Deutschland Kompass
Step-by-step interactive guides for life in Germany. Simple, clear, and well-organized.
Housing (Wohnen)
Step-by-step checklist for renting an apartment in Germany: application documents, lease signing, deposit, handover protocol, utility bill review, and reporting defects.
Moving (Umzug)
Personal moving checklist for Germany: notice, Anmeldung, utility transfers, deposit return, and address change. Your personalised route based on car ownership, children, and pets.
Work
Personal step-by-step checklist for starting work in Germany: Steuer-ID, Krankenkasse, Sozialversicherung and Steuerklasse. Adapts to your situation — employee or self-employed.
Insurance (Versicherungen)
A breakdown of the key insurances in Germany: Haftpflicht, Hausrat and Rechtsschutz. How to protect yourself from financial risk.
Car (Auto)
Buying a used car: purchase contract, insurance, transit plates, TÜV inspection and registration.
Self-Employment (Selbstständigkeit)
Step-by-step checklist for registering self-employment in Germany: legal form, Gewerbeanmeldung or Freiberufler status, tax registration with Finanzamt, business account, and health insurance update.
Convert Foreign Driving Licence
Step-by-step guide to exchanging a foreign driving licence for a German one — from country check to practical exam.
Having a Baby (Geburt)
Step-by-step checklist after having a baby in Germany: birth registration, Kindergeld (€259/month), Elterngeld, child health insurance, and Kita enrolment. Your personalised route based on family status.
Car Import from EU
Step-by-step guide for importing a vehicle from an EU country: CoC, insurance, TÜV inspection and German registration.
Rundfunkbeitrag
Interactive checklist for the Rundfunkbeitrag: new registration, shared payment with a flatmate, or applying for exemption. The tool automatically selects the right path for your situation.
Car Import from Non-EU Country
Guide for importing a vehicle from a non-EU country: customs, manufacturer data sheet, §21 StVZO inspection, insurance and registration.
Residence permit extension
Step-by-step route to extending your Aufenthaltserlaubnis: when to apply, which documents to prepare, what it costs and how the Fiktionsbescheinigung works — including the emergency path if your permit has already expired.
Permanent residency
The permanent status: 5 years (skilled workers 3, Blue Card 21–27 months), 60 contribution months, B1 — step by step, matched to your permit type.
Citizenship
Naturalisation under the current rules: 5 years (spouses of Germans: 3), B1, the test, dual citizenship allowed — with a check of your path.
Wohngeld
The subsidy for working people on modest incomes: eligibility check, your city form via postal code, renewals. Not welfare — no residence-permit risk.
Leaving Germany
The departure checklist: deregistration, cancelling every contract with the special termination right, banking and pension refunds — no loose ends, no debt collectors.
Dog: tax and insurance
The two mandatory steps for owners: dog tax at your municipality and dog liability insurance (mandatory for all dogs in 6 states).
Getting married
Marrying with foreign documents: apostilles and the certificate of no impediment (2–4 months!), registering at the Standesamt, and the paperwork after the ceremony.
Kita spot
From waitlist to contract: the legal claim from age 1 (§24 SGB VIII), the Kita voucher, fees and the Elterngeld combo.
Tax return
Who must file, which deductions bring money back (€1,172 on average) and how: app or ELSTER. Deadline for 2026: 2 August 2027.
Switching funds
Hundreds of euros a year for one application: when switching pays, the special termination right after increases, and the procedure where the new fund does everything.
Car insurance switch
The 30 November deadline, the special-termination back doors, four criteria above price, and a switch without a single uncovered day. Savings: €100–300 a year.
Bank account
The basic-account right even without SCHUFA, opening via VideoIdent in an evening, and the three first-week settings: rent, salary, direct debit.
Liability insurance
Germany first insurance from ~€5 a month: unlimited liability under §823 BGB, three tariff criteria and a 10-minute English sign-up.
Contents insurance
An honest do-I-need-it check, the €650/m² rule against underinsurance, and the two riders that matter: bicycle and natural hazards.
SCHUFA
The free GDPR report, what really moves the score (not your salary!) and how to remove wrong entries.
Blocked account
The blocked account for the national visa: 2026 amounts (€992/month), opening from abroad in a day, and what happens to the money after arrival.
Money transfer
Where banks hide the fee (in the rate!), when SEPA is free, and the €12,500 rule. Savings per thousand: €30–45.
Blue Card
The 2026 thresholds (€50,700 / €45,934 for shortage jobs), applying from abroad or within, and the rights it is loved for: family without German, PR after 21 months.
Degree recognition
Half of newcomers need no recognition at all — check anabin in 5 minutes. Otherwise: ZAB for €208 or the professional authority, with paths to close deficits.
Apostille
Who actually issues the apostille (not Germany!), ordering it from abroad, and why translations only count from the German sworn list.
Dental top-up
The public fund pays 60 percent of the basic option — an implant costs you €2,000–3,500. How the top-up closes the gap, and why to sign before any diagnosis.
Contest a fine
A 2-week deadline and a third of notices flawed: reading the fine, objecting without reasons — and when cold maths says pay.
Mobile
Prepaid on arrival day without registration, the networks, and moving to a contract without traps: the 24-month rule, portability, special termination.
Savings accounts
Where to park your 3-6-month cushion: the €100,000 guarantee, rate hunting — and the tax instruction without which the bank over-withholds.
WBS
Rents 30–50 percent below market for those under the income limit — which is more people than you would think. Eligibility, application and the search.
Church exit
8–9 percent of your tax for a membership born from a registration checkbox. What it costs you, how to exit in one appointment — and what actually changes.
Family reunification
Who qualifies, the housing and income requirements, the A1 exceptions (Blue Card!), the embassy marathon with apostilles — and the family first steps after arrival.
University application
uni-assist without panic: the deadlines, VPD and Studienkolleg, the visa with the blocked account — and enrolment with free tuition.
Integration course
700 hours to B1 at half price (or free), a success refund — and the certificate that speeds up PR and covers the citizenship language bar.
Loan
What the bank sees in a foreigner, comparing without SCHUFA traces, the payment-protection trap — and borrower rights from withdrawal to extra repayment.
Home Internet in Germany
Home internet without overpaying: real availability at your address, your rights under the new telecom law and what happens to the contract when you move.
Switching Power and Gas
After moving in you automatically land in the Grundversorgung — the most expensive tariff on the market. Getting out takes 15 minutes online and saves hundreds per year.
Sick Pay in Germany
For the first 6 weeks of illness your employer pays 100 % of your salary, then the insurer pays Krankengeld for up to 78 weeks. The big trap: a single gap day between sick notes.
Divorce
The year apart, the effect on your residence permit, filing through a lawyer and automatic pension sharing — the whole divorce route step by step.
Dismissal
Three weeks to file, checking the form of notice, whether protection applies, the termination-agreement trap and the conciliation hearing.
School
Compulsory schooling, registration almost a year ahead, mid-year admission and choosing a school type after year four.
Name change
Where the spelling came from, the declaration of adjustment, names through marriage and divorce, and the chain of document updates.
Insolvency
A complete creditor list, free advice with the compulsory settlement attempt, two applications to court, three years of obligations and the limits of discharge.
Invitation
First the question that decides everything: does your guest need a visa at all? Without one, the formal obligation is usually unnecessary. With one: who pays, what it costs, and why liability runs five years.
Certificate of conduct
Which type you need, how to apply and how long it takes, and what appears on the certificate and what does not.
Landlord notice
Check the reasoning and form, calculate the real three, six or nine month period, object under the hardship clause and move out without losing claims.
Workplace injury
An accredited doctor instead of your own, the employer’s report, benefits beyond sick pay including rehabilitation — and one month to object.
Child maintenance
How the amount is set, free help from the youth welfare office, adjusting for age and income — and why contact must not be linked to money.
Retraining
The education voucher is discretionary: who qualifies, how to prepare for the decisive meeting, and what follows once it is issued.
Visitor insurance
The visa package’s formal requirements, choosing by exclusions rather than price, and how the policy actually works at the doctor.
Degree recognition: check your profession
Half of newcomers need no recognition at all, the other half may not work a single day without it. The difference is the profession, not the degree.
Check your profession →Forms & documents
All documents →Fill in a form — get a ready German PDF. Your data never leaves the browser.
Landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) for Anmeldung
Mandatory landlord confirmation for address registration. Fill in the fields to get a ready PDF that meets the requirements of § 19 BMG and is accepted by every Bürgeramt in Germany. Your data never leaves your browser.
Certificate of no rent arrears (Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung)
Confirmation from your previous landlord that you have no rent arrears — a key document for your apartment application (Bewerbungsmappe). Fill in the fields and hand the PDF to your landlord to sign.
Power of attorney for vehicle registration (Kfz-Vollmacht)
Can't visit the Zulassungsstelle in person? With this power of attorney an authorised person can register, re-register or deregister the vehicle for you. Accepted by all registration offices.
Rental contract termination letter (Kündigung)
A legally correct termination letter under § 568 BGB. Fill in the fields to get a ready PDF. Remember: ALL tenants named in the contract must sign, and send it by registered mail (Einschreiben mit Rückschein).
Defect notification to the landlord (Mängelanzeige)
Mould, broken heating, a leak? Your right to reduce the rent (§ 536 BGB) only arises after formally notifying the landlord (§ 536c BGB). Fill in the fields to get a correct letter with a repair deadline.
Tenant self-disclosure form (Mieterselbstauskunft)
The standard self-disclosure landlords expect in your application folder. Fill it in once — attach it to every apartment application. A clean, professional form sets you apart from 30 competitors at a viewing.
Apartment handover protocol (Übergabeprotokoll)
The single most important proof of the apartment's condition at key handover: defects, meter readings, keys. Without it, a deposit dispute is nearly lost. Fill in and sign together at the handover.
Private car sale contract (Kfz-Kaufvertrag)
The standard contract for private used-car sales: vehicle data, mileage, defects, warranty exclusion. Protects the seller from claims and documents the promised condition for the buyer.
Calculators
All calculators →Work out the money and the deadlines before you sign anything. All in your browser.
Blocked account (Sperrkonto): true-cost decoder
Every provider blocks the same amount, but the fees differ. See the total cost of the account across your whole visa period at embassy-recognised providers.
Cost of your first month in Germany
Deposit, first rent, internet, insurance, groceries — your one-off move-in costs and your ongoing monthly budget. Every estimate is editable.
Gross-to-net salary calculator 2026
The offer says gross, your account sees much less. Net salary with the 2026 figures: wage tax, social contributions, Soli and church tax, each deduction explained.
GKV or PKV: health insurance contributions
Your public health insurance contribution including long-term care, plus a check on whether you earn enough to switch to private cover. Official 2026 figures.
Freiberufler or Gewerbe? Status check
Your status decides trade registration, trade tax and IHK membership. Two or three questions give you a preliminary § 18 EStG assessment and your next steps.
Notice period for terminating your lease
The last day your Kündigung must reach the landlord under the 3rd-working-day rule (§ 573c BGB) — or your contract end date if the letter is already on its way.
Wohngeld (housing benefit) calculator by postcode
Postcode, household size, cold rent and income give you the approximate monthly Wohngeld amount under § 19 WoGG. Everything runs in your browser.
Elterngeld (parental allowance) calculator 2026
Elterngeld replaces 65–100% of your pre-birth net income, between €300 and €1,800 a month. Basis and Plus variants, including sibling bonus and twins supplement.
When can I apply for permanent residency and citizenship?
Enter your arrival date and permit type to see the earliest dates you can apply for permanent residency and for German citizenship under the 2026 rules.
Car import duty calculator
Customs duty and import VAT for bringing a car from outside the EU — plus a check on whether you qualify for full exemption as relocation goods.
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