Your first weeks in Germany

Book a Bürgeramt appointment and bring your landlord confirmation. Everything else depends on this.

Prepaid is commonly available without a SCHUFA credit check; identity verification and activation time depend on the provider.

The Deutschlandticket covers regional transport nationwide for a flat monthly fee.

You will need an IBAN for rent and salary. Compare branch, direct and app-based options rather than choosing by the headline fee alone.

Public (gesetzlich) or private. Employees are usually in the public system by default.

Arrives by post after Anmeldung. Your employer needs it to tax you correctly.

Order early. Activation time depends on the provider, connection type, address and whether a technician visit is required.

Take a meter reading on your first day and register with a provider.

Your German credit record. Request the free data copy for yourself; the landlord certificate is a separate product.

Book at the Ausländerbehörde as soon as your Anmeldung is done.

Check whether your licence can be exchanged before the six-month window closes.

Use your municipality’s process and register as early as its rules allow; demand and timing vary locally.

Check waste separation, Ruhezeiten, Sunday/public-holiday routines and the Hausordnung for your home.

Use the nationwide overview, then check your municipality’s Abfall-ABC and collection calendar.

Learn the national principles and where state shop-opening and public-holiday rules differ.

Save 116117 and learn the difference between routine care, urgent care and a 112 emergency.

If you have a spouse, partner or children, check whether contribution-free family cover may apply.

Compare integration courses, VHS classes and vocational-language courses for your goal.

Private liability insurance can protect you against costly claims if you injure someone or damage their property.

Check whether filing is mandatory and whether a voluntary return could make sense for you.

If ownership is a future goal, start with total acquisition cost, financing and the notary process.

Check residence permission, Freiberufler versus Gewerbe, registration, insurance and tax before starting.