Authorities and Bureaucracy

If you've decided you want to stay for more than a few weeks in Berlin, you'll have to deal with a little bureaucracy in order to become legally resident (but don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds, and a far more user-friendly process than it used to be).

For most foreign citizens there are two or three stages to this process:

1. Registering as a resident (Anmeldebestätigung)
2. Obtaining a residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis)
3. Obtaining a work permit (Arbeitserlaubnis) (for non-EU citizens [*])

* Residents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Rumania, Slovakia and Slovenia may still require a work permit