- Passport valid > 6 months
- Photo of the visa page
- Sperrkonto confirmation
Start with the speed card
The 30-second version at the top of every chapter. Standing outside the office in a hurry, this block is enough.
How to use it
92 chapters · every one reviewed by a professional
Every German formality, laid out as one timeline.
You do not have to read 92 chapters before you act. Everything is ordered — before you fly → day one → week one → weeks two to four — and every step says how long it takes and what to bring.
Web · phone · printable checklist, progress synced
My landing timeline
- BeforeThree copies of every document
- Day 1Four things on arrival day
- Week 1Anmeldung — register your address
- Weeks 2–4Insurance · bank · tax ID
An illustration — your real progress syncs once you sign in.
Why we get to write this
- lived in Germany
- 8 yrs
- chapters
- 92
- professional reviewers
- 3
- tickable formalities
- 59
- term-by-term glossary
- ZH / DE
Four tools, not four articles
Things you will actually open on the day, not chapters you read once.
One checklist for everything12 / 59
- Check passport expiry
- Buy 2 plug adapters
- Open a Sperrkonto
- Install DB Navigator
Just tick it off
59 formalities, a document tracker and a packing list. Progress saves itself and follows you between devices.
Open the checklist
- Anmeldung
- Address registration · within 14 days
- Sperrkonto
- Blocked account · before the visa
- Kündigungsfrist
- Notice period · usually 3 months
German words stop blocking you
Every German term you will meet at a counter, with a plain explanation and one line on what it wants from you.
Open the glossary
- MonBook the Bürgeramt
- WedOpen a bank account
- FriRegister health insurance
- NextTax ID (Steuer-ID)
The order, made visible
What has to come first, and what has to wait for a letter from the previous step.
See the full timeline
Pick a starting point
Buy once, keep it. Updates are free, and you have 14 days to change your mind.
Step one · Settle in
Landing Pack
€69one-time payment
- 47 chapters · 7 phases
- One purchase, permanent access
- Free updates, forever
- 14 days to change your mind
Step two · Find work
Job Pack
€99one-time payment
- 45 chapters · 5 phases
- One purchase, permanent access
- Free updates, forever
- 14 days to change your mind
Both, together
Best valueComplete Bundle
€139one-time payment
- Saves €29 against buying both
- One purchase, permanent access
- Free updates, forever
- 14 days to change your mind
Free chapters
Not sure yet? Read the free chapters first.
Step one · settle in
Landing Pack
47 chapters · 7 phases · From the pre-departure checklist to your first month, every errand in the order it has to happen.
Read 2 chapters free
Step two · find work
Job Pack
45 chapters · 5 phases · CV, cover letter, interviews and the unwritten office rules — all the way to an offer.
Read 2 chapters free
Why we built this
People assume settling in just happens. In reality nobody tells you the rules.
Dragging every suitcase you own halfway across a city on moving day. Calling a dozen practices when you are ill and finding none of them taking new patients. A flat with broken furniture and a doorbell nobody has fixed in a year.
Work is harder still. You cannot tell when it is your turn to speak in a meeting, and there is a set of rules between colleagues that nobody states out loud — but everyone notices when you get them wrong.
It is not you. Everyone who moved here has been through this.
The problem today
- Advice is scattered, and every site says something different
- Nobody checks it — it may be out of date, or an ad
- You finish reading and still do not know what to do first
What we do about it
- 92 chapters put in the order they actually happen
- Every one reviewed by a professional working in Germany
- Each section states the time, the papers and the next step
Three authors who have lived here for years, reviewed by insurance, legal and tax professionals. The mistakes we made, written up so you do not have to make them.
Newcomer Paket · services
We only recommend what we use ourselves
Picked for having a Chinese or English interface, so you do not have to check each one yourself.
- Bank accountN26 / Bunq · 10 minutes online
- Health insuranceTK / Feather · public vs private
- Mobile SIMFraenk / Congstar · no German needed
- Short-term housingWunderflats · Anmeldung-ready
- German coursesLingoda / Babbel · sign up in Chinese
- Tax filingTaxfix / Wundertax · question by question
Some links are affiliate links. Whether a provider pays us never changes the order they appear in, and never costs you more.
Questions
What people ask before buying
Anything else, write to us — we usually reply the same day.
What exactly do the free chapters include?
The complete chapter — speed card, story and tickable checklist, nothing held back. Read them, then decide.
Will it go out of date?
When the rules change we rewrite the chapter, and every chapter carries its last-updated date. Buy once; updates are free after that.
How is this different from what is free online?
Free advice is scattered and you have to judge for yourself what is current and what comes first. This is ordered as a timeline, reviewed by professionals working in Germany, and each section states the time and the papers involved.
Does it work for students and for work visas?
Both. The formalities are largely the same; where they differ — proof of funds, insurance, tax ID — there is a student version and an employee version.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. It is general information to help you know what to do and where to ask. For anything that turns on your own situation, consult a licensed lawyer, tax adviser or insurance broker.
Stop figuring it out alone
The free chapters are fully open. Read them before you decide to walk the rest of the timeline.
Buy once, updated forever · web / phone / printable