Settling-in services in Germany: what is included

What do you need to live in Germany as a foreigner?

Seven things come up in the first weeks. Some are legal duties with a deadline and some are choices.

• Register your address. The rule: within 2 weeks of moving in (BMG section 17). A package can book the appointment and go with you.
• Residence permit (non-EU). The rule: a residence title is needed unless EU law says otherwise (AufenthG section 4). A package can organise the papers; legal advice only through a lawyer.
• Tax ID. The rule: assigned after registration (AO section 139b). A package can collect it and pass it to your employer.
• Health insurance. The rule: a legal duty (VVG section 193). A package can help you apply.
• Bank account. The rule: a right to a basic account (ZKG section 31). A package can open it with you.
• Broadcasting fee. The rule: EUR 18.36 a month per flat (rundfunkbeitrag.de). A package can sort the registration.
• Driving licence. The rule: a non-EU licence is valid for 6 months (FeV section 29). A package can run the exchange.

Schools are the eighth: compulsory schooling normally begins in the year a child turns six and runs nine years, and the Länder, not the federal state, set the rules (Eurydice). So the school you need depends on your state.

Each step in short:

• Registration is the first one. The documents and the fines are in registering your address in Germany.
• Permit. Citizens of eight countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, may enter without a visa and must apply for the residence title they need within 90 days (AufenthV section 41). For other nationalities, start with the Federal Foreign Office’s visa service or your employer.
• Tax ID. Registration offices pass each registered resident to the Federal Central Tax Office, which assigns the number. Your employer needs it for wage tax.
• Health insurance. Employees are insured in the statutory system by law, unless they earn more than EUR 77,400 a year in 2026. See health insurance in Germany.
• Bank account. The right to a basic account covers any consumer with lawful residence in the EU.
• Broadcasting fee. One fee per flat, whatever the number of residents.
• Driving licence. EU and EEA licences stay valid in Germany (FeV section 28). Licences from other countries entitle you to drive for six months after you take up residence, extendable by up to six months in a narrow case.

Which steps can an agency do for you?

It can prepare, book, accompany and translate. It cannot sign for you or replace a lawyer.

• Registration. In Berlin the appointment can be kept by someone you authorise. You give that person a power of attorney and the completed form, and you must sign the form yourself. Online registration needs your BundID account and an activated eID, and only family members can register each other (Berlin service portal, read 7 Oct 2026). So an agency can do the legwork, not the signing.
• Permit. Legal advice in a single case needs a lawyer or another permitted provider. Businesses may help only as an ancillary service (RDG section 5). Archer, for example, lists paperwork organisation and accompaniment to the foreigners office, with legal advice through a partner lawyer (Archer, read 7 Oct 2026).
• Insurance. An agency may help you apply. Mediating the conclusion of insurance contracts as a business needs its own permit (GewO section 34d). We cover the choice in the health insurance guide and give no advice on products.
• Everything with your signature. The lease, the insurance contract and the bank contract are yours.

What do settling-in packages include?

The price lists we read on 7 October 2026 show the range of what is sold.

• Local-Worldwide sells a settling-in package for EUR 590 for one person, EUR 650 for a couple and EUR 710 for a family, listing address registration, insurance advice and bank account setup. It prices a half-day orientation at EUR 450 (Local-Worldwide).
• Archer sells a bundle of authority tasks from EUR 110 including VAT: address registration, bank account opening, utility setup, health insurance application, vehicle and pet registration, child allowance applications and parking permits (Archer).
• Relosophy lists single services such as registration at EUR 145, a bank account at EUR 145, registration with insurances at EUR 85 each and a driving licence conversion at EUR 345 (Relosophy). The shop marked most items sold out when we read it.
• Relocraft lists per employee, excluding VAT, registration with tax ID at EUR 140, a bank account at EUR 150, a driving licence conversion at EUR 380 and a school and kindergarten service from EUR 350 (Relocraft).

What a package covers differs a lot, so compare the list of tasks before the price. The full price table, VAT status and what moves a quote are in what a relocation agency costs in Germany.

How long does each step take?

The law sets deadlines. It does not always say how long an office takes.

• Registration: within 2 weeks of moving in.
• Permit: within 90 days after visa-free entry, for the eight countries in section 41.
• Driving licence from outside the EU or EEA: valid for 6 months after you take up residence.
• Tax ID, bank account, insurance cover, appointments: we found no official processing time, so we give none.

A realistic order is registration in the first two weeks, then the tax ID, insurance and bank account in weeks two to four, with the permit and the driving licence on their own clocks. Moving to Germany: your first 90 days lays it out day by day.

Do you need a settling-in service?

Many people do these steps alone. The registration in Berlin costs nothing (Berlin service portal), the basic account is a right, and the insurance decision is yours. A service helps when you have no German, a short time, a family to register or an employer who will not help. It matters less when your employer already provides one. Some home-search packages add parts of this: Local-Worldwide’s long-term package lists utility set-up. See how to find an apartment in Germany and, to pick a provider, how to choose a relocation agency in Germany.

What we could not source

We found no official processing times for the tax ID, bank accounts or residence permits, and no source on appointment waits outside the Berlin process described above. We did not research taxes beyond the tax ID, child benefit rules, pets or police clearance certificates, though agencies list them. We read Relocraft’s list as per employee and did not confirm that private clients can book at those prices.

Want someone to take the admin off your plate? Tell us what you need and we pass your request to one agency that fits.