This checklist helps you move from Germany to another country.

Before you leave Germany

Full checklist

Keep your phone number. You might need it for online banking and two-factor authentication.

Close your business

Sole proprietorships are easy to close. If you have an AG, UG or GmbH, it’s much more complicated. ^{Ask a tax advisor to help you.}

If you are part of a Handwerkskammer, Berufskammer or Berufsgenossenschaft, you must also deregister there.

After you leave Germany

Checklist

These tasks are optional:

What keeps working

These things keep working even if you don’t live in Germany:

• Public pension
  You can receive your German public pension abroad. ^{If you can’t get a German pension, get your pension payments back.}
• Private pension
  You can sometimes contribute to your private pension after you leave Germany. It’s sometimes a good idea, but it depends on how pensions are taxed in your new country.
• Unemployment benefits
  If you move to another EU country, you can still get ALG I for up to 6 months.
• German citizenship
  You are still a German citizen after you leave Germany.

What stops working

Bank account

Do not close your bank account. You can keep your bank account after you deregister your address and leave Germany.

You need it to get your apartment deposit, last paycheck, yearly bonus, tax return and blocked account payments.

Use Wise to transfer your money to another country.

If you have a blocked account, you can close it after you leave Germany. You might need a Sperrfreigabe from a German embassy, consulate or Ausländerbehörde.

Health insurance

When you stop working, tell your health insurer. Unemployment changes the cost of your health insurance. If you get unemployment benefits, it pays for your health insurance.

When you disenrol from university, your school tells your health insurer. Your public health insurance might become more expensive without the student discount.

When you leave Germany, your health insurance might stop working:

• If you move to another EU country
  Usually, your German health insurance stops working, and you must get insured in your new country. There are exceptions:
  • If you are retired, your German health insurance still covers you
  • If you study in another EU country, your German public health insurance still covers you
• If you move outside the EU
  Your public or private health insurance stops working. Your expat health insurance might stay valid. ^{Check with your insurer.}

To cancel your health insurance, you need an Abmeldebescheinigung. ^{When you leave Germany, the notice period is until the end of the month. If you don’t cancel your insurance, your insurer will keep charging you.}

If you plan to return to Germany, get an Anwartschaft from your insurer. You pay a monthly fee to pause your health insurance, and resume it later. When you return to Germany, you will get the same tariff and coverage, even if your situation or your health changed. Without an Anwartschaft, it can be hard to find affordable health insurance.

Taxes

Income tax

Usually, when you leave Germany, you stop paying income tax in Germany.

You might still have to pay taxes in Germany if…

• You visit Germany often
• Your family still lives in Germany
• You still have an apartment or a room in Germany
• You conduct most of your business in Germany

For example, if you officially live in Spain, but your family lives in Berlin, you often go to a German doctor, and you own an empty apartment in Berlin, the Finanzamt might still tax you.

Stocks and ETFs

Usually, there is no exit tax on your stocks and ETFs. ^{You only pay the capital gains tax when you sell.}

You must pay an exit tax if…

• You invested at least €500,000 in a single ETF or you own at least 1% of a company
• and you lived in Germany for 10 years
• and you move out of Germany

Example 1: While you lived in Germany, you invested €500,000 in the iShares MSCI World ETF. You must pay an exit tax.

Example 2: You invest €250,000 in two different ETFs. There is no exit tax, because you did not invest €500,000 in a single ETF.

Example 3: You invest €400,000 in one ETF, and it’s now worth €500,000. There is no exit tax, because the purchase price must be above €500,000.

Cryptocurrency

There is no exit tax on cryptocurrency. ^{Leaving Germany has no effect on your personal cryptocurrency investments.}

Business

If you own shares in a company, you must pay an exit tax. ^{This includes companies in other countries. You can sometimes avoid the exit tax. Ask your tax advisor to help you, or use the list of tax advisors with exit tax experience.}

You must pay an exit tax if…

• You own at least 1% of a company (AG, UG or GmbH)
• and you lived in Germany for 10 years
• and you stop being a German tax resident

Freelancers and sole proprietors almost never pay an exit tax. ^{When you leave Germany, you just close your business. Your business assets (computers, office) might be taxed.}

How the exit tax works

Residence permit

Your residence permit or permanent residence only expires if…

• You leave Germany for more than 6 months
  ^{If you have a Blue Card or a EU permanent residence, you can leave up to 12 months. You can get permission from the Ausländerbehörde to leave for a longer period.}
• or you leave Germany for non-temporary reasons
  For example, if you permanently move to Canada. “Non-temporary reasons” usually means that you quit your job, move out of your apartment, deregister your address, and leave Germany. ^{A semester or internship abroad is a temporary reason, so it does not make your residence permit expire.}

The Abmeldung does not make your residence permit expire.

Your German citizenship does not expire, even if you leave Germany.

Need help?

Where to ask questions