Moving from United States to Germany
Moving from United States to Germany: United States passport holders get visa-free (90 days) for short stays and need a residence permit to settle. Germany is about 20% cheaper than United States, around $2,400/month for one person. Citizenship takes about 5 years of residence.
Last updated August 2026 · How we calculate this
Visa & entry
Visa-free (90 days) for short visits. To settle you'll need a residence route:
- Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) — Score enough points to come and look for skilled work for up to a year.
- Freelance visa (Freiberufler) — Show clients and a plan for a recognised freelance profession.
Documents & apostille
Single apostille each end. Both countries are in the Hague Apostille Convention — one apostille from United States makes your documents valid in Germany.
Where in United States: Secretary of State of the issuing state (state-level documents) plus the US Department of State, Office of Authentications, for federal documents — official source
↳ Germany: Competent authority depends on document type AND issuing Land; police certificate (Fuehrungszeugnis) apostilled by the Bundesamt fuer Justiz
Check each document →Cost, tax & salary
Germany is 20% cheaper than United States — around $2,400/mo vs $3,000/mo for one person.
Citizenship & residency
June 2024 reform cut naturalisation from 8 to 5 yrs; dual now allowed. (The 3-yr fast-track for high achievers was repealed in Oct 2025.) B1 German + citizenship test.
Your path to a passport →Arrival checklist
- Register your address: Anmeldung (city registration at the Bürgeramt within ~14 days)
- Get a tax number: Steuer-ID (Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer)
- Residence permit: Aufenthaltstitel (eAT card; EU get Freizügigkeit, no card)
- Healthcare: GKV statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung) enrollment; or substitutive PKV
Deadlock: Anmeldung needs a flat + landlord's Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung; Steuer-ID is auto-mailed only after Anmeldung; bank/salary/tax need it; residence-permit appointment needs Anmeldung. Do Anmeldung first.
Your move, step by step →Driving
All EU/EEA + Switzerland exchange directly (no test). Others per Anlage 11 FeV bilateral list: full-exchange countries (e.g. JP, KR, CH, Andorra, some CA provinces, some US states, AU states) no test; partial-list countries theory or theory+practical; US varies by state; rest full retest.
Non-EU: after 6 months residency the foreign licence is no longer valid to drive on; miss the window and, unless your country is on the full-exchange list, you face the full theory+practical test. Check Anlage 11 FeV and (for US) your specific state.
Exchange your licence →Pets
- Microchip: Required; ISO 11784/11785 (15-digit). If non-ISO, bring your own reader.
- Rabies: Required; valid vaccination given after microchipping, at least 21 days before entry.
- Quarantine: None if fully compliant with all requirements.
Germany — quick facts
Start your move from United States to Germany
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