Registration in Germany

axer

Hi Everyone,

I am planning on moving to germany for a year but cannot do so until my german girlfriend gets a job here (she has just finished college). At the moment I visit her home house for about 4 weeks then go home for 2/3 then 4 in germany again.

Do I actually need to/Should I register in her town? If yes, does it get me anything other that following the law?

Noel.

mackerski

IMHO you should. Apart from the queuing (minimal in a small town), there are few downsides. However, some advantages:

In Germany you are obliged to carry ID. Either a national identity card or a passport, so a passport for you. Carrying the thing is a pain. I never did. Being registered will mean that, in the event of being controlled, the cop can radio back and check your address and details against the ones you claim. This does happen, and being registered generally means you'll be on your way immediately (although theoretically in the wrong).

If you want a bank account, a car or many other things that require paperwork, you can't do it without registration.

If a snowplough damages your car in the middle of the night and the driver is honest enough to inform the authorities, the cops will be able to wake you up at six in the morning to get things sorted out (this happens too, though it's a fairly marginal case - but it's a useful example of joined up administration).

axer

Thanks mackerski. What are the downsides you speak of?

I am here now and will probably do it on monday so that I can get insured on my girlfriend's car.

As I am staying in her home house could it affect her family? i.e. would they be deemed to be receiving rent from me or something like that?

mackerski

axer wrote:

Thanks mackerski. What are the downsides you speak of?

Nothing tangible springs to mind. Some people unused to such things find the idea troubling, that the state knows where you are. Also, even for EU citizens, there are certain limitations to the right to reside (basically related to not becoming a burden on the welfare system), so there may be annoying questions about job or means of support.

I am here now and will probably do it on monday so that I can get insured on my girlfriend's car.

axer wrote:

As I am staying in her home house could it affect her family? i.e. would they be deemed to be receiving rent from me or something like that?

I'd imagine not. It's perfectly valid for a householder to put up a guest on any terms they choose. It's for the tax man to decide whether there's any undeclared income, and perhaps they do look for spurious registered guests, but it's nothing that can't be solved easily if the question does arise.

When you go to register they'll want to see your passport and to know your registered address. They _may_ require some evidence of your right to live there (a Mietvertrag [rental contract] is usual, but there's likely to be an equivlant for your situation if it's a requirement). Worth checking this. If you can get one of the existing residents to come with you, that should cover it, at worst they'll have to sign something drawn up on the spot. If you have a few bank statements, that won't go amiss so that they know you can support yourself. Was never an issue for me, as I had a job from the start, but you never know.

axer

Thanks mackerski! I am not going to bother registering until I get my own place as I will by here for only another two weeks anyway for now.

Sonnenblumen

axer wrote:

Thanks mackerski! I am not going to bother registering until I get my own place as I will by here for only another two weeks anyway for now.

Before you return to Germany, can I suggest you contact the Geman Embassy and familiarise yourself with terms and conditions of EU Nationals wishing to take up residency in Germany. ALL foreign citizensa must apply for Residency permit (Aufenhaltserlaubnis). There are serious implications if you do not do so within the specified periods. Also you will not be able to open any Bank Accounts without your Aufenhaltserlaubnis. Would be surprised if you can get insurance without same.

Everyone in Germany carry ID and foreigners also. Too many chancey Irish have found to their regret stupid efforts to circumvent the systems. They might be tedious, dull etc but at least they are transparent for all. If in doubt you can check with Irish consular services in Germany.

axer

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Before you return to Germany, can I suggest you contact the Geman Embassy and familiarise yourself with terms and conditions of EU Nationals wishing to take up residency in Germany. ALL foreign citizensa must apply for Residency permit (Aufenhaltserlaubnis). There are serious implications if you do not do so within the specified periods. Also you will not be able to open any Bank Accounts without your Aufenhaltserlaubnis. Would be surprised if you can get insurance without same.

Yep, I will do that. At the moment I am only staying at my girlfriends home house which I have actually being doing for 2/3 week stints for the past 2 years and it is only recently I have read about registering (my own ignorance I know). I won't be looking for a bank account or insurance until I have my own apartment at which time I will be living full time in germany and will definitely have registered by then.

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Everyone in Germany carry ID and foreigners also.

Just wondering about this. Would carrying your Irish Full Driving licence be enough or must I continue to carry my passport?

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Too many chancey Irish have found to their regret stupid efforts to circumvent the systems. They might be tedious, dull etc but at least they are transparent for all. If in doubt you can check with Irish consular services in Germany.

I am not trying to circumvent the system btw - just didnt know about it as I never was living here with my own place so I never had to apply for anything.

I will definitely check all this out before I go back to germany again.

Thanks Sonnenblumen for the advice.

jester77

It's to your advantage to be registered, especially if you want to use any services that require a contract, ie. mobile phone being the main one, even prepay. If you want to get employment you need to be registered. It's a painless procedure that just takes a few hours. Bring your girlfriend with you for clarification. There are no downsides to registration that I can think of, unless you consider being hassled by the GEZ (TV license) as a downside

I'm not sure about the ID carrying for foreigners. Foreigners are not currently issued with an ID but there is talk of implementing this. I never carry my passport around with me but I have a German drivers license. I don't know if this is enough, theoretically it should be as they would see my address via a lookup in their database. But I've never been stopped in all my time here in the last 8 years!

mackerski

axer wrote:

Just wondering about this. Would carrying your Irish Full Driving licence be enough or must I continue to carry my passport?

Legally it has to be a passport or a national ID card (which Ireland doesn't have). In point of fact, if you can muster enough official-looking ID to satisfy the cop of your name and date of birth and if he can tie that back to what's on record for you, you _should_ be fine. But you could be pulled in for it if the cop takes a dislike to you, so be very polite and explain that you're just afraid of losing your passport.

And none of this helps if you're not registered. As a tourist, you could possibly have your hotel vouch for you, but you see how tricky it becomes in your situation. Carry the passport until registered is my advice.

peasant

The way I see it, for the moment you are just a visitor.
You're not working, you're not claiming any benefits etc and you're returning to your place of residence (i.e Ireland) on a regular basis.

There is no real need to register yet.

Only when you plan to put down roots in Germany is when registering is the first order of business.

As for carrying ID at all times ...you're a tourist, ffs.
Unless you're involved in shady activities, you'll hardly be stopped by every policeman going and asked to produce ID.

Carry a copy of your passport with you at all times and if you really get asked for ID in earnest (which I doubt will happen) show them the real thing.
An Irish driving licence, a credit card or even a Dunnes Stores club card (or whatever irish thing it is that you normally carry around) together with your passport copy really should be enough to convince the occasional cop that you are indeed a genuine tourist.

If you have time to kill, go down to your local Ordnungsamt and ask them what to bring along, if and when you are going to register ...at least you'll know for sure then.

axer

I am getting a train from Dresden to Prague on Friday and coming back monday. Because I am crossing borders will this be any more of a problem i.e. me not being registered? I will be carrying my passport of course though. Thanks for all the advice so far - I am totally clueless about all this and my girlfriend (even though german doesn't know).

jester77

No all you need is your passport. It's no different than if you were interrailing across Europe.

Sonnenblumen

peasant wrote:

As for carrying ID at all times ...you're a tourist, ffs.
Unless you're involved in shady activities, you'll hardly be stopped by every policeman going and asked to produce ID.

Why are you linking ID with criminality? There are lots of situations whereby it would be very useful if not essential to carry some form of ID, an obvious example would be in the event of an accident, but there are many others and all with nothing to do with suspicious activities criminal or otherwise.

It does make you wonder why Ireland does not have an ID card - hardly fear of identifying all the criminals?

OP- you should carry a photocopy of the relevant page from your Passport and at least the real thing can be obtained from a safe place rather than the worry/risk of losing it if it's to be carried on person everywhere.

Final Tip- do not fall asleep on tyrain journey to Prague and ensure you sit on your passport.

Gute Reise

peasant

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Why are you linking ID with criminality? There are lots of situations whereby it would be very useful if not essential to carry some form of ID, an obvious example would be in the event of an accident, but there are many others and all with nothing to do with suspicious activities criminal or otherwise.

I didn't mean to link ID to criminality, just meant to say if you behave normally and don't stick out, you'll never be asked for ID.

In thirty-odd years of living in Germany I had to ID myself about twice, if I remember correctly and on both occasions I had nothing on me , other than a student card or a bank card the other time ...and all was fine.

Different story, when you're driving because checkpoints can be a fairly regular occasion.

axer

Thanks for all the advice guys. Now I'd better get back to learning my german! :eek:

KTRIC

I'm in exactly the same situation myself. My German girlfriend (of 6 years) wants to go home for good and wants me to go with her.

She's going to get a job over there and I'll move over when she's settled. The only problem I have is that my German is a bit ropey at best. What are my chances of getting a job in IT support (helpdesk even) with English and then learn German in my spare time.

axer

What part are you moving to?

What someone suggested to me is to try and get job in Ireland with a german company and then ask for a relocation. Even a company like HP who have sites in Germany might be worth looking into - not sure if they do relocation or whether they work through english in Germany.

I do know you will have to accept a pay cut.

KTRIC

axer wrote:

What part are you moving to?

What someone suggested to me is to try and get job in Ireland with a german company and then ask for a relocation. Even a company like HP who have sites in Germany might be worth looking into - not sure if they do relocation or whether they work through english in Germany.

I do know you will have to accept a pay cut.

Probably near Dusseldorf, getting a job with a company like HP here is not really an option for me at the moment. I'm a contrator and stuck in a contract until I leave Ireland later this year.

mackerski

KTRIC wrote:

Probably near Dusseldorf, getting a job with a company like HP here is not really an option for me at the moment. I'm a contrator and stuck in a contract until I leave Ireland later this year.

I worked as a contractor in Munich between 1996 and 2000. At that time, there was a thriving community of English-speaking monoglots making good money, at least in certain roles. Customer-facing stuff is harder without German, but even that can work in multinationals that use English as a working language.

Pimp your CV around some agencies is my advice, you'll get a feel for how things are.

jester77

Shouldn't be a problem. My German is still ropey at best but I get by no problems. It's mainly German that's spoken where I work and if I'm really stuck people are friendly and help me out!