Congratulations, you have signed your rental contract, or at least secured a place temporarily for yourself! The next step is to register your address with the local authorities.
It is an analog process. So, you actually have to go the local Townhall (Rathaus), and their relevant offices for this action is called Einwohnermeldeamt or Bürgeramt. Basically, you should check-in with the relevant authority as soon as possible and tell them "Hey, I live here now!" (latest by 2 weeks), otherwise you might be fined.
ⓘ Important To be able to "check-in" in Town Hall, you need a “Wohnungsgeberbestätigung” - a signed affirmation of your landlord/lady. Sometimes the office might also ask to see your rental contract.
ⓘ If you move... Whenever you change your address, you have to inform the Bürgeramt in person. When you have registered, you will receive a confirmation that you have registered. Please keep the registration document, as you will need it!
As soon as you have registered, you will get a tax ID number (Steuer ID); if not, you will receive it by post by the tax authorities (Finanzamt) within 4 weeks. In urgent cases you can go to the townhall after one week and ask for your tax ID number in person, (costs: 7 €). You need to give your tax number to the CISPA Human Resources Department as it is the basis for your tax class.
At the end of your stay you must deregister if you are leaving Germany (Abmeldung) - at the earliest one week before your departure.
ⓘ License Fee (GEZ)After you complete your registration, you will receive a letter from ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio, informing you about the License Fee (GEZ), you can read about it here (available soon).
To make an appointment with Bürgeramt Saarbrücken, please click here. You can also walk-in, (but, it usually amounts to hours of waiting time!). If you need help with setting up an appointment, feel free to contact us.
You can then decide from the following locations, depending on where you live:
– The Bürgeramt Saarbrücken in Gerberstraße 4, – Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 19 – Burbacher Markt 20 – Bürgeramt in Dudweiler am Markt 1.
Here is where the City Hall of St. Ingbert is located:
Am Markt 12 66386 St. Ingbert
To make an appointment with them, please click here and follow these steps depending on your situation.
If this is your first time moving to Germany from abroad.
1) Click "Meldewesen" 2) If it's your first time registering in Germany, please bring your birth certificate (translated into German and apostilled), and in case you have one, also a document that shows your civil status (marriage certificate etc). Both of these documents should be translated and have apostilles. Choose Zuzug aus dem Ausland option and click Weiter 3) Choose a time and date from the next screen, and once again click Weiter. 4) Fill out your information in the next screen and click Buchen.
If you are moving from a place in Germany to St. Ingbert:
1) Click "Meldewesen" 2) Choose a time and date from the next screen, and once again click Weiter. 3) Fill out your information in the next screen and click Buchen. You can also walk-in, (but, it usually amounts to hours of waiting time!). If you need help with setting up an appointment, feel free to contact us.
You also declare your religion during registration. This is important for the "Church Tax", which will be explained here (available soon!)