Packing list in Berlin

For Berlin

Season you arrive

Documents

Passport, with at least six months left on it
Visa or residence paperwork, printed and saved offline
Health or travel insurance documents
Certified copies of birth or marriage certificates, if family is coming
Apostilled birth and marriage certificates (the registration office, the tax office and family insurance can all ask)
Your degree certificate and transcript, with recognition if you have it
Biometric passport photos (for the residence permit and the transport pass)
A rental file: recent payslips, your contract, a previous landlord's reference (it stands in for the SCHUFA record you do not have yet)

Prescription medication for the first three months, with the prescription
Antihistamines and a basic first-aid kit
EHIC, or a UK GHIC (covers necessary state care until your German insurance starts)
Earplugs (Altbau walls carry sound, and so do courtyards in summer)

A card with no foreign transaction fees
Enough local cash for the first day
Cash for bakeries, kiosks and small bars (card acceptance is better than it was, not universal)

Your lease, flat photos and landlord contact saved offline
Ceiling lamps, or the budget for them (unfurnished flats come with bare wires, and often without a kitchen)
A D-lock and a chain for the bike (bike theft is common; a cheap cable lock invites it)

Packing for Berlin · Autumn0/280% packed.