Just landed? Use ExpatNav as your field guide through every German decision.
Just landed? Use ExpatNav as your field guide through every German decision.
Pick your country, then the visa. Get the exact processing time, financial requirements, document list, and a step-by-step timeline from application to settling in.
Step 1 · Your country
Step 2 · Pick a visa below
Tap any card to see the full breakdown for your situation.
Pick your country above. We show only what applies to you.
Filter by passport. Sort by what costs you least. We never reorder for commission.
Sworn translators charge €40 to €80 per page for documents the Standesamt asks for. There is a free workaround at most consulates and a faster path through the Apostille. The exact route my marriage paperwork took, and the seven months it almost took.
€2,847 sitting at the Finanzamt for three years, waiting for me to ask. The four-year backfile window, the Werbungskosten line items most expats skip, and the exact deductions that made up the refund.
A real ImmoScout24 ad. A real apartment. A landlord who was not the landlord. The exact red flags I missed, the wire transfer route the money took, and what the Polizei Berlin actually does when you file the Anzeige.
GKV pays for unlimited therapy at almost no cost and barely a third of a crown. The math is bizarre. Here is exactly what your public insurance covers, what it does not, and the booklet you should have stamped last year.
Eleven weeks on a friend's IKEA pullout. Eighty-three WG applications, two replies, one accepted casting, and the €2,640 wire that finally got me keys to a Friedrichshain Altbau.
One email a week. Visa changes, deadline reminders, new providers. No spam, ever.
