Things to know about the Anmeldung in Berlin

Moving to Berlin can be stressful when you don’t speak German and need to register your address with the city. Here you will find everything you need to know about the registration “Anmeldung” in Berlin.

If your situation is one of the following, you need to register.

• Moving to another apartment in Berlin
• Moving from another city in Germany to Berlin
• Moving from abroad to Berlin

This registration is needed for most of the administrative things you will have to do here, such as opening a bank account, paying your taxes etc.

Not registering your address is illegal and you can get a fine for it. Not the most noteworthy thing you will do in Berlin for sure, but mandatory and easy to do when you know how it works.

To register you need to go to the Bürgeramt, which is the equivalent of the city hall, but there is one for every district of Berlin.

Booking an online appointment is the best way to save time during the registration process. It is not mandatory to go to the Bürgeramt of your district, you can choose the most convenient for you.

Here is the link to make an appointment, “Termin” in German.

Once you have finished, they will give you a paper which looks like the picture below, do not lose it! It is important for your taxes, opening a bank account, your German health insurance etc.

Tips

• You can cancel your appointment. It is better to have an appointment, even far in time, and change it afterwards if a closer date becomes available, than to be waiting the whole time to find a free convenient spot.
• Every day there are people cancelling their appointments, and you can take advantage of it, but you need to be refreshing the page at 8am and be fast, the closest appointments get booked up almost immediately.
• If you are in a hurry to have the Anmeldung, in some offices you can go without an appointment when they first open. Therefore, each Bürgeramt works independently of each other, so make sure the one you have chosen, offers this option. Be aware however, that the waiting time for walk-in appointments can be several hours long.

This form is the main document you have to bring with you for the registration. To complete it, we have created AiRelo, a free to use chatbot which by taking a picture of your passport and/or answering a few questions in your language delivers the form as a pdf. in German in your inbox. You just have to print it and bring it with you to the Bürgeramt!

No App, No sign-ups, Just Chat!

To avoid having to go back several times to the Bürgeramt, come prepared with everything you will need.

• A valid passport or identification card. If someone is going on your behalf, then the person needs to present a letter of authorization together with their passport or identity card
• If you obtained a VISA for entering to the country, don’t forget it
• A written and signed confirmation letter by your landlord or the owner of the property. This is called “Wohnungsgeberbestätigung”
• The Anmeldung form filled out and signed in German
• The rental agreement is not always necessary, but bring a copy just in case
• If you have family, remember to bring the Marriage and birth certificates (both documents translated in German)
• Additionally, if you do not want your personal information to be shared with other public institutions, then you need to present a “Restricting Information Disclosure”

Disclaimer: Even if we try to be the most accurate and precise with the information that we provide, we advise you to contact a professional on the topic.