Berlin

This is general information from official Berlin and federal sources, checked 2026-11-04. Rules and online services change. For your own case, ask the responsible office or a qualified adviser.

This page only covers how Berlin does things. For the nationwide rules see the Anmeldung guide and the visa guides.

1) Registering your address (Meldebehörde)

• Which office: In Berlin the Meldebehörde is the Bürgeramt. You can register at any Berlin Bürgeramt, not just one in your district. (service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/120686, checked 2026-11-04)
• Finding a location: The official list of Bürgerämter is sorted by the 12 district offices (Bezirksämter). Some sites are listed separately as "Vorzugstermine", "Terminfreies Angebot" (Lichtenberg), "Abholung von Dokumenten" or "Mobiles Bürgeramt". (service.berlin.de/standorte/buergeraemter, checked 2026-11-04)
• Phone: All Bürgerämter list the citizens' line (030) 115, Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00. (source: 120686 page above, checked 2026-11-04)
• Refugees: The Flüchtlingsbürgeramt Mitte (Rathaus Tiergarten, Mathilde-Jacob-Platz 1) handles registration for all of Berlin for refugees from Ukraine, asylum seekers and people with a Duldung or Grenzübertrittsbescheinigung. (source: 120686 page, checked 2026-11-04)
• Registering in person: You need an appointment ("Terminvereinbarung"). Bring the completed registration form, your passport (plus eAT if you have one) and the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (landlord's confirmation). A rental contract does not replace the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. If this is your first registration in Berlin, bring civil-status documents such as birth or marriage certificates. Someone else can register for you with written authorisation and the form, signed by you. You get the Meldebestätigung straight away, and your eAT address is updated on the spot. Fee: none. (source: 120686 page, checked 2026-11-04)
• Registering online: Online registration is only for adults who are German or EU citizens, use a BundID account and have an eID card (Personalausweis or Unionsbürgerkarte) with the online ID function activated. You cannot register online with an eAT. Most non-EU newcomers therefore have to go in person. (source: 120686 page, checked 2026-11-04)
• Booking an appointment: service.berlin.de/terminvereinbarung. The LEA homepage links to it. (berlin.de/einwanderung, checked 2026-11-04). For many LEA services you don't book a slot yourself: you apply online, and the office then assigns you an appointment. If there's no online application for your service, use the office's contact form. (berlin.de/einwanderung/termine/termin-vereinbaren, checked 2026-11-05)

2) Ausländerbehörde: Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA)

• Postal address (all locations): Landesamt für Einwanderung, Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin. (berlin.de/einwanderung, checked 2026-11-04)
• No more open online booking: The LEA permanently shut down its old online appointment system (OTV). Its reason: online providers were harvesting the slots and reselling them. Appointments now come about in one of two ways:
• Online application: The responsible unit (Referat) checks your documents and then gives you an appointment. Examples are employment or training permits, permanent permits and Verpflichtungserklärungen.
• Contact form: If your service has no online application yet, use the responsible Referat's contact form.

(berlin.de/einwanderung/termine/termin-vereinbaren, checked 2026-11-04)

• New rules for appointments: New information has applied to appointments since 14.07.2025. (berlin.de/einwanderung, checked 2026-11-04)
• Emergencies: Use the Referat's contact form with the subject "Eiliger Termin/Notfall" only if you can prove one of these:
• travel within the next 4 weeks (ticket),
• your employer confirms you will lose your job without a valid document,
• the Jobcenter or Sozialamt confirms your benefits will stop.

If you have no valid passport, need a travel document, or have lost your permit, the LEA says it cannot offer fast help. (termin-vereinbaren page, checked 2026-11-04)

• Timing (LEA guidance): Permits can usually be extended no earlier than 8 weeks before they expire. The appointment should ideally be 4–6 weeks before expiry. Some Referate have no free slots for months. If your permit was still valid on the day the appointment was arranged, the LEA treats it as continuing in Germany until that appointment. (termin-vereinbaren page, checked 2026-11-04)
• Online applications: The LEA keeps a list of services with online applications. It includes, among others: Blue Card, Chancenkarte, study, skilled workers (academic and vocational), freelance and self-employment, language course, au pair, family reunification and extensions of humanitarian permits. (Online-Anträge list, checked 2026-11-04). Launch dates: employment permits 02.04.2025, humanitarian extensions 26.08.2025, family reasons 23.03.2026, and people with a Duldung or Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht who are integrated 22.06.2026. (berlin.de/einwanderung, checked 2026-11-04)
• Some LEA services at the Bürgeramt: For some LEA services you can book an appointment at any Berlin Bürgeramt. The LEA links to a list of these. (termin-vereinbaren page, checked 2026-11-04). The list: Dienstleistungen mit Terminbuchung bei den Bürgerämtern (checked 2026-11-05).
• Business Immigration Service (BIS): The BIS is a service for companies that employ foreign staff living in Berlin, run together with IHK Berlin and Berlin Partner. It offers:
• first advice on residence questions,
• issuing and extending work permits (Aufenthaltserlaubnis, Blue Card) and permits for family members,
• ICT cards (at the LEA these are issued only by the BIS),
• the accelerated skilled-worker procedure (for employers with a site in Berlin),
• bulk applications.

Companies, or service providers and lawyers they authorise, must first register with the BIS online. Registration is free. Applications come after that. A BIS guide (Leitfaden) and checklist are available as PDFs. (berlin.de/einwanderung/service/business-immigration-service, checked 2026-11-04). The BIS online forms page has the customer registration, online applications for registered customers, the accelerated skilled-worker procedure and a form for general questions (checked 2026-11-05).

• Fees: LEA fees follow federal law (§§ 45–47 AufenthV). See the guide to extending or changing a permit. No separate Berlin fee schedule is listed here.

3) Official portals & finders

All links checked 2026-11-04 unless marked otherwise.

4) Known differences vs nationwide guides

• Any Bürgeramt: In Berlin you can register at any Bürgeramt in the city, not only in your district. (120686, checked 2026-11-04)
• Online registration not open to eAT holders: Berlin's online registration only accepts German or EU eID cards, so non-EU newcomers usually register in person. (120686, checked 2026-11-04)
• Civil-status documents: For a first registration in Berlin you may be asked for birth or marriage certificates. (120686, checked 2026-11-04)
• No free online booking at the LEA: Instead you file an online application or use the contact form, and the Referat gives you an appointment. (termin-vereinbaren, checked 2026-11-04)
• Appointment counts as continuing your permit: If you arrange an appointment while your permit is still valid, the LEA treats the permit as continuing until that appointment. This is an LEA administrative practice. It is separate from the legal Fiktion under § 81(4) AufenthG, which depends on filing the application. Do not treat the two as the same. (termin-vereinbaren, checked 2026-11-04)
• BIS route for employers: Berlin employers have a dedicated Business Immigration Service, and the LEA issues ICT cards only through it. (BIS page, checked 2026-11-04)
• Registration fee: none (120686, checked 2026-11-04).

Sources (all checked 2026-11-04)

• service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/120686
• service.berlin.de/standorte/buergeraemter
• berlin.de/einwanderung
• berlin.de › termin-vereinbaren
• berlin.de › artikel.873508
• berlin.de › business-immigration-service