Immigrating to the U.S. from Germany

[bond 2]

Hi guys!

I will be moving to the Staates in end of Mai (K1 visa).

I was wondering, what should I do with my place of residence in Germany. Is it necessary to give any notice of departure? Should I inform any public authority that I am immigarting to the U.S.?

Is this necessary? What consequences does it has?

thanks for your answers.

- Adam

[Aubrey 10]

Hi guys!

I will be moving to the Staates in end of Mai (K1 visa).

I was wondering, what should I do with my place of residence in Germany. Is it necessary to give any notice of departure? Should I inform any public authority that I am immigarting to the U.S.?

Is this necessary? What consequences does it has?

thanks for your answers.

- Adam

Yes, you do need to let Germany know you will not be living there. My husband did so before he left. I don't remember the process, but I don't think it was complicated or time consuming. I'll ask him to post when he gets home from work and explain it to you.

[ravenscroft 3]

My wife had to do the same thing. She just went to some government office (sorry, don't know what it is called) and told them that she would be living in the US. It's the same place that you go when you move within Germany to register your new address.

[Stefanie 1]

Go to the "Einwohnermeldeamt" and tell them you are moving to the USA. All they need is a US address to put on their form and that's it. Keep a copy (they give you one) for your records for future inquires at a stateside consulate/embassy when it comes to applying for a passport etc.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

. . . assuming you don't have an apartment or house there anymore?

I haven't been in Germany since 1994, but since I still have an apartment, I'm still "gemeldet" which, by the way, is necessary to keep your Personalausweis and German driver license "legal."

[bond 2]

. . . assuming you don't have an apartment or house there anymore?

I haven't been in Germany since 1994, but since I still have an apartment, I'm still "gemeldet" which, by the way, is necessary to keep your Personalausweis and German driver license "legal."

Hey "JustBob",

so can I be just "gemeldet" in Germany and don't inform them that I am leaving the country or do I have to give them a notice.

thanks for the answer

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Hey "JustBob",

so can I be just "gemeldet" in Germany and don't inform them that I am leaving the country or do I have to give them a notice.

thanks for the answer

Short version, since I'm typing on a tiny netbook:

If you have a place to live in Germany, you are required to be gemeldet. Even if you live outside of Germany, that's for formal purposes the address where you'll be contacted. In Germany there is no procedure for a Zweitwohnsitz. For practical purposes, I'd keep an address, even at your parents' house, as it makes things easier when being in D. There is no other formal way to tell 'em you can't be reached anymore but by Abmeldung. German citizens can come and go as they please.

BTW, I also kept my bank account, and they send me the statements to the US, just like my life insurance does.

[Otto 83]

so can I be just "gemeldet" in Germany and don't inform them that I am leaving the country or do I have to give them a notice.

I have my doubts about what Bob is suggesting - not saying it isn't possible (because apparently it is) and I don't have a direct link to argue it either way but.

What is your reasoning for not wanting to inform them?

Edited February 24, 2010 by Otto und Karin

[ibtd 0]

All you need to do is go to your local Einwohnermeldeamt/Stadtamt and tell them that you are moving to the USA and that you won't have any apartment and such whatsoever in Germany anymore.

They will give you a notice that you are abgemeldet and that's it. You should keep that document and bring it with you over here because you might end up needing it eventually.

You won't lose your Personalausweis, you won't lose your German passport or citizenship or whatever and those items still will be completely legal. All it really does is let Germany know that you aren't living in Germany from that date on.

It is pretty much the same process that you have to do when you move to a different city in Germany.

All in all it is like Stefanie already said. I don't think you even need a US address because they won't be able to follow up with it anyways in case you move inside the US (I did and I certainly didn't have to let Germany know). But I'm not sure about the address thing to be honest since I can't remember. Just in case, have one that you can provide.

Edited February 25, 2010 by ibtd

[Chrito 2]

In my case I didn't need an US address.

To be "abgemeldet" has one really good advantage: In case of a lost/stolen/expired passport you can go to your consulate and get it done for the normal fee, if you're still "gemeldet" in Germany you cannot get your passport renewed (expired passport) at the consulate, you would have to go to Germany. I don't know if you have to be "abgemeldet" to get passports and birth certificates for your children at the consulate in case they are born abroad.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

There is so much misinformation here, that I feel I need to respond more thoroughly.

You won't lose your Personalausweis . . . . It is pretty much the same process that you have to do when you move to a different city in Germany.

That's incorrect.

Many Einwohnermeldeaemter will ask for the Personalausweis once somebody declares they leave Germany for another country. Remember, you can't register a car without a Personalausweis OR, alternatively, a passport and a Meldebescheinigung. In Germany the Personalausweis is the main form of identification, and it's reserved for German nationals who live in Germany.

Yet, even if they don't ask for it, you can't renew it, and, legally, you shouldn't be using it. First question when they check it: is the address still current?

Thus, it's not the same if you move from Hamburg to Berlin, or from Hamburg to Hong Kong, or Los Angeles, or Kuala Lumpur.

To be "abgemeldet" has one really good advantage: In case of a lost/stolen/expired passport you can go to your consulate and get it done for the normal fee, if you're still "gemeldet" in Germany you cannot get your passport renewed (expired passport) at the consulate, you would have to go to Germany.

That's incorrect as well.

The law is really simple about this: if you have a Wohnsitz in Germany, as in a room where your stuff remains, you NEED to be gemeldet. If you do not have a Wohnsitz anymore, you need to be abgemeldet.

There are advantages and disadvantages to any scenario, but a German citizen can get a new passport from any Consulate in the World without problems.

I am still gemeldet in Germany, and 3 years ago I applied for a new German passport at the Consulate in Los Angeles. The application was forwarded to the Meldeamt in Hamburg, confirmed that I'm still gemeldet there, and thus my Wohnsitz is Germany, and the issuing agency is Los Angeles.

I therefore feel it makes sense to have a German address, even if you don't live there anymore, don't want to vote anymore, don't want to visit anymore. The only disadvantage I personally see is that you may receive official mail to that address, which would have to be forwarded to you.

Regarding the Führerschein. Yep, it's a document to be used in Germany, which is why Germany issues an International driver license. If you don't live in Germany, legally, you can't get a Führerschein, just like here. Thus, you can still use it, but it's not legal, just like people still use their German passports after they have lost their German citizenship by becoming US citizens (without bothering to get a Beibehaltungsbescheinigung) still use their German passports, until they expire. That all works well until it doesn't work well anymore, and then the ###### hits the fan.

[ibtd 0]

It is pretty much the same process that you have to do when you move to a different city in Germany.

What I meant with this is simply the fact that whenever you move you have to go to the Einwohnermeldeamt and let them know. Be it in Germany or moving out of Germany. No real difference here in the process except that you get a new address on your ID in the first case.

Not sure why you say that you will lose your Personalausweis when going there and telling them that you move abroad. Because I have my Personalausweis still and so do pretty much all the Germans I personally know over here. But hey, if you say so then it's gotta be so. Doesn't really matter anyways, since no one here will take it as a valid ID.

[Nina+Matt 0]

arent you supposed to file taxes in germany if you are still "gemeldet" there as well?

i just remember that when my husband and i visited my family in germany the customs officer at the german airport gave me a hard time because i still have my german address in my passport since i didnt renew it yet! he said im still "steuerpflichtig" that way and he can make me pay taxes on the american laptop i was brining in and such....

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

The USA and Germany have a 'Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen' which is why we don't have to pay German income taxes on income that was earned in the US. Unfortunately, US citizens are required to pay taxes of all their income, whether earned in the US or abroad, but there are certain limits, so in real life it's not an issue for anybody but the really big hitters.

A German citizen, who is a lawful permanent resident of the US, but still has an address in Germany, doesn't have to pay import duties on his laptop, or camera, or even the toothbrush he bought in New York. A good example that not only the US is filled with drones in Government positions. The German term for those people is Dummbeutel.

[longey 1]

Let me add my two cents here, how I understood things:

In theory (what's in the law) you are supposed to register your residence where you spend most of your time -- so if you are immigrating to the US that place will most probably not be Germany.

So yes, theoretically you should go to the Einwohnermeldeamt and file your Abmeldung. And while they won't necessarily take your German Personalausweis away, you will definitely not be able to get a new one when your current one expires some years in the future.

Now, in practice this is not strictly enforced and you don't have to do the Abmeldung, as long as you still maintain a place of residence in Germany -- and that could for example be your parents' house. You will still be able go to the German consulate/embassy in the US. But in that case the fee for passport renewals, for instance, is significantly higher than what you'd pay if you were abgemeldet in Germany.

Edited February 27, 2010 by longey