Find visa optionsFind visas
Menu

Germany · Relocation guide

Moving to Berlin: Anmeldung and residence-permit workflow

Berlin separates Anmeldung at a Bürgeramt from residence matters at the Landesamt für Einwanderung. Secure a main Berlin residence and landlord confirmation, register the address, then use the exact LEA online service for employment, study or family residence. For many services, LEA now reviews the online submission before assigning an in-person appointment.

Content updated 11 September 2026. Individual source-check dates are listed below.

Which Berlin office owns the task

A Bürgeramt handles Anmeldung and issues the Meldebestätigung. The Landesamt für Einwanderung, or LEA, handles residence titles. The Federal Employment Agency may be consulted internally for employment approval; applicants should not create a separate approval workflow unless the service page instructs them to.

Use the Service Berlin page for the exact residence category. A skilled worker with an academic qualification and a full-time student use different online services, evidence and conditions.

Which Berlin office owns the task
TaskOwnerApplicant action
Register the homeBürgeramtBook the registration service and bring identity plus Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.
Employment residence titleLEAUse the exact online employment service and upload its listed evidence.
Study residence titleLEAUse the language and study online service with enrolment, funds and German insurance evidence.
Employment approval where requiredLEA and Federal Employment AgencyProvide the employer form; LEA coordinates the internal consultation.

Anmeldung in Berlin

Berlin’s service states that the new home must be registered within 14 days of moving in. Obtain the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from the landlord; a lease alone is not the same document. Register the people who actually moved into the address and check the issued confirmation.

Confirm that temporary accommodation permits Anmeldung before paying. If you have not moved in, do not register a future or convenience address. Keep appointment evidence if availability is limited.

LEA online application comes before the appointment

Berlin permanently retired its former general online appointment system for many LEA matters. Employment and education services increasingly begin with an online application. LEA reviews the submitted records, requests more evidence if needed and assigns an in-person appointment when the application can proceed.

If no online service exists, use the responsible department’s contact form. Do not pay a third party for a supposedly reserved LEA appointment. Emergency handling is narrow and requires proof of one of LEA’s stated urgent situations.

Academic skilled worker in Berlin

The Berlin service requires legal residence, a German employment relationship, a contract or concrete offer, recognised or comparable academic qualification and any required professional permission. As a rule, Federal Employment Agency approval is also required and is handled in the process.

Upload colour passport pages, the contract or offer, qualification evidence, the employer-completed Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, Berlin residence evidence, housing-cost evidence and German health-insurance proof. Save the PDF submission confirmation. The service says an electronic residence permit can take four to six weeks to produce after approval, so do not treat the appointment date as the card date.

Full-time student in Berlin

The Berlin student service requires a main residence in Berlin, enrolment or qualifying admission, secured livelihood and German statutory or comparable private health insurance. It states that foreign health insurance is not sufficient for this local residence-permit application.

The online application is available at the earliest four months before the current title expires. Save and print the resulting PDF confirmation. Upload the specified passport pages, insurance, Berlin residence, funds and enrolment evidence, then bring originals when LEA invites you.

Do not guess extension or work rights

The LEA appointment page says a one-year national D visa holder normally applies six to eight weeks before expiry if the stay will continue. It also says the visa itself states whether and to what extent work is permitted. A Schengen C visa generally cannot be converted by merely booking an appointment.

Online service confirmations can document continued validity in specified circumstances, but the effect depends on a timely application and the prior title. Read the confirmation carefully, preserve it and do not infer foreign-travel rights from continued domestic residence.

Berlin mistakes to avoid

Do not use an old LEA appointment-booking tutorial, submit a generic contact form when a dedicated online application exists, rely on a second residence when the service requires main residence in Berlin, or omit the employer form from a skilled-worker application.

Do not assume a hotel or short let will support Anmeldung, that a foreign student policy automatically meets LEA’s German-insurance requirement, or that online submission means an in-person appointment is unnecessary.

Your moving checklist

Tick off the tasks that apply to you. The timing is a planning order, not a substitute for the deadlines on your permission or an official instruction.

0 of 15 tasks completed

Before you move
On arrival
Your first month
Later and before renewal

Sources and checks

The linked authorities set the rules. VisaAtlas explains how the steps fit together; planning suggestions are not a decision on your immigration status, tax residence or entitlement to services.

Plan your next step