After moving into an apartment in Cologne, you need to register your new address with the city within 14 days. You will receive a confirmation of registration (Meldebestätigung) that you may need for other inquiries (application for residence permit, opening of a bank account etc.)

<aside> 💡 Important: If you move into an apartment outside of Cologne, you will need to register with your respective city. The processes should be similar. Let us know if we can assist.

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Where to register?

You can register at one of the nine district offices (Kundenzentren) in Cologne: Chorweiler, Ehrenfeld, Innenstadt, Kalk, Lindenthal, Mülheim, Nippes, Porz, Rodenkirchen

How to register?

You can visit a district office of your choice without an appointment on Mondays and Wednesdays. For all other days, you will need an appointment.

• Get an appointment online
• Get an appointment by phone

You will need the following two documents for the registration:

• Passport with visa
• Move-in confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbescheinigung) Your landlord is required to issue you this confirmation within two weeks after you move in (find a sample document at: https://formular-server.de/Koeln_FS/findform?shortname=02-F17_WohnGeberBest&formtecid=3&areashortname=koeln_html)

Any questions?

Please contact the International Office ([email protected])