Living in Germany

Emergency numbers

Your first steps

• Register your address at the registration office (Bürgeramt) within two weeks of moving in. Source
• Health insurance is compulsory for everyone living in Germany. If you are employed, your employer registers you with your health insurer. Source
• Your tax ID (Steuer-ID) is sent to you by post – only by post. If it doesn't arrive, you can request it again with the BZSt form. Source
• For a long stay you need a German current account – for example to rent a flat or to receive your salary. Source

Everyday rules

• Quiet hours usually run from 10 pm to 6 am. Your building's house rules (Hausordnung) may set more. Source
• Sorting your rubbish is compulsory. Source
• The Deutschland-Ticket costs €58 a month and covers local and regional public transport across Germany. Source

At work in hospitals and pharmacies

The law sets the minimum. Your contract and any collective agreement can add to it – read them, and ask your employer when something is unclear.

• If you are ill, tell your employer straight away. If the illness lasts more than three calendar days, you hand in a medical certificate on the next working day. Your employer may ask for it earlier. Source
• Working time is 8 hours a day. It can go up to 10 hours if the average stays at 8 hours over six months or 24 weeks. Source
• Patient records must be made promptly. Corrections must leave the original entry readable, and records are kept for 10 years. Source
• Tip German has a formal “Sie” and an informal “du”. If you are not sure which your team uses, start with “Sie” and the surname.
• Tip In your first week, ask how handovers work on your ward or in your pharmacy, who signs off what, and where rotas and start times are posted.

What to watch out for

• Travelling on public transport without a valid ticket can be prosecuted – the penalty is up to one year in prison or a fine. Source
• Every household pays the broadcasting contribution (Rundfunkbeitrag): €18.36 a month per home, whether or not you own a TV or radio. The registration office passes your new address on to the contribution service. Source
• Phone and internet contracts can have a first term of up to 24 months. After that you can cancel at any time with one month's notice. Source
• When you enter Germany from outside the EU with €10,000 or more in cash, you must declare it in writing to customs. Source
• “Shock calls”: callers pose as police, officials or relatives, invent an emergency and demand money. Hang up, call the person back on a number you know, and call the police on 110 if it seems suspicious. Source
• Be wary of anyone who wants money up front – for a flat, a job or a document – before you have seen or signed anything. Source

Free help

• Migration advice for adults (MBE) is free, for people over 27, in the first three years after arrival. Young people aged 12 to 27 go to the Youth Migration Services (JMD). Source
• mbeon offers the same advice online, in German, English, Russian and Arabic. Source
• Faire Integration gives free, anonymous advice to workers from outside the EU on pay, working hours, holidays, dismissal and health insurance, in several languages. Source
• Tip If your employer has a works or staff council (Betriebsrat or Personalrat), it can help with questions about your rota and contract.

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