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British Expats in Germany

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Inhaltsverzeichnis

The UK’s depar­ture from the Euro­pean Union has had wide-rang­ing effects — espe­cial­ly for British cit­i­zens liv­ing or plan­ning to live in Ger­many. Whether you’re already here or plan­ning your move, this guide answers the key ques­tions British Expats in Ger­many face post-Brexit.

We’ll cov­er visas, tax, pen­sions, social secu­ri­ty, and work­ing remote­ly for UK com­pa­nies — all explained in clear terms, with prac­ti­cal advice.

Do I Need a Visa to Live in Ger­many as a UK Citizen?

Yes — unless you moved before 31 Decem­ber 2020.
British cit­i­zens no longer ben­e­fit from EU free­dom of move­ment. That means you need a res­i­dence per­mit to live and work in Ger­many, unless you already qual­i­fied under the With­draw­al Agree­ment.

Which visa do I need?

  • Employed? Apply for a res­i­dence per­mit for employment
  • Free­lancer or self-employed? Apply for a self-employ­ment visa
  • Retired or not work­ing? You’ll need proof of suf­fi­cient income and health insur­ance

    British Expats in Ger­many can stay 90 days visa-free, but must reg­is­ter and apply if stay­ing longer.

How Do I Reg­is­ter My Residence?

When you arrive as British Expats in Ger­many, you must:

  1. Reg­is­ter your address with­in 14 days at your local Ein­wohn­er­meldeamt (reg­is­tra­tion office)
  2. Bring your rental con­tract, pass­port, and the Woh­nungs­ge­berbestä­ti­gung (land­lord confirmation)
  3. You’ll receive a Meldebescheini­gung – your offi­cial reg­is­tra­tion document

This is the first step before you can apply for a res­i­dence per­mit or access health insur­ance, bank­ing, and more.

Do I Have to Pay Tax­es in Germany?

If you’re a tax res­i­dent (spend­ing more than 183 days per year as British Expats in Ger­many), then yes — you’ll be taxed on your world­wide income.

What if I still earn mon­ey from the UK?

The UK-Ger­many Dou­ble Tax­a­tion Agree­ment ensures you don’t get taxed twice. How­ev­er, you must still declare income like:

Will My UK Pen­sion Be Taxed in Germany?

  • UK rental income
  • Div­i­dends and inter­est from UK accounts
  • UK state or pri­vate pensions
  • Remote employ­ment for a UK-based company

Yes — in most cas­es, your UK pen­sion is tax­able in Ger­many, not in the UK.

This includes:

  • UK State Pension
  • Pri­vate or occu­pa­tion­al pensions
  • UK SIPPs

How­ev­er, your lump sum with­draw­al from a pen­sion pot may be taxed dif­fer­ent­ly, so con­sult a tax advi­sor if you’re draw­ing large amounts.

Can I Work Remote­ly for a UK Com­pa­ny from Germany?

Yes, but there are impor­tant considerations.

  1. You need a valid res­i­dence per­mit with work rights
  2. Your UK employ­er may face pay­roll oblig­a­tions in Ger­many if you’re deemed to have cre­at­ed a “per­ma­nent establishment”

Who pays my taxes?

  • You, as a Ger­man tax res­i­dent, must declare and pay income tax in Germany
  • UK com­pa­nies may need to with­hold Ger­man social secu­ri­ty con­tri­bu­tions or restruc­ture your con­tract as free­lance

This is a com­mon sit­u­a­tion post-Brexit.

What About Social Security?

If you moved before 2021, you may retain cer­tain social secu­ri­ty rights under the With­draw­al Agree­ment.
Oth­er­wise:

  • You will pay into Ger­man social security
  • You can trans­fer UK Nation­al Insur­ance cred­its to count toward your Ger­man pen­sion via the social secu­ri­ty coor­di­na­tion rules still in place

This is rel­e­vant for both employ­ees and the self-employed.

What About Self-Employ­ment or Freelancing?

Many UK cit­i­zens start their own busi­ness in Germany.

  • Apply for a Free­lancer (Freiberu­fler) or Self-Employ­ment (Gewerbe) res­i­dence permit
  • You’ll reg­is­ter at the Finan­zamt and pos­si­bly the Gewer­beamt
  • Tax rules dif­fer depend­ing on whether you’re a free­lancer or trade busi­ness

You can deduct busi­ness expens­es, and you may qual­i­fy for the small busi­ness VAT exemp­tion (“Klei­n­un­ternehmer­regelung”).

British Expats in Germany

Use­ful Resources for British Expats

Final Thoughts

Being a British expat in Ger­many after Brex­it may require more paper­work, but it’s absolute­ly man­age­able — and still full of opportunity.

  • Get your res­i­dence sta­tus sort­ed early
  • Know your tax respon­si­bil­i­ties in both countries
  • If work­ing remote­ly, check your employ­er obligations
  • And when in doubt, speak with a Steuer­ber­ater or immi­gra­tion lawyer

How to con­tin­ue / con­tact to us

We as eng­lish speak­ing tax advi­sors with many Bir­itsh Expats as clients can sup­port you with your busi­ness reg­is­tra­tion at the finan­cial author­i­ties, file your Tax Returns and com­mu­ni­cate with the finan­cial author­i­ties on your behalf.

You can con­tact us by using one of these phone num­bers or the mail address.