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I have moved to Germany as an EU (British) citizen, and completed the standard Anmeldung upon arrival. I work remotely for an Italian employer. Are there any further bureaucratic processes to go through as an EU citizen1 who plans to remain in Germany indefinitely? For instance in Austria, in addition to my Anmeldung, I had to get an Anmeldebescheinigung (requiring proof of employment, etc.), in order to stay for longer than three months. Does Germany have something similar, or is the Anmeldung truly the only formality required for EU citizens?

Incidentally, I asked about this at my local Meldeamt and was told verbally that the Anmeldung really is sufficient. However, the staff member who told me this seemed a little confused about the situation, and was clearly in a hurry to get through with me and on to the next person in the enormous queue at the counter. In any case, I think a firm written answer to this question would be useful for others in a similar situation.

1I realize that in my own case, Brexit may complicate things in the long run, but please ignore that factor for the purposes of this question.

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  • Are you working in Germany? In that case you are already fine. If not then you might not have access to some social services immediately and in theory you might need to have sufficient income/resources, but this seems not to be enforced.
    – mts
    Jul 27, 2017 at 12:07
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    @mts I'm working in Germany, but remotely for an Italian employer (and have updated the question to mention this). This will doubtless complicate some things like tax and healthcare, and I'll probably end up asking questions about those too, but my immediate concern is just to be sure that I've fulfilled the basic legal registration requirements.
    – Pont
    Jul 27, 2017 at 12:17
  • In my understanding you are perfectly fine. If you want to get a more authoritative answer, why don't you give this hotline of the relevant federal agency a call.
    – mts
    Jul 27, 2017 at 12:31

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When you are asking if any further registration will be required, the question will be "what for"?

When it comes to your right to live in Germany indefinitely, the "Anmeldung" will indeed be all you need being a EU citizen. (Whatever will happen after Brexit when left aside.)

I think two other subject areas which come to mind include

  • Taxation
  • Healthcare

You would actually have the same questions if you were a German national living in Germany and working for an Itallian employer, by the way.

When it comes to taxation, the rule of thumb is: All your income worldwide is taxable in Germany. In case you pay any taxes on your italian income in Italy, google for "Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen", which basically means that income shouldn't be taxed twice, but that does not mean that you will not have to deal with the German Finanzamt. You probably have to file an income tax report in Germany.

With regards to healthcare, if you live in Germany I assume you want to see a doctor in Germany in case or be treated in a German hospital, which basically means you'd probably want to have German health insurance, unless you will have an italian health insurance through your employer which will cover expenses in Germany as well, but I'd be surprised if that would work out indefinitely.

EU Social Security and especially Health Insurance is a quite complex subject so it will be hard to tell to what treatments you would be entitled for in Germany with an Italian health insurance. Also you would have to convince the doctor or hospital in each and every case that you are.

Assuming you have been given a plastic card to proof your membership in Italian health insurance, check if the Eurpean Health Insurance Card is integrated on the backside.

Another approach might be to have the so-called S1 form issued by your italian health insurance provider, but you should double-check your entitlement.

Out of experience, also be warned that the rights you have on paper and actually claiming them may be two different things and claiming your rights might at least be a time consuming process and not ad-hoc when needed.

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  • (+1) Where did you get this 3-month delay from? I don't think there is any rule-of-thumb in this area. Also, “cross-border” usually refer to people living in a country and commuting every day (or frequently) to another one, a very different situation. These people can actually choose where they want to be insured IIRC.
    – Gala
    Aug 7, 2017 at 11:45
  • @Gala I cannot proof that 3-month period now, it's annecdotical knowlegde right now. But what I know for sure is that an italian health insurance will not give you access to the Germany healthcare system on a long term basis. More information may be available at the EC's website though that information is sometimes a bit hard to digest.
    – TorstenS
    Aug 7, 2017 at 12:00
  • I agree with that and that's why I already upvoted your answer! But I don't think there is any general 3-month threshold, I am positive it's not a hard rule under EU law (there are exceptions too, e.g. students or posted workers who can certainly go one or two years on a EHIC). It's easy to overgeneralise from personal experience in these matters, there are really many combinations and special cases. That's why I think editing this (and the “cross-border” terminology) would make your answer even better.
    – Gala
    Aug 7, 2017 at 12:06

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