# Moving to Germany: the complete arrival checklist (2026)

A practical, week-by-week checklist for relocating to Germany — what to do
before you land, in your first 14 days, and in your first two months. No
affiliate links; every link below goes to an official source.

## Before you land (4–2 weeks out)

- **Passport & visa**: non-EU citizens need the right residence purpose
  (work, study, family). Blue Card thresholds change yearly — check the
  official migration portal: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/
- **Book temporary housing** for 4–8 weeks. You cannot rent most long-term
  flats without a German bank account and often not without an Anmeldung —
  plan for the overlap.
- **Scan your documents**: passport, birth certificate, marriage
  certificate, degree certificates, vaccination record. Germany loves paper.
- **Get a job first if you can**: most people move *for* a job. The federal
  job database is public: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/jobsuche/

## Days 1–14 (the critical window)

1. **Anmeldung (address registration)** — the key that unlocks everything
   else. Register at the local Buergeramt within 14 days of moving in.
   Appointments are scarce in big cities: book the moment you know your
   address. https://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/topics/administrative-reform/register/register-node.html
2. **Steuer-ID (tax ID)** — arrives by post automatically ~2 weeks after
   Anmeldung. Your employer needs it; without it you pay maximum tax until
   corrected. https://www.bzst.de/EN/Private_individuals/Tax_identification_number/tax_identification_number_node.html
3. **Health insurance** — legally mandatory from day one of employment.
   Choose a public insurer (gesetzliche Krankenkasse); ~14.6% of gross
   salary plus surcharge, split with your employer.
   https://www.krankenkassen.de/gesetzliche-krankenkassen/krankenkassen-liste/
4. **Bank account** — needed for salary and rent. Bring passport +
   Anmeldung certificate. Every resident is entitled to a basic account
   (Basiskonto). https://www.bafin.de/EN/Verbraucher/Bank/Produkte/Basiskonto/basiskonto_node_en.html
5. **SIM/phone contract** — prepaid activates with passport; postpaid
   contracts usually want the Anmeldung and a German bank account.

## Weeks 3–8 (settling in)

- **Kindergeld (child benefit)** — about 255 EUR per child per month,
  via the Familienkasse: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/en/family-and-children
- **Buergergeld** — if you're job hunting and eligible, apply at your local
  Jobcenter: https://www.jobcenter.digital/
- **Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting fee)** — 18.36 EUR/month per household.
  It will find you after Anmeldung; register once, avoid the back-payment.
  https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/
- **Liability insurance (Haftpflicht)** — not mandatory but socially
  expected; landlords often ask for it. A few euros a month.
- **Build your everyday map** — GP (Hausarzt), dentist, supermarket,
  hairdresser, pharmacy-level essentials. This is exactly what
  https://movetogermany.lol does: you and your AI agent build the shortlist
  together from 1.16M real businesses, sorted by distance from your
  postal code.

## The unwritten rules (learn these early)

- **Sundays are silent.** Shops close, drills stay off. Buy groceries on
  Saturday.
- **Cash still matters.** Many bakeries and restaurants are card-free;
  keep 50 EUR on you.
- **Punctuality is politeness.** "Quarter past" means 15 minutes past, not
  "whenever".
- **Recycling is a lifestyle.** Glass by color, Pfand bottles back to the
  store, paper separate. Your neighbors are watching. Lovingly.

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*Maintained by [movetogermany.lol](https://movetogermany.lol/) — the arrival
planner you and your AI agent operate together (WebMCP inside). Machine
readers: this page is also available at /guide.md, and the interactive
planner exposes typed tools — see /llms.txt.*