Since the introduction of digital registration services last autumn, less than ten percent of people who needed to register or change their address in Berlin have done so online, Tagesspegiel reported on Monday.
Registration of your address with your local citizens’ office – commonly referred to as Anmeldung – is a requirement in Germany, and represents one of the first meaningful bureaucratic hurdles newcomers to the country must navigate. It’s also an annoying but mandatory task you have to complete if you move to a new residence in the country.
As The Local reported, Berlin launched a digital process for registering and deregistering residences in the capital city last October, which was intended to make the process easier and significantly reduce the strain on the city’s administrative offices.
But very few people are applying for Anmeldung online, suggesting that once again Berlin’s efforts toward digitalisation may have missed the mark.
One significant problem with the new digital system is that it doesn’t actually work for everyone – including a large portion of the city’s foreign residents.
READ ALSO: 'Digital office' - How Germany wants to move work contracts online
Of 278,127 registrations completed citywide from January to the end of May this year, only 25,736 were completed online, according to the Tagesspiegel report.
That translates to less than one in ten people. It also means that a further 252,391 registrations were made in Berlin’s citizens' offices.
Appointments at citizens’ offices in Berlin are often booked up well in advance, meaning that people who need to register their address can be left waiting for weeks, or find themselves travelling across the city for a last minute appointment at an office in another district.
Who can register digitally?
“Since the end of September, anyone is able to register their residence in Berlin digitally,” Tagesspiegel wrote in the intro to its report. But that’s not entirely true.
Non-EU foreign residents living in Berlin weren’t included in the city’s digitalisation efforts in this case.
To be able to register your address online you need to be an EU citizen with an EU passport, as well as having an eID and a BundID account. (Non-German EU and EEA citizens may need to first apply for an eID card).
READ ALSO: What are the digital IDs you can get in Germany?
But all foreign residents who’ve come from non-European countries must still navigate the registration process in-person.
Digitalisation efforts don't include everyone
Martina Klement (CSU), State Secretary for Administrative Modernization and Digitalization, previously told Tagesspiegel that there are “already more than 350 digital services” but that they are “too rarely used by Berliners”.
What proportion of the population those services are truly available to is unclear.
There were 993,295 foreign residents registered in Berlin as of the end of 2024, according to Germany’s statistical office, which corresponds to a bit more than a quarter of the population.
In addition to the non-German or non-EU citizens that are excluded from certain services, others are prevented from doing so if they don’t have a functioning eID.
Meanwhile Berlin’s citizens’ offices are burdened by a high number of daily appointments exacerbated by worker shortages.
Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) had previously announced a city-wide goal of making it possible for citizens’ offices to offer appointments within 14 days. Currently, the average waiting time is around 30 days.
So how do I register my residence?
If you're an EU citizen with a German eID, you can register online here. If you haven’t used your eID before, you’ll need to activate it and then use it to set up a BundID account first.
It’s a bit of a process, but you should be able to manage with both a computer and smartphone (or a computer and USB card reader) and the AusweisApp.
If you are not from a EU or EEA country, then you’ll need to make an appointment with the citizens’ office.
An easy way to find an appointment for Anmeldung specifically is through a tool displayed on the All About Berlin website. (Select “How to register your address in person” and then click on the “Anmeldung appointment finder”.)
Make sure you print out and bring the necessary documents with you to your appointment. You’ll need:
- Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (Permission to register signed by your landlord)
- The application form
- Your passport or ID and residence permit
- Vehicle registration papers (if you have a vehicle)
If it’s your first time registering you may also need to bring:
- Your marriage certificate
- If registering a child’s address you may need a letter of consent from the guardian (if you are separated) and the child’s birth certificate
READ ALSO: Is renting a flat 'without Anmeldung' illegal in Germany?
Useful vocabulary:
Citizens' office - das Bürgeramt
Personal ID - der Personalausweis
Residence - der Wohnsitz
Residence registration form (Official registration confirmation for relocation) - Amtliche Meldebestätigung für die Umzugsmeldung
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