Living in Germany as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

For the first three months, a valid ID card or passport is all you need. To stay longer, you need to fall into one of these groups:

• Workers and people in vocational training: any job counts, part-time included.
• Job seekers: for up to six months, and longer if you keep looking and have a genuine chance of being hired.
• Self-employed people and service providers.
• People who are not working, including students and retirees, if they have enough money to live on and comprehensive health insurance.
• Family members of someone in the groups above.
• People with a permanent right of residence (after five years, see below).

If you lose your job involuntarily after working more than one year, you keep your worker status while you look for new work. If you had worked for less than a year, worker status is kept for six months. Temporary illness or accident also does not end it.

There is no permit and no certificate for EU/EEA citizens. Berlin's immigration office stopped issuing "freedom of movement certificates" (Freizügigkeitsbescheinigung) in 2013 and points out that none is needed for any procedure. Your ID card and your registration certificate are enough.

1. Register your address (Anmeldung) at a citizens' office within two weeks of moving into a flat. If you are not registered anywhere in Germany, short stays of up to three months are exempt. Registration triggers your tax ID by post, which employers need. See the Anmeldung in Berlin and Tax ID guides.
2. Sort out health insurance. Health insurance is compulsory for people living in Germany. As an employee you normally join the statutory system through your job. If you do not work, comprehensive cover is also one of the conditions of your right to stay. See the Health insurance guide.
3. Work immediately. You have unrestricted access to the German labour market and no work permit is needed. If you work in a regulated profession (for example many healthcare occupations), you still need the German licence or recognition. See the Recognition of qualifications guide.
4. Swiss nationals only: within three months of arrival, report your residence in person to the immigration office and apply for the Swiss residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis-CH). In Berlin you request an appointment through the LEA contact form and bring your passport or ID, a digital photo, proof of your status (for example an employment contract or enrolment) and proof of address.

Your family members can live and work with you in Germany even if they are not EU citizens. Under the law, family members are:

• your spouse or registered partner;
• your children and grandchildren (or your spouse's) who are under 21, or older ones you support;
• your parents and grandparents (or your spouse's) whom you support.

Other "close persons", such as an unmarried partner in a lasting relationship or other relatives in your household, can apply for a right of residence under §3a FreizügG/EU. This is decided case by case.

Entry: family members who need a visa get one free of charge, through a simplified procedure at the German embassy. Prepare proof of the family relationship and of your own free-movement status (job, self-employment, or funds plus health insurance).

Residence card (Aufenthaltskarte): after arrival, your non-EU family member applies at the immigration office; in Berlin, this means the LEA's units F1/F2 via the contact form. In Berlin (2026):

• the card is issued as an eAT card about 4 weeks after the appointment, generally valid for 5 years;
• the fee is €46 from age 24 and €27.60 under 24, plus €6 if the photo is taken at the terminal;
• if documents are still missing, the LEA issues a free application certificate (Bescheinigung über die Antragstellung), valid for six months.

The card confirms the right of residence; it does not create it. It also confirms that any employment or self-employment is allowed.

Keeping the right: a non-EU spouse can keep the right of residence after divorce in certain cases, for example if the marriage lasted at least three years, including one year in Germany. After the EU citizen's death, family members keep it if they had lived in Germany as family members for at least one year.

After five years of continuous lawful residence, you gain a permanent right of residence (Daueraufenthaltsrecht). It no longer depends on working or having funds. Some people qualify earlier, for example workers who retire after working in Germany for three years.

• Absences of up to six months a year, and a single absence of up to 12 months for important reasons such as pregnancy, serious illness, study or a posting, do not break the five years.
• You lose the permanent right if you are away for more than two consecutive years.
• EU/EEA citizens can request a certificate of permanent residence. In Berlin it costs €10 and is usually issued at the appointment. It is optional, because the right exists anyway.
• Non-EU family members who lived with you for five years can get a permanent residence card (in Berlin €46 / €27.60).

Permanent residence is also a step towards citizenship. See the Naturalisation guide.

Free movement does not mean immediate access to every benefit. The main rules (as of 2026):

• Basic income support: on 1 July 2026, Bürgergeld was replaced by the new Grundsicherungsgeld, still under Social Code II (SGB II). EU citizens are generally excluded for the first three months, unless they work or are self-employed. People whose right of residence comes only from looking for work are excluded, as is anyone with no right of residence at all. After five years of habitual residence in Germany, counted from the date you registered your address, these exclusions no longer apply.
• Child benefit (Kindergeld): in your first three months, you are generally only entitled if you have income in Germany from employment or self-employment. After that, you are entitled if you meet the free-movement conditions. The family benefits office checks this and may inform the immigration authority in certain cases. See the Child benefit guide.
• Unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) is a separate, contribution-based insurance benefit; the employment agency tells you whether you qualify. See the Registering as a job seeker guide.

If you are unsure whether you are entitled, get advice before you apply, for example from a migration counselling service. The answer depends on your exact status.

UK nationals who moved to Germany by 31 December 2020 have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement and hold a residence document (Aufenthaltsdokument-GB). UK nationals arriving later are treated as non-EU nationals. They can enter visa-free but need a residence title to live and work here. See the Residence permits overview.