# Moving to Germany



## firetc60 (Jan 26, 2017)

I am a retired and disabled military who is looking to moving to Germany. Would like to know what steps I need to start the process.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

First step is this: German Missions in the United States - Visa

You don't state your citizenship(s) so it's difficult to give accurate advice. However, assuming that you are US only, with no EU passport, there is no such thing as a retirement visa for Germany. (Spain, Portugal and Italy all have schemes whereby you can get long-term residence with a minimum income or a substantial real-estate purchase, but not Germany.) 

Best you could do is to show up as a tourist, rent a little apartment somewhere then before 90 days is up try to sweet-talk the nearest foreigner's office (Ausländerbehörde) into giving you a year's residence permit, then renewing. But as you have no "reason" to live in Germany, such as working or studying, you'd be relying on the good will of local officials. Signing up for a full-time language course would get you in as a student, and buy you some time to figure out how you could stay longer.

Then of course there are issues of health insurance and taxation, which may or may not be complicated for retired military.


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## firetc60 (Jan 26, 2017)

Thank you for replying. I am US military retiree. I am disabled receiving SS.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

As stated, there is no provision for retirees coming to Germany - they already have a plentiful supply of old people, I guess - so in the unlikely event that you managed to gain a residence permit it would be purely ad hoc, renewed from year to year. Also you'd need private health insurance, which could be quite expensive.

In other words, it's probably not possible for you.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Actually, the health insurance bit is probably already covered if you have your military coverage (Tricare, I think it is, or was, called). Unlike US Medicare, you are covered outside the US, and I think you may still be eligible to use the US military health care facilities at Ramstein and wherever else.

But, as Nononymous says, there is no "retiree" visa, so you'd need some reason to want to move to and stay in Germany. 
Cheers,
Bev


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