Before you start

A visa or entry permission appropriate to your purpose, obtained before travel for most non-EU nationals
A signed rental contract and a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord
An employment contract, for work-based permits
Proof of qualifications, for the EU Blue Card route

Step-by-step

1
Book a Bürgeramt appointment early
Cologne's availability is better than Munich's, but everything downstream — tax ID, bank account, permit — waits on it. Book online as soon as you know your move date and take any district office.
OnlineWho: YouBefore arrival if possible
2
Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung at signing
Registration requires a signed confirmation from whoever provides your accommodation. Landlords are legally obliged to supply it — ask as you sign rather than chasing afterwards.
In personWho: Your landlord
3
Complete the Anmeldung within two weeks
A legal deadline. The Meldebescheinigung it produces is required for almost everything else.
In personWho: YouWithin 2 weeks of moving in
4
Avoid arriving during carnival week
If you can choose your start date, do not land in the week before Lent. Offices close or run skeleton staff around Weiberfastnacht and Rosenmontag, appointments vanish, and the whole administrative machinery of the city pauses for several days.
OnlineWho: You
5
Wait for the Steuer-ID by post
Issued automatically after registration and arriving within a few weeks. Until your employer has it, payroll applies the least favourable tax class — recoverable, but a real early cash-flow hit.
OnlineWho: The tax office
6
Pursue the EU Blue Card if you qualify
It gives faster access to a settlement permit, easier family reunification with immediate spousal work rights, and more freedom to change employer than a general work permit. Employers often default to what they know — ask for it by name.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with visa or entry permission
Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord
Signed rental contract
Employment contract and proof of qualifications
Biometric photographs to German specification
Proof of health insurance

Things most newcomers don’t know

Do not arrive during carnival week if you have a choice.

Weiberfastnacht and Rosenmontag close offices, empty workplaces and reroute transport, and the days around them run on skeleton staff. A newcomer trying to complete an Anmeldung, open a bank account or start a job in that week loses most of it. Shift your start date by a fortnight and the difference is substantial.

Source: community-reported

The EU Blue Card is materially better than a general work permit.

Faster access to a settlement permit, easier family reunification with immediate work rights for a spouse, and more freedom to change employer. Employers frequently default to whatever process they know. If you meet the salary and qualification thresholds, ask for the Blue Card by name.

Source: BAMF — EU Blue Card

Church tax is 9% in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Declaring church membership at Anmeldung triggers automatic deduction of 9% of your income tax — the standard rate in most German states, against 8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It is decided in a short appointment most newcomers do not realise has a price.

Source: Finanzverwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen

The whole first-month sequence is easier here than in Munich or Frankfurt.

Better appointment availability, a far less competitive rental market, and lower rents mean the standard German arrival sequence — register, get the tax ID, open an account, find a flat — completes faster and with less stress in Cologne than in the more expensive cities. It is an underrated argument for the posting.

Source: community-reported