Moving to Germany: your first-steps checklist

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1. Register your address (Anmeldung)
   Within 2 weeks of moving in, at the Bürgeramt, with your passport and the landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). Almost everything else depends on it.
2. Choose health insurance
   Health insurance is compulsory in Germany, and your employer needs your insurer before the first payslip.
3. Open a bank account
   You need a German or EU IBAN for your salary and rent. An ordinary current account needs no interest-bearing product.
4. Wait for your tax ID (Steuer-ID)
   It arrives by post a few weeks after you register. Give it to your employer, or you are taxed in class 6 until you do.
5. Social security number
   Issued automatically with your first job, via your health insurer or employer. Keep the letter.
6. Immigration office appointment
   Apply for your residence permit well before your entry visa expires: appointments in big cities can take weeks.
7. Broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag)
   One fee per household. You get a letter after registering: pay, or reply that a flatmate already pays for the flat.
8. Get a SIM card
   Prepaid SIMs need ID verification. Monthly contracts usually want a registered address and a bank account.
9. Driving licence
   A non-EU licence is valid for only 6 months after you move here. Exchange it before then; some countries need a test.
10. If you have children
    Apply for Kindergeld at the Familienkasse and register your children for school or Kita early.
11. Integration and language course
    Ask the immigration office or BAMF whether you are entitled to an integration course. German opens work, permanent residence and citizenship.

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