State guide
Baden-Württemberg
Where to register, which immigration office handles your case, how to book, and what differs from the nationwide rules.
General information only. This page collects official information about Baden-Württemberg, checked 2026-11-04. Rules, links and fees can change. For your own case, ask the responsible authority or a qualified adviser.
This page only covers what is different in Baden-Württemberg (BW). For the nationwide rules (two-week deadline, documents, landlord confirmation, federal online Anmeldung) see the Anmeldung guide. For residence permits, see the visa guides.
1) Registering your address (Meldebehörde)
How to find your office
- In BW, the registration office (Meldebehörde) is your city or municipality's Bürgerbüro or Bürgeramt. Search by place on the state portal service-bw.de. Source: service-bw.de/zufi (checked 2026-11-04)
- The federal and state Service Search works too: enter your postcode. Source: servicesuche.bund.de (checked 2026-11-04)
- Online Anmeldung: the federal service (wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de, see the nationwide guide) only works where your municipality has joined it. Use the address check on wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de to see whether it works for you.
Main cities
"Page OK" means the official page loaded on 2026-11-04 (HTTP 200). Office details beyond the link are not summarised here.
Stuttgart
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- stuttgart.de/service/buergerbueros (the city has several district Bürgerbüros)
- Ausländerbehörde
- stuttgart.de › informationen-der-auslaende…
- Appointment booking
- Online for every Bürgerbüro, from stuttgart.de/service/buergerbueros (checked 2026-11-05)
Karlsruhe
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- karlsruhe.de › buergerdienste
- Ausländerbehörde
- karlsruhe.de › auslaenderbehoerde
- Appointment booking
- karlsruhe.de › terminvereinbarung
Mannheim
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- mannheim.de/de/service-bieten/buergerdienste
- Ausländerbehörde
- Abteilung Zuwanderung und Einbürgerung, K 7: mannheim.de › aufenthalt-einbuergerung (online applications: mannheim.de › digitale-antraege; checked 2026-11-05)
- Appointment booking
- mannheim.de › terminreservierung
Freiburg im Breisgau
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- freiburg.de/buergeramt
- Ausländerbehörde
- freiburg.de/auslaenderbehoerde
- Appointment booking
- Online at freiburg.de/termine or by phone 0761 201-0 (checked 2026-11-05)
Heidelberg
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- heidelberg.de/buergeramt (also heidelberg.de/HD/Rathaus/Buergerservice.html)
- Ausländerbehörde
- Zuwanderungsrecht (Ausländerbehörde), Bergheimer Straße 147, by appointment: heidelberg.de › oe6011005 (checked 2026-11-05)
- Appointment booking
- Bürgeramt: via the Bürgeramt page. Ausländerbehörde online applications: heidelberg.de › online-antraege+zuwanderung (checked 2026-11-05)
Ulm
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- Bürgerdienste: ulm.de › bürgerdienste
- Ausländerbehörde
- ulm.de › auslaenderbehoerde-in-ulm (since Feb 2026 it uses appointments; walk-ins Mon, Tue and Fri 08:00–12:00)
- Appointment booking
- ulm.de › online-terminvereinbarung (all checked 2026-11-05)
Heilbronn
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- heilbronn.de › zentrales-buergeramt-im-rat… (central Bürgeramt plus district Bürgerämter)
- Ausländerbehörde
- heilbronn.de › auslaenderbehoerde (online booking on that page)
- Appointment booking
- Only the central Bürgeramt in the Rathaus needs an appointment: online or 07131 56-3800. heilbronn.de › terminreservierung (checked 2026-11-05)
Pforzheim
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- pforzheim.de › 6021566-buergercentrum (Bürgercentrum)
- Ausländerbehörde
- pforzheim.de › 6021574-abteilung-fuer-migr…
- Appointment booking
- Appointment only, booked online from the Bürgercentrum page (online services: pforzheim.de › online-dienste; checked 2026-11-05)
Reutlingen
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- reutlingen.de/buergerservice
- Ausländerbehörde
- Ausländerabteilung in the Rathaus, phone 07121 303-5665: reutlingen.de › Bereich (checked 2026-11-05)
- Appointment booking
- reutlingen.de/Online-Termin
Tübingen
- Bürgerbüro / Meldebehörde
- Bürgerbüros Stadtmitte, Derendingen and Lustnau: tuebingen.de/dienststellen
- Ausländerbehörde
- City Ausländerbehörde, with online applications: tuebingen.de/antrag aufenthaltstitel.html
- Appointment booking
- Online from tuebingen.de/dienststellen (all checked 2026-11-05)
All page checks: 2026-11-04.
Note: Who handles foreigners' matters depends on where you live. Big cities and Stadtkreise usually have their own Ausländerbehörde. In smaller towns it may be the Landratsamt. To find yours, use service-bw.de or servicesuche.bund.de with your town.
2) Ausländerbehörde
- Who is responsible: your local (lower) Ausländerbehörde, as listed in the table above or found through service-bw.de/zufi (checked 2026-11-04).
- Central office for skilled workers: Since 1 April 2025, BW has the Landesagentur für die Zuwanderung von Fachkräften (LZF). At the Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe it is Referat 89.1, "Zentrale Ausländerbehörde für das beschleunigte Fachkräfteverfahren". It handles the fast-track procedure statewide:
- Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe: economic and social professions
- Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart: health and care professions
Sources: rpk.baden-wuerttemberg.de › referat-891-landesagentur-f… and baden-wuerttemberg.de › landesagentur-fuer-die-zuwa… (both checked 2026-11-04)
- Who applies: the employer, with a power of attorney (Vollmacht) from the skilled worker, while the worker is still in a non-EU country. Source: baden-wuerttemberg.de › landesagentur-fuer-die-zuwa… (checked 2026-11-04)
- Local offices still handle it too: the lower Ausländerbehörden also remain responsible for the fast-track procedure, so employers can choose. Same source (checked 2026-11-04).
- Online application: made on the LZF website: landesagentur-zuwanderung-bw.de/beschleunigtes-fachkraefteverfahren (checked 2026-11-04). This is the LZF's official site, and the state press release links to it.
- Fee: €411 for the procedure, according to the LZF. This does not include recognition fees or visa fees. Source: landesagentur-zuwanderung-bw.de/beschleunigtes-fachkraefteverfahren (checked 2026-11-04)
- Appointment and online options at local Ausländerbehörden: these differ by city. See the city pages in the table.
3) Official portals & finders
- service-bw (state service portal and office finder): service-bw.de/zufi (checked 2026-11-04)
- Federal and state Service Search: servicesuche.bund.de (checked 2026-11-04)
- State of Baden-Württemberg: baden-wuerttemberg.de (checked 2026-11-04)
- Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe, Abteilung 8: rpk.baden-wuerttemberg.de/abt8 (checked 2026-11-04)
- LZF: landesagentur-zuwanderung-bw.de (checked 2026-11-04)
- City portals (all checked 2026-11-04): stuttgart.de, karlsruhe.de, mannheim.de, freiburg.de, heidelberg.de, ulm.de (blocked automated checks), heilbronn.de, pforzheim.de, reutlingen.de, tuebingen.de
4) Known differences vs nationwide guides
- BW office finder: service-bw.de is the state's own office finder, in addition to the federal Service Search. Source: service-bw.de/zufi (checked 2026-11-04)
- Statewide fast-track office: the LZF is a central Ausländerbehörde for the beschleunigtes Fachkräfteverfahren. It is split by profession between the RP Karlsruhe and RP Stuttgart, and local offices remain an option. Its fee is €411. Sources: see section 2 (checked 2026-11-04)
- Booking differs by city: there is no single statewide booking system. Each city links its own booking page (see the table).
- Online Anmeldung: check your address on wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de.
General information summarised from official sources. Check with the responsible office before you act.
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