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🇩🇪 Germany
Germany
The whole move — visa, taxes, insurance, money and cost of living — in one place.
Visa & Residency
Freelance
Comfortable solo budget
—
Stay
3 years
Taxes Abroad
Standard resident taxation
Living in Germany
The visa is step one. Here is the rest of what it takes to live here — each researched and sourced.
🛂 Visa & Residency
Freelance / self-employed visa 3 years Germany → 🧾 Taxes Abroad
Standard resident taxation Tax-residency trigger: 183 days Germany → 🩺 Health Insurance
Required (explicit) Germany → 💶 Cost of Living
€1,990–€2,900/mo Berlin Germany → 🛡️ Health System
No — private insurance needed Emergency: 112 Germany → 🏡 Housing & Relocation
3 mo rent Address registration Germany → Good to know
- Strong, well-codified tenant rights: open-ended contracts, statutory notice periods and capped deposits
- Security deposit is legally capped at three months' cold rent (BGB §551) and may be paid in three monthly installments
- Universal, high-capacity system: ~89% on statutory funds plus ~11% private cover, near-zero uninsured
- Free choice among the statutory sickness funds (96 in 2023); statutory cover usually pays providers directly
Watch out for
- Register your address (Anmeldung) within 14 days of moving in — missing the deadline is a finable offence (up to about EUR 1,000) and the registration certificate is needed for a bank account, tax ID and residence permit
- Big-city markets (Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg) are very competitive, so viewings are crowded and landlords often demand income proof and a SCHUFA credit report
- Health insurance is compulsory for residents; a nomad/short-stay foreigner generally cannot simply use the public system without enrolling
- Non-EU visitors without employment must arrange private/expat health insurance; EU citizens use the EHIC for medically necessary care
Cost of living
| Berlin | €1,990–€2,900/mo |
Qualifying insurance
Feather Expat Health Insurance (incoming insurance, Newcomer plans Basic/Premium) €72/mo Care Expatriate (Basic/Comfort/Premium); student line: Care College €58/mo Cigna Global Health Options – International Health Plans (Silver / Gold / Platinum) —
Qualifying insurance →