The Anmeldung: the two-week clock the whole of Germany hangs on
Within two weeks of moving in you must register at the Bürgeramt — with a confirmation from your landlord that he is legally obliged to issue. Without the Anmeldung no tax number, no easy banking, no subscriptions. And watch the religion field: that one box costs 8 to 9 percent church tax.
As an EU citizen you need neither a visa nor a residence permit for Germany — since 2013 the immigration office has even disappeared from the list entirely. What stands in its place is one appointment that carries everything: the Anmeldung (registration). Germany is the country of the population register as the Netherlands knows it, only stricter: whoever moves into a home must register within two weeks at the Meldebehörde (the Bürgeramt), on pain of a fine that can run up to € 1,000.
What you bring: the confirmation from your landlord
Besides your passport or ID card you need one document Dutch people don't know: the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. Your landlord is legally obliged to confirm in writing, within those same two weeks, that you have moved in — with his name, the address, the date and the names of everyone moving in with you. Refusing can cost him € 1,000 himself, so simply ask for it at the handover of the keys. (And whoever "lends" you an address without you living there risks up to € 50,000 — Germany takes sham addresses seriously.)
The registration itself is free, in many cities by appointment only (book the Termin as soon as your rental contract is signed — in big cities the waiting times are weeks), and in Berlin it can now also be done digitally. You get the Meldebestätigung straight back for it: the proof that everything after this wants to see.
The box that costs money: religion
The registration form has a field for your religious denomination, and this is no administrative detail. Whoever registers as a member of a recognised church pays Kirchensteuer (church tax): 8% (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) or 9% (all other federal states) on top of your income tax, automatically withheld through payroll — the Bürgeramt passes it straight on to the tax office. So fill in the field deliberately. If you are registered and want out, you have to formally leave (Kirchenaustritt) at the Amtsgericht or Standesamt, with a fee (€ 30 in Berlin) — and the tax only stops from that month, not retroactively.
What follows automatically
The Anmeldung sets two automatic trains in motion. Within a few weeks your steuerliche Identifikationsnummer lands on the doormat — your German BSN, by letter only, valid for life; keep that letter safe (nothing received after three months? Only then do you raise it with the BZSt). And the Rundfunkbeitrag letter also comes by itself: the broadcasting fee of € 18.36 per month applies per home, not per person, and the Beitragsservice gets your details automatically from the Bürgeramt. Ignoring it doesn't help — whoever doesn't respond is registered retroactively from the move-in date. If you live together, only one resident needs to register.
Why this step has to come first
Almost every other German step wants to see the Anmeldung first: the health insurance, the employer (who needs your Steuer-ID), the re-registration of your car, the school. Even a bank account opens more easily with a Meldebestätigung — although as an EU citizen you have a legal right to a Basiskonto anyway, even without a German history. So the order is always: home → Wohnungsgeberbestätigung → Anmeldung — and only then the rest. It is the first domino of your entire German administration.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- Bundesmeldegesetz §17 — the duty to register within two weeks — gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesmeldegesetz §19 — the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung — gesetze-im-internet.de
- Service Berlin — Anmeldung einer Wohnung — service.berlin.de
- BZSt — the steuerliche Identifikationsnummer — bzst.de
- Rundfunkbeitrag — information and Meldedatenabgleich — rundfunkbeitrag.de
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