Moving to Germany from the United States: What You Need to Know
This page explores how to move to Germany from the US. From insurance and visa requirements to work opportunities and housing, we cover all the key steps Americans need to know for a successful relocation to Germany.
At present, over 120,000 US citizens choose to call Germany home – and for good reason! Drawn in by Germany’s growing international job market (that is hungry for skilled workers), tuition-free universities, fair and equitable social welfare system and easily accessible travel opportunities, Americans are living, working and studying in Germany in ever greater numbers.
And with American citizens making up over 10% of our readership, we feel it is high time that we put together an article on the ins and outs of moving to Germany from the United States.
Whether sorting your visa, getting suitable health insurance, landing a job or finding a place to call home, moving to Germany can be tricky, confusing and sometimes infuriating without the right support at hand. But with our simple step-by-step instructions, you will have all the know-how and expertise to make the big move from the US to Germany.
1️⃣ Visas
If you are planning on moving to Germany from the US, one of your first priorities will be to get yourself a visa that allows you to live in Germany, whether to work, study or travel.
In this regard, US citizens actually receive favourable terms when it comes to where you can apply for visas for Germany. You can either:
✅ Apply for a visa after your arrival in Germany.
If you are from the United States, you can enter Germany without a visa for 90 days. During this 90-day period, you can apply for a visa at your local immigration office in Germany. To find your local immigration office in Germany, enter your postcode into this tool.
The following guides explain where, when and how to apply for different visas in Germany as a US citizen:
✅ Apply for a visa before your arrival in Germany
You also have the option of applying for your visa at a German embassy or consulate in the US before moving to Germany.
There are 8 German consulates and 1 German embassy in the US, all serving different parts of the country – here is a list of where you can apply for your German visa depending on where you currently reside in the US.
The following guides explain how to apply for your visa at a German consulate or embassy in the US:
2️⃣ Insurance
Health Insurance
Legally, each and every resident in Germany needs adequate health insurance – this is also mandatory for people moving to Germany from the United States.
The type of health insurance you need is largely dependent on what you will be doing in Germany. We have provided in-depth explanations of the type of insurance you need in Germany depending on whether you are an employee, student, job seeker, language learner or freelancer in our German Health Insurance Guide.
However, here is a quick overview of some rock solid health insurances for US citizens moving to Germany:
👨💼 Employees TK Public Health Insurance or Feather Private Health Insurance
👩🎓 Students: TK Student Health Insurance
👨🎨 Freelancers: TK Public Health Insurance or Feather Private Health Insurance
🕵 Job Seekers: Feather Expat Health Insurance
🙋 Language Students: Feather Expat Health Insurance
All of these health insurance policies are well-suited to Americans moving to Germany because:
They are accepted by the immigration authorities when applying for different German visas.
They are all expat friendly policies with a high level of English-speaking customer support.
They offer simple, digital sign-up processes.
They are some of the best-rated insurance policies in Germany.
Personal Liability Insurance
While it is compulsory for US citizens to take out suitable health insurance when moving to Germany, there is also at least one other insurance you may wish to consider.
In particular, over 85% of residents in Germany also opt for personal liability insurance – and for good reason! Liability insurance covers you against damage to others and their property in Germany, which can sometimes escalate into 7 figure sums even from an innocuous accident or mishap. For just €5 per month, US citizens can avoid all this with a personal liability policy from Feather.
For further information about the benefits of liability insurance and why it is important when moving to Germany from the US, explore our Personal Liability Insurance Guide.
3️⃣ Jobs
The majority of people moving to Germany from the United States are moving for work. After all, there are a large number of work opportunities available in Europe’s largest economy, especially if you are a skilled worker in a shortage occupation. Engineers, architects, teachers, doctors, IT professionals… you name it, Germany needs it! When coupled with a fairly relaxed immigration policy, decent salaries and cheap costs, it is little surprise that skilled US workers are choosing to hop across the pond in ever greater numbers to join the German job market.
But while Germany represents a fertile, ripe hunting ground for skilled US workers, there are also bountiful opportunities within lesser-skilled fields such as hospitality and tourism. As German cities (especially Berlin) become more and more international, businesses are increasingly on the hunt for staff that can serve their growing English-speaking clientele. And with Americans being well-renowned for their customer service skills, you will find plenty of job opportunities in restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels and tour companies across the country.
To help you with your job search, check out our German Job Hunting Guide. Here you will find our top tips for US citizens looking for work in Germany, including where to search and how to create a German-style CV as well as tips for acing that all-important interview.
⚠️ While there are plenty of job opportunities for US citizens moving to Germany, it can still be a tricky endeavour to land a job from overseas. Fortunately, US citizens can enter Germany for 90 days without needing a visa – this gives you roughly 3 months to apply for roles, attend in-person interviews and land a job, after which you can apply for a Work Visa or EU Blue Card at your local immigration office in Germany.
And if you need a little longer to find a job, then you also have the option of applying for a Job Seekers Visa, which allows you to live in Germany for an additional 6 months while searching for work.
4️⃣ Accommodation
Securing a suitable place to call home is integral to any successful move to Germany from the USA. With fierce competition for housing in many German cities, this can lead to a lot of anxiety amongst Americans about where they are actually going to live.
Short-term accommodation in Germany
At first, you will just need a roof over your head when moving to Germany from the US. For this, we suggest initially opting for temporary short-term accommodation because:
Short-term accommodation requires minimal paperwork and you can often secure a place online before arriving in Germany. This is very different than for securing long-term accommodation in Germany, which generally requires a raft of paperwork.
Short-term apartments are almost always furnished and move-in ready.
Short-term accommodation allows you to quickly register at an address in Germany (an important process known as Anmeldung).
Short-term accommodation will buy you time to find a long-term home in Germany.
To help you on your way, here are some trusted and verified short-term accommodation providers and platforms that are ideal starting points when moving to Germany from the US:
Smartments (available in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Mannheim)
Wunderflats (available in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Dusseldorf)
Spotahome (available nationwide)
Habyt (available in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Cologne and Dusseldorf)
HousingAnywhere (available nationwide)
Long-term accommodation in Germany
While booking a short-term apartment is usually quite simple, landing a long-term place to call home is a different story for US citizens moving to Germany.
Firstly, you need to know where to look – for this, we have two favourite websites for finding long-term accommodation in Germany:
ImmoScout24 – the best site for finding an entire apartment.
WG-GESUCHT.de – the best site for finding a room in a flatshare.
Once you have found and viewed a handful of places that meet your requirements, it is time to lodge your application. As a rule, the more documentation you can provide at this stage, the better. If possible, you should submit:
Your 3 most recent German payslips
A German employment contract
A bank statement showing savings
A SCHUFA credit report
Personal liability insurance (see our guide)
For further information about these document requirements as well as extensive guidance on how to apply for long-term accommodation in Germany as a US citizen, see our German Apartment Hunting Guide.
5️⃣ Banking
Moving to Germany from the US can be expensive. And this is before you factor in overseas bank fees, poor exchange rates and even ATM fees. To prevent your US dollars being eaten up on arrival, we recommend opening a Wise multi-currency account before leaving the US.
Wise works well for US citizens moving to Germany because:
The account is completely free to set up and maintain.
You can transfer your US dollar savings into euros at the real exchange rate.
You can order a Wise debit Mastercard which is widely accepted throughout Germany both online and in-store.
In short, by opting for Wise, you will have a fully functioning euro account on arrival in Germany, which will not only save you money but is also often required for paying rent in Germany and getting paid by a German employer.
When it comes to online banking in Germany, other popular options for US citizens include:
Whether you opt for Wise, bunq or N26, these offer largely the same things – they are cheap or free to set up and maintain, include free ATM withdrawals and come with a debit card that can be used for day-to-day transactions in Germany.
While online banks are popular amongst US citizens moving to Germany, some people prefer to open an account with a more traditional high street bank, especially if you are needing in-branch support or more extensive banking services such as mortgages or loans. When it comes to high street banks in Germany, our favourite options include:
For a more comprehensive rundown of your banking options in Germany as a US citizen, see our German Banking Guide.
6️⃣ Starting work
As mentioned, most people moving to Germany from the United States are moving for work. But once you have landed that all-important job in Germany, you still need to tick off a number of important bureaucratic steps before you can actually start legally working in Germany.
Most importantly, you will need a:
✅ German Work Visa or EU Blue Card
✅ German Tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer)
✅ German Health Insurance (Krankenversicherung)
✅ German Social Security Number (Sozialversicherungsnummer)
Your employer will need details of each of these in order to get you on-boarded successfully at your new workplace in Germany – and failing to do this may lead to your employment start date being pushed back.
For detailed guidance on how to get hold of these documents in a timely manner, explore our Guide to Starting Work in Germany.
That’s all folks! We hope you have found this a helpful overview of how to move to Germany from the USA. By breaking down the process into 6 manageable steps, you now have a simple framework to follow for a successful relocation. But do not let our guidance stop there – explore our homepage and other blog posts for further tips and tricks for moving to Germany from the US.