MIGRATION & CERTIFICATES
Moving to Germany from Italy: no visa, no permit — the first-week checklist that actually matters
The Italy-to-Germany road in 2026: no visa or permit for EU citizens, the Anmeldung, the tax ID, health insurance, AIRE — and the German you actually need.
VON GERMANIUM
Editorial desk — sourced to the Federal Ministry of the Interior's EU-freedom-of-movement pages, the Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz), Destatis and the Italian consular network in Germany
Start with the fact that reshapes everything: as an Italian citizen you will never apply for a German visa, a work permit, a Blue Card or a residence permit — not before the move, not after it, not ever. EU freedom of movement is a right, not a process: no visa to enter, no residence title to stay, and the old registration certificate (Freizügigkeitsbescheinigung) was abolished years ago. 629,405 Italian citizens already lived in Germany on 31 December 2025 (Destatis, the Central Register of Foreigners) — the third-largest EU group after Romania and Poland — and not one of them holds a German residence permit. The border is not the problem. The German language is, and this page maps both honestly.
The rumor to kill first: "EU citizens will need permits now"
Every few years the Italian-language web resurfaces the claim that Germany is about to require registration certificates or residence permits for EU citizens. Checked against the Federal Ministry of the Interior's own pages (bmi.bund.de ↗) as of 30 September 2026: no such change exists. The law is the Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU, whose last substantive alignment with the EU directive dates to 2020; Union citizens, in the Ministry's own words, 'do not need to complete any special formalities' beyond what every German resident does. The Freedom of Movement Act's own text states it in §1: no visa to enter, no residence title to stay. Any page selling Italians a 'German permit procedure' in 2026 is selling something that does not exist.
What you actually do: the first-week checklist
| Step | What it is | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anmeldung | Address registration at the local Bürgeramt (registry office) | Legally required within two weeks of moving in (Federal Registration Act §17) — book the appointment early in big cities; you need the landlord's confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) |
| 2. Steuer-ID | The 11-digit tax identification number | Arrives by post, roughly 2–4 weeks after Anmeldung, from the Federal Central Tax Office — the employer needs it for your first payslip; you can request it in person at the Finanzamt sooner if the post is slow |
| 3. Krankenversicherung | Health insurance — mandatory for every resident from day one, employed or not | Employees are enrolled in a public Krankenkasse by default (the employer registers you); the choice of Kasse is yours — do it deliberately, not by default |
| 4. Bank account | A German current account for salary and bills | Possible the week you arrive; the Anmeldung certificate usually unlocks it |
| 5. AIRE | Consular registration with the Italian state | Required when the residence abroad exceeds 12 months; the declaration goes to the competent consulate within 90 days, online via the Fast It portal — free, and it keeps your Italian civic life working (voting, documents) |
Working: the contract, the payslip, the language
An Italian ID card is enough to sign an employment contract. What the contract then meets is the German system: the Steuerklasse tax class on your first payslip, social-security enrollment that the employer runs but you should understand, and — the part agency pages skip — the German that decides which jobs are open at all. The federal minimum wage is €13.90/hour from 1 January 2026 (rising to €14.60 in 2027); hotel-and-catering, logistics and retail hire at A2–B1 German. Healthcare hires at B2. Teaching requires C1. The ladder is not the border; it is the career. Every rung of it has an exam, and the exam is what this site rehearses you for.
One Italy-side formality worth doing right: if you keep formal ties to Italy — and almost everyone does at first — the AIRE registration through Fast It ↗ keeps your Italian commune's records straight and your consular services functional. Skip it and the problems surface years later, at passport renewals or civil-registry transactions, when they are expensive to fix.
What German do you need — honestly
| Situation | German level | The reality |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival paperwork (Bürgeramt, Kasse) | A1–A2 spoken, or English in big cities | Forms are German everywhere; apps and expat services paper over it at a price |
| Hospitality, logistics, warehouse work | A2–B1 | The no-German job market is real but narrow and low-paid |
| Skilled non-regulated work (IT, engineering) | B1+ German or English in the workplace | The job interview in German is where B1 stops being optional |
| Nursing, healthcare | B2 (plus the specialist-language exam for the licence) | The certificate is checked before the contract — the recognition article maps it |
| Teaching | C1 | Education is run by the Länder; C1 is the common floor |
| Citizenship, one day | B1 certificate + the naturalisation test | The end of the funnel — see the Italy hub as it grows |
The efficient move is the one this track exists on: start German before the move, in Italy, where the Goethe-Institut runs exams from A1 to C2 in Milan and Rome plus partner centres, with the 2026 calendars already published. The A1 kit is the first rung; the B1 kit is the one that changes your career options — and the 77-day plan is how you earn it before the Bürgeramt appointment, not after the first payslip you cannot read.
Serve un visto o un permesso di soggiorno per trasferirsi in Germania?
No — nessuno dei due. In quanto cittadino UE, la libera circolazione è un diritto: non serve un visto per entrare né un titolo di soggiorno per restare (FreizügG/EU, confermato dal Ministero dell'Interno federale a settembre 2026). L'unica formalità obbligatoria che condivide con ogni residente è l'Anmeldung — la registrazione dell'indirizzo entro due settimane dal trasloco.
Quanto tempo ho per fare l'Anmeldung?
Due settimane dal trasferimento, per legge (Bundesmeldegesetz §17). Serve la conferma del proprietario dell'alloggio (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) e un appuntamento al Bürgeramt — nelle grandi città prenotatelo prima di averne bisogno. Dal certificato di Anmeldung dipendono conto in banca, assicurazione sanitaria e il numero fiscale tedesco.
Cos'è lo Steuer-ID e quando arriva?
È il numero di identificazione fiscale tedesco, 11 cifre. Arriva per posta dal Bundeszentralamt für Steuern circa 2–4 settimane dopo l'Anmeldung; il datore di lavoro lo richiede per il primo cedolino. Se la posta è lenta, il Finanzamt locale può comunicarlo di persona — il numero esiste già, non va richiesto 'di nuovo'.
Devo iscrivermi all'AIRE?
Sì, se la residenza all'estero supera i 12 mesi: la dichiarazione va resa al consolato competente entro 90 giorni, online tramite il portale Fast It. È gratuita e mantiene funzionanti i servizi consolari e i legami con il comune italiano. Saltarla crea problemi anni dopo, quando costano cari.
Posso lavorare in Germania senza parlare tedesco?
Per un lavoro qualsiasi no — per un lavoro che voglia dire una carriera, la risposta dipende dal settore: logistica e ristorazione assumono a A2–B1, l'IT spesso lavora in inglese, la sanità richiede B2 certificato, la scuola C1. Il tedesco non serve per attraversare il confine; serve per ogni scalino sopra il primo.