Registration at the residents’ registration office

You will find the address on the Internet site of the respective city. You have to pay attention to the fact that in Germany the registration requirements are not only the registration in the new place of residence, but also the notice of departure from your previous. This is important when you move and at the end of your stay there. You must bring your passport and the rental contract. For foreign students, the enrollment certificate from the university may be required.

When you register, a health certificate may also be required which is issued by a doctor in Germany.  You have to personally ask whether a foreign health certificate is recognized. Do the medical examination then only when it is explicitly required. In many places there are public health departments which conduct reasonably priced examinations. In some federal states a HIV test is required.

Setting up a checking account at a bank, the Sparkasse or the Postbank

At some banks (the Postbank including), one must submit for the opening of an account the registration from the residences’ registration office and the residence permit.