Working in Germany: A Complete Guide
This page details exactly how to start working in Germany. From applying for your visa and receiving your German tax ID to obtaining your social security number and taking out suitable health insurance, our guide covers the key administrative steps for starting work in Germany.
Once you have found a job in Germany, you are likely hoping that the hard part is behind you. However, in order to actually start working legally in Germany, there are some essential steps you must take. In particular, you will need:
✅ German Tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer)
✅ German Health Insurance (Krankenversicherung)
✅ German Social Security Number (Sozialversicherungsnummer)
We have expanded on each of these key documents below and provided instructions on how you can quickly obtain them for a smooth start to working life in Germany.
German Work Visa
Unless you are from an EU or EEA country, you need permission to work in Germany in the form of a visa. Depending on your nationality, salary and profession, you may have multiple visa options in Germany that include working rights, including the Work Visa, EU Blue Card and Working Holiday Visa
To help you determine which visa is most suited to your work situation, we have created an overview of the different visa options here. When it comes to actually applying for your German visa, you may benefit from the following visa guides that also provide step-by-step application instructions:
Work Visa
EU Blue Card
Working Holiday Visa
Whether you are permitted to apply for your visa at an immigration office in Germany or at a German consulate/embassy overseas is determined by your nationality. We have covered this in more detail here.
In short, you cannot start working in Germany without first obtaining a suitable visa. So this should be top of your priority list if moving to Germany for work.
German Tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer)
A key document for starting work in Germany is a German Tax ID, known as a Steueridentifikationsnummer or Steuer-ID. Your employer requires your German Tax ID in order to correctly withhold income tax contributions from your salary – therefore, it is important that you provide them with this before your first payroll.
Fortunately, getting your German Tax ID is straightforward. All you need to do is register at an address in Germany, a process that is known as Anmeldung. Once you have registered at an address in Germany, your German Tax ID is automatically created by the German tax office and posted to your registered address.
The processing time for receiving your German Tax ID can vary, but you can generally expect to receive your tax ID letter in the mail within 4 weeks of registering at an address in Germany. Your tax ID is issued once and remains the same for life, so you only need to complete this process once while living in Germany.
While the process for obtaining a German Tax ID is straightforward, finding suitable accommodation that permits Anmeldung can be difficult. To help you with this process, here are some short to mid-term accommodation options that can be quickly secured online prior to your arrival in Germany:
Smartments (see our review for more details)
These accommodation providers are all great options for quickly completing your Anmeldung in Germany, and therefore avoiding any unnecessary delays in receiving your German Tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer).
German Health Insurance (Krankenversicherung)
German Health Insurance is a compulsory requirement when starting work in Germany. Without it, your German employer will not allow you to start your new job.
The type of insurance you are eligible for is determined by your salary. If you are an employee and earn below €69,300 per year (or €5,775 per month), then you must have German public health insurance. For most of the workforce in Germany (approx. 90%), this is your only option.
German Public Health Insurance
In Germany, there are a lot of public health insurance providers (Krankenkassen) to select from; 97 to be specific. They are legally obligated to cover the same public health services including in-patient hospital care, outpatient care, medicines, rehabilitative care and some dental services.
German public health insurance providers all cost the same. They charge a basic rate of 14.6% of your gross salary (plus additional premiums of up to 2.4%). Therefore, as your salary increases, your health insurance contributions go up, although this is capped once your salary reaches €4,837 per month.
Your employer is obligated to cover 50% of your health insurance contributions. Therefore, employees can expect around 7.3% (plus any additional premiums) of their gross salary to go towards health insurance contributions.
Which German Public Health Insurance should I sign up for as an employee?
With so many health insurance providers to choose from, it is hard to identify which one is most suitable for you.
However, it is important to note that only a few health insurance providers are expat-friendly and provide English-speaking services and support – this makes the decision-making process considerably easier for most newcomers to Germany, who are often non-German speakers. Better still, these expat-friendly providers are generally some of the best-rated and largest insurers in Germany.
Our absolute favourite German public health insurance provider for employees is TK Health Insurance. Here is why TK is our no.1 choice for employees in Germany:
✅ They offer high-quality English customer support as well as English policy documents.
✅ They have a straightforward, simple online sign-up process.
✅ Their policy is accepted by the German immigration authorities when applying for a Work Visa or EU Blue Card.
✅ They provide straightforward access to care. You just need to show your TK health insurance card when receiving health care. The healthcare provider will then arrange payment with TK.
TK is the largest public health insurer in Germany – by opting for TK, you are choosing an insurer that is trusted by millions of German residents and is consistently rated among the best insurers in Germany.
Another popular public health insurer for employees living in Germany is BARMER. BARMER offers largely similar insurance cover to TK so it is a solid alternative for those looking to explore other options.
German Private Health Insurance
If you are an employee and your salary is above €69,300 per year, then you also have the option of taking out German private health insurance.
Employees sometimes opt for German private health insurance ahead of German public health insurance because:
✅ You can access a wider range of treatments.
✅ It can be more affordable.
✅ You can adjust your policy to suit your treatment needs and budget.
✅ You generally benefit from shorter waiting times for healthcare services.
✅ You usually get comprehensive dental coverage and travel cover.
If you earn above €69,300 per year and are interested in German private health insurance, then we recommend signing up for a policy via Feather.
Feather is an English-speaking brokerage with a close relationship with a wide range of German insurers. They will clarify your options and ensure you sign up for a suitable policy. Better still, their services are completely free of charge!
German Social Security Number (Sozialversicherungsnummer)
As with health insurance, employees in Germany are also obligated to pay into the social security system. Payments for this are automatically drawn from your salary and cover:
✅ Pension insurance (Rentenversicherung)
✅ Unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung)
✅ Accident insurance (Unfallversicherung)
✅ Long-term care insurance (Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung)
In order for your employer to withhold the correct contributions from your salary, and in order that your payments into the German social security system are tracked correctly, you need a German Social Security Number (known as a Sozialversicherungsnummer).
When it comes to getting hold of your German Social Security Number, you can obtain this via:
Your German public health insurer
Upon signing up with a German public health insurer (e.g. TK or BARMER), you will be registered in the German social security system and will receive your German Social Security Number in the mail after roughly six weeks.
Six weeks is a long time to wait for a document that you need to start working in Germany. However, you can also request your German Social Security Number directly from your German public health insurer and they can generally provide this within 48 hours of signing up for an insurance policy.
Your insurance broker
If you have signed up for your German health insurance via a broker, then they may be able to obtain your German Social Security Number on your behalf.
This route is most relevant if you have opted for German private health insurance rather than German public health insurance. For example, if opting for German private health insurance, we recommend signing up via our insurance partner Feather – as part of their free service, they can request your social security number for you.
Your employer
Your German employer may offer to register you in the German social security system. Once registered, you will receive your German Social Security Number in the mail after roughly six weeks. This is a much slower route than options 1 and 2 above.
Deutsche Rentenversicherung
You can also order your German Social Security number directly from Deutsche Rentenversicherung. You can either request this online (and receive your German Social Security Number in the mail after roughly six weeks) or visit your nearest Deutsche Rentenversicherung branch (and have it printed on the same day).
Options 1 and 2 are the quickest and most convenient methods of getting your German Social Security Number. Once received, you just need to provide your employer with your 12-digit social security number and they will then be able to withhold the relevant social security contributions from your salary.
German Bank Account
Last on our list of documents required to start working in Germany is a German bank account. In order to be paid your monthly salary in Germany, most employers require that you have a German bank account with a German IBAN.
With regards to opening a German bank account, N26 is a great option for newcomers to Germany as they offer a quick sign-up process, a free account with no monthly charges and free ATM withdrawals as standard. N26 is widely used across Germany, especially among the expat community, making it a convenient and secure first German bank account.
If considering alternatives to N26, then bunq is a solid option as well as many of the traditional high street banks including Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and Sparkasse.
For a full overview of your best banking options in Germany, see our German Banking Guide.
We hope you have found this rundown helpful on the key steps you must take in order to start working in Germany. For more extensive information on the steps listed above, see our guides dedicated to visas, health insurance, banking and housing. For an overview of how much life in Germany is likely to cost you as an employee, see our Cost of Living Guide.