Leaving Germany: the complete exit checklist

Start with the Abmeldung

The master step that enables everything else: deregister your address (Abmeldung).

• Do it at the Bürgeramt (in person or, increasingly, online) around your departure - typically within the week before/after moving out.
• It's free, and you receive an Abmeldebescheinigung (deregistration certificate) - keep it, as it's the proof many providers require to cancel contracts and stop the Rundfunkbeitrag.
• Only Abmelden when you're leaving Germany (not just moving within it - that's a re-registration instead).

Without the Abmeldung, you stay on the books for taxes, the broadcasting fee, and more - so this is step one.

Cancel every contract (use your Sonderkündigungsrecht)

Moving abroad triggers special termination rights (Sonderkündigungsrecht) on many contracts - you don't have to wait out full notice periods. Work through them (How to cancel any contract in Germany (r/germany's eternal question)):

• Rent: the standard 3-month notice usually applies; give written notice early, and arrange the handover.
• Phone and internet: a move abroad where the service can't follow gives a special termination right - cancel with proof of the Abmeldung.
• Electricity and gas: cancel with your move-out date and a final meter reading.
• Gym, subscriptions, memberships: use the Kündigungsbutton or written notice; a move abroad often shortens the notice.
• Insurance (liability, contents, health): cancel to your departure, with proof of leaving.
• Rundfunkbeitrag: deregister the broadcasting fee using your Abmeldung at rundfunkbeitrag.de (Rundfunkbeitrag) - it doesn't stop automatically.

Send important cancellations by registered post (Einschreiben) and keep every confirmation.

The pension refund (non-EU leavers)

Don't leave your pension contributions behind without checking:

• If you're a non-EU citizen leaving Germany (and the EU) for good, you can often refund your own pension contributions after a 24-month waiting period - potentially thousands of euros (the Deutsche Rentenversicherung handles it).
• EU citizens and those from agreement countries usually keep the entitlement instead (paid later, or coordinated with their home system).
• The full eligibility, amounts, and process are in The German pension refund - sort this, as many leavers simply abandon the money.

Final tax return and the Finanzamt

• File a final tax return for your last (partial) year - leaving mid-year often means you've overpaid, so it frequently produces a refund (The German tax return).
• You can usually file after you've left; keep access to your ELSTER account and a forwarding address.
• Settle anything owed so nothing lingers with the Finanzamt.

Get your deposit back

• The rental deposit (Kaution) is returned after a proper handover (Wohnungsübergabe) with a signed protocol and final meter readings.
• Landlords may hold part for up to ~6 months pending the annual utility settlement (Nebenkostenabrechnung) - so give a forwarding address and bank details for the balance.
• Leave the flat clean and as agreed to avoid deductions.

Your car, and other loose ends

• Car: deregister the vehicle (Kfz-Abmeldung) at the registration office, and sell or export it; cancel car insurance.
• Utilities: photograph final meter readings on move-out day.
• Mail: set up a Nachsendeauftrag (mail forwarding) with Deutsche Post - it forwards internationally for a fee, catching stray official letters.

Close the bank account - last

A crucial sequencing point: keep your German bank account open until the end.

• Final salary, tax refund, deposit return, and utility settlements all need somewhere to land, and direct debits for closing bills still run.
• Close it only once everything has cleared - often a few months after you leave (Opening a German bank account as an expat).
• Closing too early strands refunds and bounces final payments.

Don't just stop paying

The cardinal rule: cancel properly, never ghost. Simply stopping payments or leaving without deregistering means:

• Contracts keep running and rack up debt, which goes to collection and leaves Schufa marks that can haunt any future return to Germany or the EU.
• The Rundfunkbeitrag and taxes keep accruing.

A clean exit protects your record and your money - and keeps the door open if you ever come back.

The leaving-Germany checklist

1. Abmeldung at the Bürgeramt - get the certificate.
2. Cancel all contracts (rent, phone, internet, utilities, gym, insurance, Rundfunk) with your Sonderkündigungsrecht.
3. Claim your pension refund if non-EU (The German pension refund).
4. File your final tax return (The German tax return).
5. Hand over the flat and arrange the deposit return to a forwarding account.
6. Deregister your car and set up mail forwarding.
7. Keep the bank account open until all payments clear, then close it.

Frequently asked questions