Dealing with German offices — step by step

Registering your address (Anmeldung)

Anyone moving to Germany, or moving house within it, has to register at the Bürgeramt within 14 days. Without that registration there is no tax ID, no bank account and no employment contract.

Where

Bürgeramt, Hagedorn 6, 21682 Stade · tel. +49 4141 401-444

What to bring

• A passport or ID card (for every person being registered)
• The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung — a form filled in by your landlord or property manager
• Children’s birth certificates and your marriage certificate — ideally with a certified translation
• Every member of the family has to come in person

After registering

The post will bring: your registration certificate, your tax identification number, a letter from the ARD-ZDF Beitragsservice (the broadcasting fee) and — if you stated a religious affiliation — information about church tax.

ID card / passport

EU citizens living in Stade do not need a German identity document — a valid ID card or passport from their home country is enough. A German ID card can be applied for after naturalisation.

Documents from your home country

ID cards and passports from your home country are applied for at that country’s consulate; for many countries the nearest consulate is in Hamburg. The S5 gets you there from Stade station in about 75 minutes.

Registering a foreign car in Germany

Where

Kfz-Zulassungsstelle, Harburger Straße 193, 21680 Stade · tel. +49 4141 12-3650 — by appointment only.

What to bring

• The foreign registration certificate and vehicle title (originals)
• A valid roadworthiness test — in Germany the HU/AU (best done at TÜV or DEKRA beforehand)
• Valid third-party insurance with a German insurer — you need an eVB number
• A German translation of foreign documents (if the office asks for it)
• The owner’s ID card
• A SEPA direct debit mandate for the vehicle tax (your account number)

What it costs

The administrative fee for registration is roughly 30–60 euros. Number plates are ordered separately from a plate-stamping shop, usually right next to the office. Vehicle tax depends on engine size and CO₂ emissions and is debited from your account once a year.

Enrolling a child in a primary school

Children are assigned to a primary school by where they live. You can look up the catchment area on the map at stadt-stade.info.

When school starts

In Germany school is compulsory for children who turn six by 30 September of that year. Enrolment happens in the autumn of the previous year — the school sends an invitation by post.

What to bring

• The ID of the parent and the child
• The child’s birth certificate
• Your registration certificate
• The vaccination record
• The last report card from the previous school (if the child was already at school)

Getting a nursery place

You usually apply directly at the nursery you want. Start looking a year before the planned start at the latest — the popular places have long waiting lists.

How the system works

Some cities run a central application portal. In Stade most parents contact the nursery directly — by phone or e-mail — and arrange a first visit.

What to look at

• The character of the nursery: municipal, Protestant, Catholic, inclusive, forest
• Opening hours (all-day, half-day, and whether they fit your working hours)
• Getting there on the KVG bus or on foot
• Its own kitchen or catering
• The educational approach and the size of the groups

The full list: nurseries in Stade

Health insurance and your first doctor

Health insurance is compulsory in Germany. Employees are usually signed up automatically by their employer with a statutory health fund (TK, AOK, Barmer, DAK and others). Self-employed people can choose between statutory and private cover.

The first appointment

Once you have arrived, find yourself a GP. They write referrals to specialists, handle check-ups and most day-to-day matters. The full list of practices: doctors in Stade.

The EHIC card

The EHIC only covers emergency treatment. For a permanent stay you need German health insurance.

Tax number and tax return

After registering, your tax identification number (Steuer-ID) arrives by post — a number valid for life. You give it to your employer for payroll. The Steuernummer itself only comes with your first tax return.

Tax classes

• I — single, no children
• II — single parent with a child
• III / V — married, one partner earns considerably more
• IV / IV — married, similar incomes
• VI — a second job

The annual tax return

The income tax return is normally due by 31 July of the following year (with a tax adviser, by the end of February two years later). For many employees it is well worth filing — the average refund is around 1,000 euros.

An EU driving licence in Germany

An EU driving licence is valid in Germany indefinitely; there is no obligation to exchange it for a German one. Exchanging makes sense if you want to add a category or hold an old-style document.

Where to exchange it

Licences are exchanged at the district driving licence office — Landkreis Stade, Am Sande 2.

A bank account and internet

To open an account you need an ID document and your registration certificate. There is plenty of choice — from the local Sparkasse Stade-Altes Land (branches and cash machines all over town) through the Volksbank to online banks such as ING, DKB or N26.

Internet and phone

Much of Stade has fibre. The main providers are Telekom, Vodafone and 1&1. Contracts usually run for 24 months — read them carefully before signing. Prepaid SIM cards with no contract are sold in supermarkets (ALDI Talk, Lidl Connect).

Looking for work in Stade

The city’s big employers are Dow, Airbus and AOS (chemicals, aviation, aluminium). The Elbe Klinikum is permanently looking for medical staff, and local trades take on qualified people in construction and installation work.

Where to look

• Agentur für Arbeit Stade, 0800 4 5555 00 — free job placement
• Job boards: indeed.de, stepstone.de, arbeitsagentur.de/jobsuche
• Local temping agencies
• The employers’ own career pages (Dow, Airbus, AOS, Elbe Klinikum)