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Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 12:50 pm
by yco
I will be moving out of Germany to another EU country at the end of May. My wife and two children will follow me in September. All of us are German citizens.
I am trying to compile a list of all the things we need to do until then, maybe it's useful to others as well:
- Kündigung KITA
- Kündigung Wohnung
- Kündigung Strom
- Kündigung Internet
- Kündigung Haftpflichtversicherung
- Kündigung Krankenversicherung
- Abmeldung Bürgerbüro
- Get all papers from Rentenversicherung
- Fix any damages to apartment and paint
- Apartment Übergabe
- Kündigung Bank accounts
- Keeping one bank account: Change address
- File last tax return
- Inform Finanzamt(?)
- Cancel netflix, Amazon Prime etc
- Auto Abmeldung
- Setup Mail forwarding
- Stop paying TV tax
Let me know if you think I forgot something. Also feel free to share anything which might be relevant.
My wife will be on Elternzeit for these months left, do we still get Kindergeld?
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 12:58 pm
by Fraufruit
You won't be using Netflix or Prime in your new location?
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 1:45 pm
by Auntie Helen
Fraufruit wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2025 12:58 pm
You won't be using Netflix or Prime in your new location?
I took out a new Prime subscription in the UK - not sure you can have it in the wrong country so easily.
As I am currently living in both the UK and Germany (final move to the UK for my husband, when his Visa arrives, is probably the beginning of April) I am actually paying for Prime in both countries as we are ordering stuff in both Germany and the UK.
Also think about Rufnummermitnahme if you want to keep your existing German phone number. We will do that, which automatically cancels the Vodafone contract (with 18 months' Frist) but hope that because we are moving away a week later that we will get the number transferred to a PAYG SIM and then Voda will stop.
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 2:06 pm
by Fraufruit
I use my U.S. Prime for ordering things over there and watching shows over here.
Also have German Prime for Himself and ordering things here.
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 2:44 pm
by bethannbitt
Fraufruit wrote: ↑Wed Feb 05, 2025 2:06 pm
I use my U.S. Prime for ordering things over there and watching shows over here.
Also have German Prime for Himself and ordering things here.
I have Prime accounts in both the US and Germany. I just pay for the German one and I can still get free delivery in the US, like when I bought Mom an iPad in 2022 and had it sent to her in Colorado. And last summer I bought some items for my grandchildren that my sister brought here when she visited and I didn't pay for shipping them to her home in Colorado either.
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 3:00 pm
by kiplette
Yes, I think we have a similar arrangement with our UK and German Prime accounts, They are connected and we pay for one. Don't know which.
And to the OP - yes, I think you have to tell the Finanzamt - I read somewhere on here about someone getting stiff letters with 200€ fines from the FA about not filing tax returns - which obv you can explain and not pay, but as I remember the suggestion was to tell them you are no longer resident and are therefore not expecting any further correspondence.
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:31 pm
by LukeSkywalker
If you do an Ummeldung or Abmeldung at the Bürgerbüro the Finanzamt, Deutsche Rentenversicherung and GEZ (TV fees) are automatically informed.
Re: Moving out of Germany
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 9:47 pm
by LukeSkywalker
I handed over my old apartment last week. I didn‘t paint it. All walls are white anyway. My landlord didn‘t say a thing about it. My contract has no clause as well about painting or renovating. Often, these clauses are void. The Bundesgerichtshof decided on these contracts in recent years. She mentioned I would get my deposit back and a whole €93 interest over the last 20 years

.