Settling in Hannover: the checklist for Indian expats

Apply at the German mission responsible for your Indian state, usually through its outsourced visa centre. Work visas and the EU Blue Card need a signed contract or binding offer; students need the university admission; family members need the sponsor's permit.

National visas are issued for a fixed period of up to one year. Note the expiry date: you apply for the residence permit at the immigration office in Germany before it runs out.

No job yet?

The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) lets qualified people come to look for work for up to a year on a points system (at least six points; language level, experience, age and a recognised qualification all count) with part-time work of up to 20 hours a week allowed while you search.

Check your degree in the anabin database (KMK); a degree listed as H+ is recognised and may be needed for the EU Blue Card. Have the degree, marriage and birth certificates attested (apostille through the MEA in India) and get certified translations from a sworn translator.

Bring several copies. The registration office may ask for marriage and birth certificates when you register a spouse or children.

When booking a serviced flat or room, ask explicitly whether the landlord issues a Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung (landlord's confirmation of move-in) for registration. The law obliges the person providing the housing to confirm the move-in within two weeks, but short-let hosts sometimes refuse; find out before paying.

Prefer a booking of at least four to six weeks so you have time to find a long-term flat after registering. Save the booking confirmation and the landlord's name and address; both appear on the form.

Take out an incoming or travel health policy that covers Germany from the day you land and keep it running until your statutory (GKV) or private insurer confirms membership. Employees are usually insured through the employer from the first working day, but the certificate arrives later.

Keep the policy document with your passport; the visa office asked for it and the immigration office may ask again.

Bring a debit or credit card with low foreign-transaction fees and check its daily limits. Carry a few hundred euros in cash for the first days; bakeries, kiosks and some offices are cash or German debit card (Girocard) only.

A prepaid travel card or a multi-currency account opened from India can cover the gap until your German account is open.

Buy a prepaid SIM or eSIM from any network or supermarket brand. By law the provider must verify your identity (passport or residence permit) before activation, usually by video or in the shop; a registration certificate is not required.

Compare EU data allowances and the per-minute rate to India; some providers sell India calling add-ons. Move to a contract later once you have an account and a registered address.

Ask the landlord or property manager for the Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung as soon as you move in. By law it must state the landlord's name and address (and the owner's, if different), the move-in date, the address of the flat and the names of everyone moving in, and the landlord must issue it within the two-week registration period.

Most cities publish the form on their registration page; print it and hand it to the landlord to sign. Check the names and the date before your appointment.

Book an appointment at the registration office (Buergeramt or Buergerbuero) of your city; in most cities any office will do, not only the one for your district. Appointments are scarce in the big cities, so book the day you know your move-in date and check daily for earlier slots.

Bring

Passport for every person registering, the signed Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung, the completed registration form, and marriage or birth certificates with translations if you register a spouse or children.

You get

The Meldebescheinigung, usually on the spot and free of charge. Take several copies; banks, insurers, the immigration office and Kitas all want one. Registration is free; late registration is an administrative offence that can be fined.

Germany is split between four missions. The Embassy in Berlin covers Berlin, Brandenburg, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thueringen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; the Consulate General in Frankfurt covers Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland; Munich covers Bayern and Baden-Wuerttemberg; Hamburg covers Hamburg, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein and Niedersachsen.

Register on the website of the mission for your state; each runs its own online form (no fee). Only Indian passport holders need to register; OCI card holders do not. Keep the confirmation email or registration number and update it when you move.

Install your city operator's app and buy single tickets until your subscription starts. The Deutschlandticket costs 63 euros a month (since 1 January 2026; the price is reviewed yearly), is a personal, monthly-cancellable subscription bought through any operator's app or shop, and is valid on local and regional transport nationwide, second class.

Subscriptions usually start on the first of a month and must be ordered or cancelled by a cut-off day in the previous month; check your operator. Employers often subsidise it as a job ticket.

Save 112 (life-threatening emergencies, free from any phone) and 116117 (the medical on-call service for illness that cannot wait until the next day, and the appointment service for specialists). Both work nationwide.

Find the nearest pharmacy (Apotheke) and note that every district has a night and Sunday duty pharmacy, listed on the door of any Apotheke and on the 116117 site.

If your registration appointment is far off, open an account with an online bank that accepts a passport and video identification; the card is posted to any German address, so a temporary address works. Document requirements vary by nationality and can include a residence permit, so read the bank's own list first.

Traditional banks generally ask for the Meldebescheinigung and sometimes the residence permit. You can keep the online account as your main account or switch later; SEPA transfers between German accounts are free.

Once you are registered, the registration office passes your data to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), which posts the number to your registered address, typically within about four weeks. Make sure your name is on the letterbox.

If it has not arrived, use the BZSt online form to have it re-sent, or ask your local tax office (Finanzamt) with your passport and registration certificate. The number stays with you for life, so keep the letter.

Pick a statutory fund (Krankenkasse) and apply online; membership starts from your first day of employment or residence and the fund sends the certificate your employer needs. All statutory funds cover the same core benefits; they differ on English-language service, extras and the small additional contribution.

Private insurance (PKV) is an option above the income threshold, for the self-employed and for some students; it is hard to leave once chosen, so take advice before opting out of the statutory system. Family members without income are insured free with you in the statutory system.

Students

Students at state or state-recognised universities are insured at the student rate in the statutory system until the end of the 30th year of age; the university needs the confirmation for enrolment.

With your registration certificate and passport (some banks also ask for the residence permit or the visa), open a current account at a branch bank or keep the online account you opened earlier as your main one. Identification is by video call or at the counter.

Set up direct-debit mandates for rent, insurance and the broadcasting fee as soon as the account is live, and give the IBAN to your employer. Ask for a Girocard (debit card); it is accepted in places that refuse credit cards.

Find the immigration office (Auslaenderbehoerde) for your city; the big cities take Blue Card applications online. Apply as soon as you have the registration certificate and the insurance certificate; the appointment for the card itself may be months away, so early applications matter.

Bring

Passport with visa, registration certificate, employment contract or admission letter, proof of health insurance, biometric photo, degree certificate (for the Blue Card, checked against anabin) and the fee. Family members bring marriage and birth certificates with translations.

Your entry visa is issued for a fixed period, often three to twelve months. If the permit is not decided before it expires, the office issues a Fiktionsbescheinigung which also lets you travel. Note the permit's expiry date in your calendar for renewal.

Register your flat online at rundfunkbeitrag.de within a month of moving in; the fee is due from the month you move in. The amount is 18.36 euros per month per flat regardless of how many people live there (unchanged through 2026).

In a shared flat, only one person registers; the others reply to any letter with that person's contribution number. Set up a direct debit so it never lapses; students and people on certain benefits can apply for exemption.

Send HR your tax ID letter, the membership certificate from your health fund and your bank details. The social security number (Sozialversicherungsnummer, also called the pension insurance number) is issued by the German Pension Insurance when you start your first job; your health fund or employer requests it and you receive a letter with the number, which stays with you for life.

Check your first payslip for tax class (usually I for single, III or IV for married), church tax (only if you declared a religion at registration) and the correct health fund.

Get the electronic insurance confirmation from a statutory fund (students at state or state-recognised universities are insured at the student rate until the end of their 30th year of age), pay the semester contribution and complete enrolment at the student office. You receive the enrolment certificate and student card.

Check whether the semester contribution includes a transport ticket; many universities now bundle a discounted Deutschlandticket.

Tell each Indian bank that you are now a person resident outside India. The bank will re-designate your existing savings account as a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account, or ask you to open one and close the old account. Balances in an NRO account are not freely remittable abroad.

Open a Non-Resident External (NRE) account for money you send from abroad; NRE balances are repatriable. Most large Indian banks run an NRI desk that handles both steps by post or video KYC.

Good to know

Your PAN stays valid. Aadhaar is not required for non-residents. This step describes the rule, not a product; compare the NRI desks listed on Expatskey and read the bank's own terms.

Compare the total cost, not the headline rate: the exchange-rate margin against the mid-market rate plus the fixed fee. Check how the money arrives in India (UPI, IMPS, NEFT or bank credit) and how long it takes.

Send a small test transfer first. Keep the confirmations; you may need them for your Indian tax filing and for the bank's KYC.

Money sent into an NRE account stays repatriable; money sent to a resident family member's account is a gift or support transfer, treated differently in India. Expatskey lists the providers; the choice is yours.

Section 29 of the Driving Licence Ordinance (FeV) recognises a foreign licence for six months after you establish ordinary residence. India is not listed in Annex 11, so there is no exchange without tests: you apply at the driving-licence office (Fuehrerscheinstelle) with your Indian licence, an official translation, a first-aid course certificate and an eye test, then pass the theory and practical tests through a driving school.

If you can show you will stay no longer than twelve months in total, the office can extend the recognition by up to six more months on request. Practical-test slots are scarce, so start in month two or three.

Prepare a folder: passport, registration certificate, employment contract, last payslips or the offer letter, and a SCHUFA report if you already have one. Newcomers without SCHUFA usually substitute bank statements and an employer letter.

Deposit and rent

By law the deposit (Kaution) may not exceed three months' net cold rent, and you are entitled to pay it in three equal monthly instalments, the first with the first rent. Cold rent (Kaltmiete) excludes heating and service charges; warm rent (Warmmiete) includes the advance on them. Read the handover protocol carefully; it decides what you get back.

Before signing, confirm the landlord will issue a new Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung; you re-register within two weeks of moving.

Book a registration appointment, bring the new landlord's Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung and your passport, and receive an updated registration certificate. Some cities offer this online for people with an electronic ID; most newcomers go in person.

Then update the address with your bank, insurer, employer, the immigration office (if the permit is still in process), the broadcasting fee service and your mobile contract. Set up mail forwarding from the old address.

Photograph the electricity (and gas) meter readings on the day you get the keys and note the meter numbers. By law the default supplier must supply every household customer at its general published terms, so you have power from the first day.

Compare tariffs and sign up with a supplier of your choice online; the switch takes a few weeks and the new supplier handles the change. Give the meter number, the reading and your IBAN. Heating is often part of the rent's service charges; check the lease before contracting gas.

Check which technologies reach the address (DSL, cable, fibre) and order as soon as the lease is signed; ask the landlord which provider the previous tenant used. Contract terms are typically 24 months with a shorter option; from the first renewal you may cancel monthly.

If the connection or a switch fails for more than one working day, the provider owes you a statutory compensation; the Federal Network Agency's consumer portal explains your rights, including the right to a minimum broadband supply.

Buy a private liability policy (Privathaftpflicht) online; family policies cover spouse and children. The consumer advice centres call it the one insurance nobody should be without.

Check that the policy covers damage to rented property (Mietsachschaeden) and loss of keys, the two claims tenants actually make.

Estimate the replacement value of everything in the flat and insure that sum; underinsurance reduces payouts. Bicycles and valuables usually need to be named separately.

Combine with the liability policy at the same insurer if it is cheaper; both are monthly-cancellable after the first year.

Use the doctor search on 116117.de (filter by language) or your health fund's directory to find a practice taking new patients. Go once with your insurance card so you are on their books; you do not formally register, you simply become a patient.

Do the same with a dentist; statutory insurance rewards a yearly check-up recorded in the bonus booklet. Bring vaccination records and any regular prescriptions from India for the first visit.

Kita: each city runs its own portal for finding and registering for places (for example the Kita-Navigator in Berlin, kita finder+ in Munich, kindernetfrankfurt in Frankfurt, Little Bird in Essen). Some states issue a voucher first, others let you register directly with the Kita; register for several and mark a preference.

School: contact the school office (Schulamt) of your district as soon as you are registered. Children with little or no German are placed in welcome or preparatory classes and moved into regular classes as their German improves. Bring the registration certificate, birth certificate, passport, vaccination record and previous school reports.

Apply online with the Familienkasse of the Federal Employment Agency once your residence permit is issued. You need your and each child's tax ID, the birth certificates (with translations) and the permit. Non-EU citizens qualify with a settlement permit, an EU Blue Card or a residence permit that allows employment for at least six months.

The benefit is 259 euros per child per month in 2026 for every child, with no sibling bonus. Tell the Familienkasse when you move or when a child leaves the household.

Apply for the spouse's residence permit at the same immigration office with the marriage certificate (attested, translated), your permit and proof of income and housing. Since 2020 the Residence Act states that anyone holding a residence title may pursue employment unless a law prohibits it; check the permit's conditions (Nebenbestimmungen) for any restriction.

A spouse's language certificate is usually not needed for Blue Card families. Register the spouse for a language course early; many integration courses are free for family-reunion permit holders.

Pfand: most drink bottles and cans carry a deposit refunded at any supermarket's return machine. Bins: paper, packaging (yellow), glass by colour, organic and residual waste; the building's house rules say which bin is which and when bulky waste is collected.

Quiet hours: state noise laws protect night rest, typically from 22:00 to 06:00, and all day on Sundays and public holidays (Berlin's state law is one example); house rules often add a midday quiet period. No drilling, loud music or washing machines at those times, and shops are closed on Sundays.

The 116117 appointment service (Terminservicestelle) arranges psychotherapy consultations for statutory patients; the online search can filter by language. Your Hausarzt can also refer you.

In an acute crisis call 112. Many cities have English-speaking crisis lines and counselling centres; save the number for yours now, not later.

Search the community pages for your city on Expatskey; temples, gurdwaras, mosques and churches are listed by category. Visit on a festival day or a weekend service to see the community, not just the building.

Ask about language classes, children's programmes and volunteering; many places run all three and they are the fastest way in.

Look up the cultural organisations for your city on Expatskey and pick the one for your language or region; if there is none, a pan-Indian association is the next best.

Go to one event before joining. Membership is usually a small yearly fee and puts you on the mailing list for festivals, sports days and picnics.

Browse the Indian grocery pages for your city on Expatskey, then visit two. Ask what day fresh vegetables and curry leaves arrive; many shops get a delivery once a week.

Check whether the shop delivers or whether an online Indian grocer covers your postcode. Keep an eye on the festival weeks, when stocks of sweets and puja items go fast.

Check with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) whether you are entitled to an integration course (600 hours of German plus an orientation course); family-reunion permit holders and many others can be admitted on application, and the immigration office often hands out the admission with the permit.

Otherwise the city's adult education centre (Volkshochschule) runs affordable evening courses, and employers often pay for in-house classes. Aim for B1 within the first two years.

Browse the sports clubs listed for your city on Expatskey and turn up to a practice session; most clubs let you train a few times before joining. Membership is a small yearly fee, and clubs are where you first hear about jobs, flats and festivals.

Add the year's festival dates to your calendar. Check the events listed on Expatskey and the Indian mission's cultural programme in the weeks before each one; most community celebrations are on the nearest weekend.

Festival weeks are also when Indian grocers stock sweets, diyas and puja items; buy early.

Check the courses and teaching institutes listed on Expatskey for your city and for online classes. Regional associations and temples often run language classes at low cost.

Try one term before committing to exams; the goal is confidence in the language and a community, not a certificate.

Self-filed returns are due seven months after the end of the tax year, so the return for a calendar year is due on 31 July of the following year. If a tax advisor or a wage-tax help association files for you, the deadline moves to the last day of February of the second following year (section 149 Fiscal Code).

Register on ELSTER, the tax administration's free portal, early; the activation code comes by post. Keep receipts for the move, flights, the first months' rent for a second household and work equipment. A tax advisor's fee is itself deductible.

The Germany-India social security agreement has been in force since May 2017. If you leave Germany with fewer than 60 contribution months, you can apply for a refund of your own (employee) contributions once 24 months have passed since your last contribution; the employer's share stays in the system. With 60 months or more you keep a German pension entitlement instead, and Indian and German periods can be combined to qualify.

Employees posted to Germany by an Indian employer for a limited period may stay in the Indian system under the agreement; ask HR for the certificate of coverage. This step is information only; the German Pension Insurance publishes the details in English.

Set a reminder about eight weeks before the permit expires and apply for the extension or the settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) then. Blue Card holders qualify after 27 months of highly qualified employment with pension contributions and basic German (A1), or after 21 months with B1 German; other permits generally need longer.

Keep the passport valid beyond the new permit's intended validity, and keep payslips, pension statements and the language certificate together; they are the evidence the office asks for.

Note every family member's passport expiry and start an Indian passport re-issue well before a permit renewal needs it; a German residence permit cannot run beyond the passport's validity. In Germany, applications are filed online on the Passport Seva portal and submitted in person at the Embassy or Consulate for your state by prior appointment; the mission does not use an outsourced application centre. A pre-paid return envelope lets the mission post the new passport back.

For a child born in Germany or a foreign-national spouse, apply for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card through the same mission; a child born abroad to Indian parents may instead be registered as an Indian citizen, but not both. Carry a copy of your registration certificate and permit; consular services ask for proof of local residence.

Read through the India-based elder-care services listed on Expatskey: home healthcare, companion visits, emergency response and assisted living. This is information only; Expatskey does not recommend a provider.

Agree with siblings or relatives in India who holds the medical records, the insurance details and the power of attorney. Save the local ambulance and hospital numbers for your parents' city.