Registration, banking and utilities in Munich

Anmeldung at the KVR

Every resident must register their address with the Kreisverwaltungsreferat, normally within two weeks of moving in. Munich's appointment slots are released online and taken quickly, so book before you fly and rebook if your dates move. Registration is free, you leave with the Meldebescheinigung, and the Steuer-Identifikationsnummer arrives by post a few weeks afterwards.

• Bring the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, passport, the completed Anmeldeformular and your lease.
• You will be asked your religious affiliation; a declared church membership triggers Kirchensteuer on your salary.
• Every subsequent move requires an Ummeldung, and leaving Germany an Abmeldung.

Tax ID, tax class and payroll

The Steuer-Identifikationsnummer is issued automatically after registration and is permanent. Your employer needs it to run payroll correctly; until it arrives you are taxed at the harshest class and refunded later. Married couples can choose between tax class combinations that materially change monthly take-home, and the annual Steuererklärung reconciles it all.

• Steuer-ID: permanent, personal, issued once after your first Anmeldung.
• Steuerklasse is set by marital status and can be changed by application.
• Kirchensteuer in Bavaria is 8% of your income tax, charged only if you declare membership of a taxed church; the Solidaritätszuschlag now falls only on high earners.

Health insurance is compulsory

Health cover is a legal requirement in Germany, not an option, and you need proof of it to complete several other steps including the residence process. Most employees are in the gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, where contributions are a percentage of salary split with the employer and family members are covered without extra premium. Private cover — private Krankenversicherung — is only open to higher earners, the self-employed and civil servants, and switching back later is difficult, which is the decision people underestimate.

• Statutory funds compete on service, not on core benefits; you may choose freely between them.
• Private cover prices on age and health at entry, and premiums rise with age.
• Once you leave the statutory system as an employee, returning is restricted — treat the choice as long-term.

Banking, utilities and connectivity

A German current account needs your passport and an address, and increasingly the Anmeldung as well; app-based banks will open one before that. Rent moves by Dauerauftrag, everything else by SEPA-Lastschrift. Electricity is your own contract with a supplier of your choosing — Stadtwerke München is the default, but switching is straightforward — and internet installation in older buildings can genuinely take several weeks, so order it the day you sign.

• Set up a Dauerauftrag for rent and a Lastschrift for utilities and the Rundfunkbeitrag.
• Register your electricity contract on the move-in date and photograph the meter reading.
• Broadband contracts usually run for a minimum of twenty-four months.

Residence permits for non-EU nationals

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need nothing beyond the Anmeldung. Everyone else converts the entry visa into a residence card at the Ausländerbehörde, which in Munich sits within the KVR and runs its own online applications and appointments, separate from the registration queue. Apply before the visa expires: the confirmation of a timely application keeps you lawfully resident while the case is open, and the card itself follows weeks later. Citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Israel may enter visa-free and apply here directly.

• EU Blue Card salary floor for 2026: €50,700 gross a year, or €45,934.20 in shortage occupations and for recent graduates.
• Bring passport, biometric photo, Meldebescheinigung, contract, proof of health insurance and degree recognition.
• Blue Card holders can apply for settlement after 27 months, or 21 with German at B1.
• Thresholds and document lists change each year; confirm with the KVR or Make it in Germany before relying on a step.

In order

1. 1Book the KVR appointment before you arrive.
2. 2Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung signed by the landlord on handover.
3. 3Attend the Anmeldung and collect the Meldebescheinigung.
4. 4Wait for the Steuer-ID by post and give it to your employer.
5. 5Choose and join a health insurance fund, and get the confirmation letter.
6. 6Open a German bank account and set up the rent Dauerauftrag.
7. 7Register the electricity contract and order broadband.
8. 8Register for the Rundfunkbeitrag.
9. 9Non-EU: apply to the Ausländerbehörde for your residence card before the entry visa expires.