# Bürgeramt Residence Registration



## Lachy

Heya!
I arrived in Frankfurt a few days ago from Australia. I want to apply for a residence permit but need to register an address at the Bürgeramt first. The issue, however is that to complete my Anmeldung for the Bürgeramt, I need to submit confirmation from a landlord for the address I'm using (a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung I think). I'm staying with a friend at the moment until I find a place and she's not particularly keen on involving her landlord in my visa process. Is there any other way to register a temporary address?


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## Nononymous

It's annoying they've brought this back - for a good decade, I think, you could just go sign yourself up without proof from a landlord. And since the Anmeldung is really the first step before doing anything else, doubly annoying.

The good news is, your friend can sign the form instead of the landlord - you are effectively sub-letting a bedroom, for free. From the regulations:



> Wohnungsgeber können selbst Wohnungseigentümer sein; für Untermieter ist
> es der Hauptmieter.


Translation: the landlord can be the apartment owner; for sub-tenants it's the main tenant. 

In other words, the proper landlord need not be involved, and shouldn't care anyway because you're a temporary guest, not really sub-letting.

If your friend is nervous about this and refuses to sign, you've got a bit of an issue - you might need to find a sympathetic friend willing to give you a temporary (fictional) address to use while you're looking for an apartment.


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## Lachy

Nononymous said:


> It's annoying they've brought this back - for a good decade, I think, you could just go sign yourself up without proof from a landlord. And since the Anmeldung is really the first step before doing anything else, doubly annoying.
> 
> The good news is, your friend can sign the form instead of the landlord - you are effectively sub-letting a bedroom, for free. From the regulations:
> 
> 
> 
> Translation: the landlord can be the apartment owner; for sub-tenants it's the main tenant.
> 
> In other words, the proper landlord need not be involved, and shouldn't care anyway because you're a temporary guest, not really sub-letting.
> 
> If your friend is nervous about this and refuses to sign, you've got a bit of an issue - you might need to find a sympathetic friend willing to give you a temporary (fictional) address to use while you're looking for an apartment.


So I can have my friend fill out the wohnungsgeberbestätigung? If so, this is great news! One other small issue I can think of is that I believe I have to receive mail at the address and that I won't receive anything if my name isn't listed on the apartment directory. Any ideas as to how to have the mail addressed to my friend? The Anmeldung doesn't allow for a seperate postal title, I don't think.


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## Nononymous

Just have mail addressed thusly:

My Name
c/o Friend's Name
Somethingstr. 22

Depending on the fussiness of the apartment, you can also put a temporary sticker with your name on the mailbox. It's not like the post office will cross-reference everything with the Meldeamt.


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## ALKB

Nononymous said:


> Just have mail addressed thusly:
> 
> My Name
> c/o Friend's Name
> Somethingstr. 22
> 
> Depending on the fussiness of the apartment, you can also put a temporary sticker with your name on the mailbox. It's not like the post office will cross-reference everything with the Meldeamt.



Don't forget to put your friend's name in the address when you do the Anmeldung or your tax number will not arrive and if it goes back as undeliverable that will cause problems.

Your name
bei friends family name
Somethingstr. 22
12345 Musterstadt

EDIT: Sorry, you mentioned the form, I somehow thought you mean when giving your address to companies such as mobile providers.

c/o and bei should both work although bei implies that you are actually living there while c/o looks a bit like you are just receiving mail at teh address.


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## Nononymous

ALKB said:


> c/o and bei should both work although bei implies that you are actually living there while c/o looks a bit like you are just receiving mail at teh address.


If you're dealing with non-German senders, "c/o" is pretty universal and tends to work better than "bei" - something I learned from bitter experience when letters address "by" went undelivered.


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## ALKB

Nononymous said:


> If you're dealing with non-German senders, "c/o" is pretty universal and tends to work better than "bei" - something I learned from bitter experience when letters address "by" went undelivered.


I agree, I was just thinking about what to put on the official registration form.

What the Op then passes to friends and family outside of Germany is a different matter.


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## victorchorradas

Hello all, I am in a similar situation. Well not really me, I am living in Germany since 2013 and now my girlfriend will move to live with me at my apartment.
She is a EU citizen, so she doesn't need any VISA to live in Germany
I'm not the owner of the apartment where I am living, I am the tenant of the apartment.
My question is, Do I need to involve to the owner or she can do the registration, fill out the "Wohnungsbestätigung" form and select me as the "Wohnungsgeber"?

Note: She is a citizen of the EU, so she doesn't need any visa to live in Germany

Thanks in advance.


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## Lea_OR

I am having the same issue... Subletting short term from a friend, but the overall landlord for the building is kind of grumpy according to my roommate so she would rather not get her involved.

She signed the form for me, but emailed me as I was on my way to the Burgeramt this morning saying she had a change of heart and wanted to call the Burgeramt. She called twice to get two different opinions, and they both said that I would need her signature and the OFFICIAL owner... If she is not the owner of the apt, then they would turn me away at the Burgeramt. The people also said they "double check" with the landlord - seems like ******** to me - how could they do this with every person subletting? My hauptmieter/friend has already signed the form, so I was so tempted to just go and turn it in, but I don't want this to come back and mess me up later. 

So stressed about this... I finally find a place to live and now this. Not to mention I am job searching so if I do find a job, I will obviously need the Anmeldung thing before anything else. 
Anyone know of any further clarifying info?


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## Nononymous

All I can say is wow, things have gotten much tighter in the past year. (No offence, but one gets the distinct sense that the Beamter are finally sick and tired of all the hipsters coming and squatting in Berlin.)

I don't know how much good it would do, but one approach, if you speak decent German and are willing to smile sweetly and be charming, is to go to the Bürgeramt and explain the situation - you're staying with a friend for a few weeks while you look for a job and an apartment and you desperately need the Anmeldung to get various bureaucratic balls rolling, the landlord is a crabby old fart, what can you do? The rules I quoted above seem to indicate that a signature from the Hauptmieter is sufficient.

A German moving to Berlin from elsewhere in the country would always be Angemeldet at their previous address until they were properly settled (ignoring the two-week limit if need be) but a foreigner doesn't have that option.


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