pay plus the fund's additional rate (average 2.9 per cent in 2026) | Shared half and half with your employer |
| Long-term care insurance | 3.6 per cent of gross pay | 4.2 per cent if you are childless and 23 or over |
| Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting fee) | €18.36 a month per dwelling | However many people live there |
| Deutschlandticket | €63 a month | Monthly-cancellable subscription; not valid on IC or ICE trains |
| Integration course | €2.29 per teaching unit | €1,603 for the general 700-unit course |
Source: Federal Foreign Office, Residence Ordinance, Federal Registration Act, Civil Code, Federal Ministry of Health, Beitragsservice, VBB and BAMF, read 23 September 2026.
The registration office informs the Beitragsservice, which then writes to you about the Rundfunkbeitrag. Prepaid SIM cards need an identity check with a passport, ID card or residence permit. EU citizens have no entitlement to an integration course: BAMF suspended their admissions at the start of 2026 and since 1 August 2026 admits them only within available places.
Children must go to school, generally from six for at least nine years depending on the Land, and from their first birthday have a legal right to a place in a Kita (daycare) or with a childminder. In Berlin, apply for the Kita-Gutschein (voucher) nine to two months before care starts. Save 112 (fire and ambulance), 110 (police) and 116 117 (doctor on call when practices are closed).
Mistakes that cost you time or money
| Mistake | What happens | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Handing in your rental contract instead of the landlord's confirmation | In Berlin the contract does not replace it | Ask for the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung when you get the keys |
| Registering late | Administrative offence, fine of up to €1,000 | Book the appointment before you move in |
| Working straight after visa-free entry | Not allowed until the residence permit is issued | Apply within 90 days and wait for the permit |
| No name on the letterbox | Your tax ID letter may not be delivered | Put your surname on it on day one |
| Driving on a non-EU licence too long | It stays valid only six months after you take up residence | Plan the exchange early (part 12) |
Source: Federal Registration Act, ServicePortal Berlin, Residence Ordinance, Federal Central Tax Office and Driving Licence Ordinance, read 23 September 2026.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check your route to residence (part 2) | Before you book the move |
| 2 | Apply for a national visa, or plan the 90-day window after visa-free entry | Before you travel |
| 3 | Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung | When you get the keys |
| 4 | Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt | Within two weeks of moving in (Berlin: 14 days) |
| 5 | Choose a Krankenkasse and tell your employer | Within two weeks of starting work |
| 6 | Non-EU: apply for your residence permit | While your visa is valid, or within 90 days of visa-free entry |
| 7 | Open a bank account and get your Deutschlandticket | In your first weeks |
| 8 | Chase your tax ID with the Federal Central Tax Office | If nothing has arrived three months after registering |
Source: BAMF, Federal Foreign Office, Federal Registration Act, Residence Ordinance and Federal Central Tax Office, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- BAMF – Einreisebestimmungen (Migrathek) · bamf.de
- Aufenthaltsverordnung § 41 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesmeldegesetz § 17 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Make it in Germany – Housing and registration · make-it-in-germany.com
- BAMF – Erste Schritte (Migrathek) · bamf.de
- Landeshauptstadt München – Wohnsitzanmeldung · stadt.muenchen.de
- Versicherungsvertragsgesetz § 193 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- SGB V § 175 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Beiträge · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Finanzierung der Pflegeversicherung; DRV – Werte der Rentenversicherung ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung – Werte der Rentenversicherung; DRV – Neu im Berufsleben · deutsche-rentenversicherung.de
- Make it in Germany – Health insurance · make-it-in-germany.com
- Make it in Germany – Bank account · make-it-in-germany.com
- Zahlungskontengesetz § 31 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Telekommunikationsgesetz § 172 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice – rundfunkbeitrag.de · rundfunkbeitrag.de
- Bundesministerium für Verkehr – Evaluation Deutschlandticket · bmv.de
- Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung (MiLoV5) § 1 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch § 551 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch § 556d · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung § 29; Make it in Germany – Driving licence · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Notdienst (ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium des Innern – EU-Freizügigkeit · bmi.bund.de
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung – Neu im Berufsleben · deutsche-rentenversicherung.de
- Einkommensteuergesetz § 32a · gesetze-im-internet.de
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.