What do new Berliners have to consider when moving to Berlin? Where do I have to register, how can I apply for a residence permit, where do I find appropriate child care services? An overview.
Registering with the registration office
Service description The resident registration in Berlin is carried out at the registration offices of the boroughs. The registration period after moving in is usually 14 days.
Online registration is possible if you are moving within Germany. Other requirements include being of legal age, German citizenship or EU citizenship. This requires a BundID account and an identity card or the EU citizen card "Unionsbürgerkarte" (eID card), each with activated online ID function (eID) and personal PIN. If you are moving into a rented apartment, you can also upload the required confirmation of moving in from the landlord.
Requirements for registration at the Bürgeramt include proof of identity, application form, possibly civil status certificates (e.g. marriage certificate, birth certificate), and a landlord's confirmation that you have moved into your home. Appointments with the appropriate authority can be made by phone or online. The application form is available for download in advance.
Service description The tax authorities of the boroughs are responsible for the electronic income tax deduction system (ELStAM). This electronic tax card stores data for tax deduction of the employee such as tax class, number of child tax credits, tax exemption or church tax deduction feature. When commencing an employment, the employer requires from the employee merely his date of birth, the tax ID number as well as the information whether this is the main job or a side job.
Every employee can retrieve his personal ELStAM information on the ElsterOnline portal. For the free registration, you need the tax ID number.
If a tax ID number is not available anymore, it can be requested at the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). A separate contact form is available for this purpose.
Furthermore, your tax authority is the point of contact for your personal information stored in ELStAM.
Citizens who move to Berlin and have not yet explicitly booked an electricity or gas tariff with another provider automatically become customers of the basic supplier. The basic supplier is the provider with the most household customers.
Electricity suppliers in Berlin The basic supplier for electricity in Berlin is the Swedish company Vattenfall or Vattenfall Europe Sales GmbH with rates designed for private household usage. www.vattenfall.de/electricity-supply-germany rates by the electricity supplier Vattenfall
Gas suppliers in Berlin With the GASAG | ERDGAS Komfort rate, gas provider GASAG AG supplies Berlin customers who have not yet chosen any other provider. www.gasag.de/erdgas informs on the gas supply in Berlin (in German)
Public and transport services - sustainability for Berlin
Service description The Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) ensures the potable water supply for more than 3.7 million Berliners and treat sewage using state-of-the-art and innovative technologies. www.bwb.de
The Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR) is a municipal company in Berlin. Its task is to dispose of waste safely, efficiently and sustainably and to maintain a clean streetscape. The high performance of over 6,000 employees guarantees a high quality of life for Berlin. Compared to other major German cities, the fees in Berlin are low. www.bsr.de
The density and quality of Berlin’s public transportation network are on an internationally high level. Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) ensures traffic safety and an attractive mobility offer. www.bvg.de
Service providers: Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB), Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR), Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG)
Application for child benefit
Service description Child benefit is paid to the person caring for the child once born, regardless of income. Parents can decide which of them should receive the child benefit. Child benefit is paid for
all children until their 18th birthday
children in education or looking for an apprenticeship until they reach the age of 25
for unemployed children until their 21st birthday
German citizens and EU citizens who are resident in Germany are entitled to child benefit. In special cases, non-EU citizens may also receive child benefit if they are living and working in Germany on a permanent basis.
The monthly child benefit for each child is €259 (as of: 01/2026).
Child benefit must always be applied for in writing. The applications for child benefit can either be printed out as a hard copy, signed and sent to the family benefits office of the Agentur für Arbeit, or they can be filled out online.
In case your place of residence is abroad and you are employed in Germany, it is the Familienkasse of the borough where the accounting department of your employer is located. Public-sector employees apply for child benefit at the Bundesagentur für Arbeit.
Registering for kindergarten and child care opportunities
Service description: registration for a daycare center The first step to daycare is applying for a daycare voucher at the Jugendamt (youth office) in your borough. The voucher includes information on the type and extent of the entitlement and can be redeemed in various types of daycare centers. The voucher can be applied for earliest nine months and latest two months before the start of care. Daycare centers and daycare services are free of charge for all children. A fee may be charged only for lunch.
Service description: child care opportunities Even before their first birthday, children are entitled to a place in a daycare center. There is a legal entitlement to up to seven hours of support daily, regardless of need. Numerous childcare options are available for this purpose. Over 90 percent of all daycare offerings include the lunch hour. Parents who work outside the opening hours of daycare and after-school facilities can apply for supplemental child care.
Daycare centers imply nurseries (for children between eight weeks and three years of age) and kindergartens (for children over the age of three until they enter school). Supplemental child care is performed by male or female daycare providers. This type of care is mainly intended for children under three years of age.
Map Our outline maps will help you find the right daycare center near you: Outline map kindergartens
School enrollment
Service description Children are generally obliged to attend school when they turn six and have to be enrolled in the nearest public elementary school. The enrollments take place from late October till early November. The exact time frame is announced in the media. At this time, parents have to enroll their children in the elementary school in the catchment area. This requires the ID cards or passports of the parents as well as the birth certificate of the child.
In case parents wish to enroll their child in a different school or a private school, they still have to file the application with the school in the catchment area first. Additionally, they have to file a motivated application for a school change in writing which illustrates why the child is supposed to attend a different school.
In case parents require a different form of schooling than the one offered in the catchment area school such as a day or half-day school, the child will be admitted in a school within the borough which offers the desired form of schooling. In a half-day school, the children can go to an after school center after class. Bound day schools offer additional care after 4 p.m. All all-day programs are free of charge for grades 1 to 3. Parents who need extra care can apply for it together with the enrollment in the elementary school.
After enrolling, the children are examined by the school doctor on behalf of the Child and Youth Health Services. The parents usually get the appointment right when enrolling the child in the school.
The school places are assigned by the school board of the borough. In case an application for supplementary promotion and care has been filed, the youth office of the borough decides whether the care need is substantiated.
Service description You are new in Berlin and ask yourself: How can I find an apartment? Who are the large portfolio holders? Where are the new apartments being built? Here you will get information on Berlin’s real estate market, e.g. the annual Housing Market Report by the Investitionsbank Berlin, tips on possible search options, contact details of providers and portfolio holders as well as the Berlin rent index.
First information package for new Berliners - Starter Kit
Service description In the welcome bags, the information on this website is summarized as a glossy journal and supplemented with a few Berlin-specific bits and pieces.
Service provider These welcome bags can be ordered by HR departments from the Berlin business development agency Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH:
Service description It is difficult to find the right provider for the relocation to Berlin. Therefore, professional help sure is advantageous. On the website berlin.de, you will find a relocation guide with valuable information and tips: Relocation guide
Service description Whether it is care by family members or professional nursing services, the organization of care takes a lot of time. The people concerned and their relatives have many questions, information has to be gathered, applications have to be filed and nursing services or homes have to be visited. According to the Home Care Leave Act, employees with an acute care situation in the family have the opportunity to take a ten day unpaid leave to arrange the care of close relatives.
Assistance through information and consulting is just as important as a range of appropriate nursing services. There are numerous consulting and supporting services for nursing personnel and care recipients in Berlin. More than 50 nursing stations spread out over Berlin’s boroughs give advice on all issues related to care and aging. Furthermore, every borough has a contact point PflegeEngagement which provides support by self-help programs and voluntary work. In addition, the Care Portal of the state of Berlin gives a good overview of Berlin’s infrastructure. The consulting organization KOBRA informs about legal conditions and opportunities of parental leave and care period and provides free consulting for employees of small companies on reconciliation of work and care of relatives.
On the basis of the principles “outpatient before inpatient” and “rehabilitation before nursing”, the state of Berlin supports initiatives for people who are in particular need for care due to their age, a physical, mental or emotional illness or disability. A wide range of services by care and welfare organizations and providers guarantees a well-developed care infrastructure.
Contact Nursing stations Berlin funded by the state of Berlin and the nursing care and health insurances in Berlin 0800-59 500 59 (toll-free service number) Nursing stations Berlin Current locations Consulting on services of the nursing care insurance and social law issues
Additional information for EU citizens, citizens from EEA countries and non-EU citizens (third-country nationals)
Assistance in applying for a residence permit
Specifications In case the recruitment process requires applications for a residence or a work permit, these applications can be supported with the Business Immigration Service.
This service is comprised of the following:
first information on the application procedure
assistance in filling out the documents
communication and appointment arrangement with the appropriate authorities
quick processing by all involved service partners
This service provides support for:
Investors supported by Berlin's business development agency Berlin Partner for Business and Technology
Companies particularly contributing to the business location Berlin by their commitment
Highly qualified personnel
Other particularly qualified employees of globally active companies
University graduates
Generally, all new coming professionals who are not citizens of the EU, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel or South Korea require a work and residence permit.
Specifications Foreigners who have their primary or secondary residence in Germany can open a German current account. This, however, requires some evidence. Often, the banks offer a foreigner a prepaid current account. In this case, it is not possible to get an overdraft line of credit. Foreigners have to show some documents for the bank to process the request. Certain documents are required:
a valid passport,
confirmation of residence registration,
the reason for your stay in Germany,
usually, a work permit.
This often results in expenses since the issue of certificates is not free of charge. Moreover, most current accounts require a management fee or a monthly minimum deposit. Those who additionally need a credit card, also have to pay a fee. In this case it is always recommended to compare the different offers. The amount of the minimum deposit, the processing and management fees may significantly vary depending on the financial institution.
Foreigners who wish to open a German current account from abroad can do so with an international bank. This bank will then verify the identity of the person by filing a request with the competent authority. Another possibility is to have one’s identity verified by a notary or the embassy and then bring these documents to a financial institution. Usually, opening a German current account is not a problem then, provided the selected financial institution actually offers this option. However, there are sometimes restrictions in the respective countries. Not all of them make it legally possible for their citizens to maintain a German current account.
An online account is another opportunity. Some direct banks offer accounts that can be opened and used entirely via the internet. These accounts have the same benefits as a regular German current account: money transfer, electronic cash and credit cards as well as a possibility of an overdraft. The account holder receives a German account number and bank code. International bank transfers are also possible.
Additional information for non-EU citizens (third-country nationals)
Support in transferring the driving license
Specifications The documents or examinations that are required depends on the country that issued the licence. Germany has agreed a simplified acceptance process with a number of non-EU countries. Holders of driving licenses from non-EU countries must to take both theory and practical tests at a technical testing center for motor vehicle traffic. A driving school can be consulted for that purpose.
The foreign driving license has to be valid and presented in the original when applying for a German driving license. In order to obtain the German driving license, it is necessary to submit the foreign one. In some cases, a translation of the foreign driving license is required. International driving licenses are technically not transferred; a valid national driving license is always required.
The borough offices are responsible for the transferring process. The driving license can also be transferred by the driving licensing authority. The Service-Potal Berlin (in German) provides information about the required documents, fees and responsible authorities. Appointments can also be booked online here.
Service providers Borough offices and driving licensing authority
