Official German Resources. Find Your Link

Find your nearest German embassy or consulate, visa categories, country-specific entry requirements, and consular appointment systems.

Official portal of the federal government for skilled workers and entrepreneurs. Step-by-step visa guidance, job-search support, and integration information.

Authority for residence permits, naturalization, integration courses, and recognition of asylum status.

Federal-level policy on migration, integration, citizenship, identity documents, and homeland security.

Federal online portal for preparing your visa application before submission. Generates the printable application sheet you bring to the consulate.

Federal Office for Migration and Refugees topic hub on migration, residence, and naturalization. Pathways for third-country nationals, EU citizens, family reunification, asylum, and the Skilled Immigration Act — with onward links to the relevant local Ausländerbehörde.

Federal portal page on the EU Blue Card for Germany. Eligibility, salary thresholds, shortage occupations, and the application path.

Official information on the German Opportunity Card — points-based residence permit for job-seeking (§ 20a AufenthG).

Official country-by-country overview from the Foreign Office: which nationals need a visa to enter Germany, and which are exempt — with notes on biometric passports and the 90-day rule.

Locate the locally competent Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK) for your German address. Required contact for many founder activities.

Required chamber registration for skilled-trades businesses (handwerkliche Tätigkeiten). Separate from the IHK.

Official directory of German notaries (Notare). Each notary is a public office holder; required for GmbH formation, share transfers, and many other deeds.

Official register where all German trading companies (GmbH, UG, AG, KG, OHG) are recorded. Search for any registered company, download HRB extracts.

Companion register publishing annual financial statements, ownership changes, and other mandatory disclosures of German companies.

Mandatory register of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) for all German legal entities. Filing is required and visible to authorities.

Federal economics ministry portal for founders. Includes the official Gründungswerkstatt, BMWK funding-finder, and step-by-step founder guides.

Federal development bank KfW offers official founder-loan programs (ERP-Gründerkredit, StartGeld). Eligibility, terms, and how to apply via your house bank.

Founders’ platform operated by KfW Stiftung (foundation of the federal development bank) and BMWK. Structured business-plan workspace and validation tooling.

Federal subsidy from the BAFA covering a share of fees for management-consulting services for SMEs and new founders.

Federal-level tax authority. Handles VAT IDs, withholding tax, international tax matters, and EU tax-cooperation procedures.

Official portal for submitting tax returns and tax forms electronically to the Finanzamt. Required for many filings including the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung.

Official BZSt finder for your locally competent Finanzamt (tax office) by postal code or address.

Federal finance ministry. Source for German tax law, official tax-treaty database, and federal financial policy.

Official chamber of tax advisors (Steuerberater) in Germany. Includes the official directory to find a qualified Steuerberater.

BZSt portal to apply for a German VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.) required for EU B2B transactions.

Central federal authority for employment, job placement, unemployment insurance, and the official German wage statistics (Entgeltatlas).

Department of the Bundesagentur for international recruitment, foreign worker placement, and recognition support.

Federal pension insurance. Covers statutory pension contributions, A1 certificates for postings, and rehabilitation benefits.

Federal authority for minor employment (Minijob, mini-employment, marginal employment up to the monthly threshold). Required registration channel for all minijobs.

Umbrella association of the Berufsgenossenschaften (statutory employer-paid accident insurance). Find your competent Berufsgenossenschaft and registration requirements.

Federal research institute for occupational safety and health (Arbeitsschutz). Source for OHS legal requirements and workplace risk-assessment guidance.

Federal authority (within Bundesagentur für Arbeit) for Kindergeld (child benefit) and Kinderzuschlag (supplementary child allowance).

Federal central bank. Operates the Bundesbank reporting system, manages bank-route databases (BLZ), and publishes official German monetary statistics.

Federal supervisor for banks, insurance, asset management, and payment services in Germany. Source for licensing, the licensed-entities database, and consumer alerts.

Official searchable database of every entity licensed by BaFin in Germany — banks, payment institutions, insurance carriers, asset managers, crypto-asset service providers.

SCHUFA is the major German credit-reference agency. By law (GDPR Art. 15) you have a right to one free annual self-disclosure (Datenkopie) — required by most German landlords. SCHUFA itself is a private company.

Locator across the Sparkassen network (Anstalten des öffentlichen Rechts at municipal level). Common SME banking option. Umbrella DSGV is a private association.

Locator across the cooperative-banking network (Volksbanken / Raiffeisenbanken). Frequent option among Mittelstand businesses. Umbrella BVR is a private cooperative federation.

Official Bundesbank statistics and information on the German payment system, IBAN/BIC, SEPA, and payment institutions.

Berlin city-portal for Bürgeramt appointments — Anmeldung (address registration) and similar resident services.

Munich Kreisverwaltungsreferat — Anmeldung, residence-permit appointments, drivers-license matters, and broader municipal services.

Hamburg city-portal for resident services including Anmeldung and Bürgeramt appointments.

Official federal Ministry of Housing portal on the Wohngeld housing-benefit programme: eligibility, application, and the relevant forms.

Official federal statistics office. Authoritative source for rent levels, household incomes, regional cost-of-living, demographic, and business data.

Official German government database. Check whether your foreign academic degree, university, or professional qualification is recognized in Germany (H+/H-/H+/- statuses).

Issues the official Zeugnisbewertung (statement of comparability) for foreign academic qualifications. Required for many skilled-worker visa applications.

Federal portal for recognition of foreign professional qualifications. Step-by-step guidance for regulated and non-regulated occupations.

Official German cultural institute. German language courses (A1–C2), exams, and certificates accepted globally for visa, university, and citizenship purposes.

Official German-language test for academic/university admission. Recognized by German universities and many employers.

Network of municipal adult-education centers across Germany. Affordable language and integration courses available in nearly every city.

Federal authority for export control (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz), federal economic-development subsidies, and energy-efficiency funding programs.

Federal regulator for telecoms, energy, postal services, and rail. Source for licensing in these sectors and broadband infrastructure data.

Federal cybersecurity authority. Source for the BSI IT-Grundschutz framework, KRITIS regulation, and security guidance for German enterprises.

Federal authority for licensing pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and the digital-health (DiGA) framework.

Federal authority for patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks in Germany. The starting point for IP protection within Germany.

Federal competition authority. Source for merger control, antitrust, and the German Competition Act (GWB).

Federal authority for vehicle approvals (type approval), driver-license recognition, and motor vehicle statistics.

Federal economic-development agency. Free guidance, market reports, location services, and partner connections for international companies entering Germany.

Network of 140+ German Chambers of Commerce Abroad. Local partners for German business development in your home country.

Federal authority for data protection and freedom of information. Source for GDPR enforcement at federal level, breach notifications, and official guidance.

Federal ministry for housing, building, and urban development. Source for federal housing policy, planning rules, and grant programmes.

Federal environment ministry. Source for environmental regulation, climate action, nature conservation, and nuclear safety policy.

Central federal association of statutory German health insurance funds (gesetzliche Krankenkassen).

One of Germany’s statutory health insurance funds (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts). Listed as a publicly-organised option among the GKV providers; we do not endorse any specific carrier.

One of Germany’s statutory health insurance funds, organised by Bundesland. Listed as a publicly-organised option among the GKV providers; we do not endorse any specific carrier.

One of Germany’s statutory health insurance funds. Listed as a publicly-organised option among the GKV providers; we do not endorse any specific carrier.

Industry trade association of German private-health-insurance carriers (PKV). Neutral reference for eligibility rules around switching to private insurance and the structure of the private-insurance landscape. Trade body, not a public authority.

Federal health ministry. Authoritative source on the statutory vs private health-insurance system, eligibility rules, and recent reforms.