Look inside
The plan for Germany, from the inside
These are all 28 steps of the Germany journey, exactly as they appear in your personal plan — with the lead time and the costs next to them. Not a brochure: this is the file that feeds the platform. Pick another country below if you're heading elsewhere.
For which country?
Every country has its own steps, its own order and its own clocks. Switch as often as you like.
- Steps
- 28
- Phases
- 5
- Official sources
- 53
- Only for your situation
- 4
Phase 1
5 steps
Orientation
Germany is next door, and that's exactly why almost everyone underestimates it. "It's almost the Netherlands" — until you're at the first counter. This phase teaches you where the country really works differently, before you commit to anything.
- 1.1
Understand what "free movement" does and doesn't arrange
- Lead time
- reading step
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.2
Know the healthcare system: GKV or PKV, and what it costs
- Lead time
- an evening of reading
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 1.3
Get a picture of what it's going to cost
- Lead time
- 1-2 hours with the calculator
- Costs
- none
- 1.4
Take the decision together
- Lead time
- no fixed one; take your time
- Costs
- none
- 1.6
Choose your target date
- Lead time
- one moment, and it may shift later
- Costs
- none
Phase 2
11 steps
Closing the Netherlands
The familiar closing list — with two German accents you want to know before you leave: the € 15,000 threshold in the tax treaty, and child benefit that makes way for a higher German Kindergeld.
- 2.1
Arrange your healthcare: report, and know what comes back for it
- Lead time
- start 3 months before departure
- Costs
- none; the German premium or treaty contribution replaces your Dutch premium
3 official sources
- 2.2
AOW and pension: what continues and what stops
- Lead time
- an afternoon of research; registering is possible up to 1 year after departure
- Costs
- voluntary AOW continuation: 17.9% of your income (min € 569, max € 5,693 a year, 2026)
3 official sources
- 2.3
The tax wind-up: M return and the € 15,000 threshold
- Lead time
- preparation now; the return follows after the emigration year
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 2.4
Child benefit stops — the Kindergeld is higher
- Lead time
- apply as soon as you live or work in Germany
- Costs
- none; it actually brings in — € 259 per child per month (2026)
2 official sources
- 2.5
Deregister with the municipality — on the departure day itself
- Lead time
- 15 minutes at the counter or online
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 2.6
DigiD, bank and your vote: keep the lines with the Netherlands
- Lead time
- an evening
- Costs
- none
3 official sources
- 2.7
Documents: multilingual extracts, no apostille needed
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks
- Costs
- extracts: municipal fees; translations only where really needed (€ 30-80 per document)
1 official source
- 2.8
Partner comes along without a job of their own
- Lead time
- an evening together, then a few things to arrange
- Costs
- none — the consequences are in the article
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.9
Living partly in the Netherlands: the eight-month rule
- Lead time
- one decision, before you commit to anything else
- Costs
- none
4 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.10
The house in the Netherlands: sell, rent out or keep
- Lead time
- one conversation with the mortgage lender and one with a tax adviser
- Costs
- advisory hours; when renting out possibly an interest surcharge from the bank
2 official sources
Only if this applies to you
- 2.11
Children staying in the Netherlands: DUO, healthcare and the house
- Lead time
- an evening, and after that one report a year
- Costs
- none
1 official source
Only if this applies to you
Phase 3
3 steps
The move
The shortest and cheapest move of all destinations: no customs, no ocean. The only real homework is in the car — and there there's even money to be had on the Dutch side.
- 3.1
Plan the move: no customs, but a planning
- Lead time
- book 2-6 weeks ahead
- Costs
- about € 1,700-4,900 with a moving company (estimate)
1 official source
- 3.2
The car: re-registering is part of it — and the Netherlands chips in
- Lead time
- RDW export an hour; the German side follows after the Anmeldung
- Costs
- RDW export € 12; refund of residual BPM can yield hundreds to thousands of euros
3 official sources
- 3.3
The pet: EU passport, and the German dog rules
- Lead time
- check the vaccination date well in advance
- Costs
- vet limited; dog tax later about € 120 a year (Berlin)
2 official sources
Phase 4
5 steps
Registration in Germany
This is the centre of gravity of the route. The Anmeldung is the mother of all German proofs — and the home is its condition. Whoever walks this phase in the right order is settled in two weeks.
- 4.1
Find your home — and get the confirmation with it
- Lead time
- weeks to months; start from the Netherlands
- Costs
- deposit at most 3 months' basic rent, in 3 instalments
3 official sources
- 4.2
The Anmeldung: within two weeks, and mind that one box
- Lead time
- the appointment itself a quarter of an hour; book the Termin in advance
- Costs
- free
2 official sources
- 4.3
Steuer-ID and Steuerklasse: the letter comes by itself
- Lead time
- the Steuer-ID comes by post after the Anmeldung
- Costs
- none
2 official sources
- 4.4
Choose your Krankenkasse and connect the healthcare
- Lead time
- choosing an evening; the Kasse arranges the rest with your employer
- Costs
- premium via the payslip; family members without income co-insured for free
2 official sources
- 4.5
Open a bank account (and start your German track record)
- Lead time
- days; online banks often faster
- Costs
- none; a Basiskonto is free to use
2 official sources
Phase 5
4 steps
Arrival
The big registrations are done; now ordinary life lands. The car gets its German plates, the children a school, and the letterbox teaches you how Germany communicates: on paper.
- 5.1
The car on German plates: the Zulassung
- Lead time
- insurance and inspection in advance; the appointment itself a morning
- Costs
- registration from € 34.70; HU inspection about € 170; plates € 20-40; environmental sticker ± € 6
2 official sources
- 5.2
The Rundfunkbeitrag: the letter comes by itself
- Lead time
- five minutes, as soon as the letter is there
- Costs
- € 18.36 a month, per home
1 official source
- 5.3
School: enrol, and know that it's compulsory
- Lead time
- weeks; start as soon as the address is known
- Costs
- public schools are free
1 official source
- 5.4
Find your GP and learn the system
- Lead time
- an hour of searching; appointment within days to weeks
- Costs
- GP free; prescriptions € 5-10 co-payment per item
2 official sources
4 of these steps aren't always there. They appear only when your answers call them up — a pet, a car, children staying behind. That's the difference between a plan and a checklist in which you have to work out yourself what applies.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Germany journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 4.2 of your plan
The Anmeldung: within two weeks, and mind that one box
- Lead time
- the appointment itself a quarter of an hour; book the Termin in advance
- Validity
- legal deadline: within 2 weeks of moving in
- Costs
- free
Within two weeks of moving in you register at the Bürgeramt — with your passport or ID card and your landlord's confirmation. Being late is an offence that carries a fine of up to € 1,000; so book the Termin as soon as the rental contract is signed, because in big cities the waiting times are weeks. You get the Meldebestätigung free in return — the paper employer, bank and Zulassungsstelle all want to see.
One field on the form deserves all your attention: religion. Whoever registers as a member of a recognised religious community pays church tax — 8 or 9 percent on top of income tax, automatically withheld via the payslip. Fill it in deliberately; getting out later is only possible via a formal withdrawal with fees, and never retroactively.
Where you arrange it
What this step rests on
This is step 4.2 of 28. The other 27 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
And what you don't see here
This page shows the content. What a page can't show is the work the platform does for you afterwards:
- The clocks that start running the moment you begin, and a nudge at the moment something is asked of you — not earlier.
- Your documents in one place, with their expiry dates watched, so nothing lapses while you wait for something else.
- The ticking off, together with your partner on the same journey.
- The steps that drop out or appear based on your answers, so your plan holds only what really applies to you.
Ready to start on Germany?
All 28 steps, set to your situation and with the deadlines watched. € 199 once, no subscription.
The departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Germany: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that one question about where your plans stand, and beyond that only a short update when something in Germany really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Ready to begin?
Thirty-six journeys are fully ready — Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Canada, Panama, United States, Suriname, China, Dubai, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand: your step-by-step plan, your documents and your costs in one place, with the timing watched. Pay once, and it's yours.