Filipino’s Guide to: German Government Dealings After Landing as a Resident

In this article, I’ll quickly go through the checklist of things to get after landing in Germany as a resident. The information here was also most valid for Jan-Aug 2018; some mechanics may have changed since then.

Since Philippine passport holders are considered “third country nationals”, you will enter Germany with a National Visa stamped in your passport. This visa is typically valid for 3 months, by which time you should have converted into a longer Aufenhaltstitel (residence permit). That said, the National Visa allows you to work upon landing.

This is Part 3 of a guide for Filipino skilled workers moving to Germany. Part 1 talked about the National Visa and Part 2 talked about the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) process.

Anmeldung (Registration of a residence)

This is the first step of your being recognized as a resident in Germany. Basically, you need to tell the German government where you’re living. In your life as a German resident, there are many things you will receive in the mail. The official entities you interact with will need to know where they can reach you.

You’ll need to schedule an appointment with the Bürgeramt. On this page, you’ll find the list of required documentation and links to appointment portals.

As a result of having done your Anmeldung, you will automatically be registered to and get your Steuer ID and Rundfunkbeitrag letter.

Steuer ID

You’ll receive a letter in the mail from the Finanzamt with your personal tax number. This number will never change for you. The Philippine equivalent to this is the Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Take note: Steuer ID is different from Steuernummer. This article explains the difference.

Rundfunkbeitrag (Radio tax)

Again, you’ll get this by mail. It’s required by law for all German residences to pay radio subscription. That said, only one person at your address needs to pay for this. One residence = potentially multiple residents = one radio subscription. Here is a more in-depth guide.

Bank account

The required documents for this are your Anmeldung, Steuer ID, Visa and Work Contract.

Health insurance

If you’re earning less than EUR 59,400/year, you are required to register for public health insurance. There’s a long list of public health insurance providers. You can personally pick which one to use. You’ll need to register with the specific provider directly. Here is a more in-depth guide.

For example, Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) is large and very popular among expats. If you’re registered with TK, they’ll also cover medical bills outside Germany (called “European Health Card”, but I think only within the EU), up to the value they would have covered within Germany.

Socialversicherungnummer (Social insurance number)

Usually, your employer applies for this for you. You will get a letter in the mail with your personal Socialversicherungsnummer, and I believe your health insurance application triggers the social insurance application.

Aufenhaltstitel (Residence permit)

As mentioned above, when you receive your national visa from the German Embassy in Manila, you are given a 90-day visa. This is because you’re expected to convert this visa into a temporary residence permit after you’ve landed in Germany. This conversion is done with the Ausländerbehörde (Foreigner’s Office).

It’s recommended that you schedule an appointment for a date that is 4–6 weeks before the expiry date of your national visa. Typically, that means booking an appointment shortly after you land because there’s a ~1–2 month wait on available appointments. You can schedule an appointment through this link.

As long as you submit the list of requirements, you should be fine. In my experience, I attended the 8:30am appointment and got an officer who was nice and spoke English (some people get grumpy, Deutsch-only speaking officers). They took my set of original documents (no need for photocopies) and asked me to wait while they photocopied my documents and printed my residence permit. After around 30 minutes, they gave me back my documents and passport, with the residence permit sticker already attached. Its validity was until the last day of my contract (~14 months). I paid around EUR 60, and I was out the door before 9:15am.

This is the end of Part 3.