After your arrival in Berlin

Once you have entered Germany and received a national visa (Type D), you must generally register your residence at a local registration office in your city within 14 days. At the BIH, we offer a mobile registration office so that you can take care of administrative matters, such as your registration, directly at your workplace. The Welcome Service will be pleased to assist you in scheduling an appointment. Please contact us if you need assistance. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation of registration, which you should keep in a safe place. 

Alternatively, you can also register in Berlin online on your own: https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/120686/

If you change your address later, you must also report your new address to the Residents' Registration Office (change of address).

As soon as you have registered your residence, two important identification numbers will be automatically assigned to you: the Social Security Number and the Tax Identification Number. 

The Social Security number is issued by the German Pension Insurance (DRV), and the Tax Identification Number by the Federal Central Tax Office. Please keep the corresponding letters you receive by mail in a safe place, as this information is required for your payroll.

People who are employed in Germany and subject to social security contributions (in a regular employment relationship) are generally members of a statutory health insurance scheme. The contributions are automatically deducted from the gross salary and are shared equally between the employee and the employer.

As a future employee, you must choose a statutory health insurance provider and register with it. It is helpful to inform yourself about the different health insurance providers in advance. After successful registration, you will receive your electronic health card by post. https://www.krankenkassen.de/gesetzliche-krankenkassen/krankenkassen-liste/

Please open a German bank account and provide us with your IBAN in the personnel questionnaire that you will receive from the HR team. To open a bank account in Germany, you will generally need a copy of your employment contract, your registration certificate (proof of residence), and your visa.

As part of your employment at Charité, you will be required to apply for an extended certificate of good conduct (erweitertes Führungszeugnis) at the citizens’ office (Bürgeramt). This is only possible after you have registered your residence in Berlin. For this purpose, we will provide you with an application template as well as an employer’s certificate confirming that an extended certificate of good conduct is required.

Please attach a copy of your passport and proof of payment of the applicable fees to your application and send it to the nearest citizen’s office (Bürgeramt) per post.

All information regarding the application process and the fee payment can be found at: https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/120926/

Employees in the public sector receive, in addition to the statutory pension, a supplementary pension through the VBL (Federal and State Pension Institution – Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder). This additional provision is intended to help maintain your standard of living in retirement. As a rule, employees are mandatorily insured with the VBL under the VBLklassik scheme. Registration is carried out automatically by the employer.

If you are employed as a researcher and do not plan to remain in Germany until reaching the statutory retirement age, you may, under certain conditions, apply for an exemption from the mandatory insurance (VBLklassik) and instead participate in the voluntary VBLextra scheme. In this case, your supplementary pension will be built up through VBLextra.

This decision can be made at the beginning of your employment and is generally possible within a period of five years after starting your employment. You can indicate your preference in the personnel questionnaire.

A detailed explanation is available in German and English at: https://www.vbl.de/de/vblerkl%C3%A4rfilme

To ensure you have a pleasant start on BIH@Charité, the so-called Welcome Days will take place at Charité and BIH@Charité as part of the onboarding process. On the first day, you will receive an overview of the overall structure of Charité, as well as extensive information about Charité as an employer and its various centers.

You will gain a more detailed insight into the structure of the BIH department during the BIH@Charité welcome meeting. The appointment will be sent to you via email by the HR team. If you wish and have the time, we can conclude the welcome meeting with a joint lunch.

In addition, the Welcome Service team will provide you with useful information to support a successful onboarding experience

If your residence permit needs to be extended, the HR team will support you throughout the entire process. You will receive guidance on the required documents, assistance with communication with the relevant authorities if needed, and support in scheduling appointments. Please contact the HR team at an early stage to allow sufficient time for preparation and submission, ensuring a seamless extension of your residence permit.

The process has been simplified: before submitting your application, you will receive the necessary documents from your employer, enabling you to submit the application independently online to the State Office for Immigration (Landesamt für Einwanderung). After you have submitted the application in full, please inform us immediately of your application number so that we can arrange the appointment with the authority. You will then receive an appointment confirmation from the HR team and be invited to appear in person at the authority to complete the application process.

If you come to the BIH with children, we will be happy to support you in your search for a daycare or school place. Please contact us as early as possible so that we can get a place at the desired time. 

There are countless providers of daycare places in Berlin. There are daycare places for children from 8 weeks to the start of school at the age of six. We will be happy to help you find a suitable place and support you with all formalities. Please contact us in time. 

School begins in Germany at the age of six. First, children in Berlin attend primary school for 6 years and then move on to a secondary school. There are different types of schools here. An overview can be found here in several languages https://www.berlin.de/sen/bildung/schule/bildungswege/berliner-schulsystem/#:~:text=Die%20Berliner%20Schule%20ist%20mehrstufig%20aufgebaut.%20In%20den,Die%20Schulanfangsphase%20dauert%20in%20der%20Regel%20zwei%20Jahre. 

There are also international schools and bilingual schools in Berlin. If you are interested, we will be happy to support you in your search for a suitable school place. 

Child benefit (Kindergeld) is a state benefit for the financial support of families and is usually paid until the age of 18, in the case of training or studies until the age of 25, if voluntary service is done and the child lives in the same household and the residence is in Germany. Children with disabilities also over 25 if the disability existed before the age of 25 and the child cannot support himself. 

In general, anyone who is legally living in Germany can claim the child benefit, so long as you are not receiving any similar benefit in your home country or anywhere else. If you are a non-EU citizen, you must have a valid residence permit or permanent residence to claim the benefit. 

Child benefit can only be claimed by one parent, so married couples will need to decide who receives it. If you and your partner are separated, the parent who has primary custody should claim the child benefit.

Those entitled to the benefit are the people with whom the child lives on a permanent basis. These are usually the parents (biological or adoptive), step-parents or foster parents, but grandparents, carers and guardians may also apply for the benefit. Amount of child benefit: 259 €/month

Here you will find information and applications (multilingual)

https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/familie-und-kinder/downloads-familie-und-kinder/formulare-kindergeld#Forms-for-Child-Benefit

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the welcome service.

We want to make it easy for you to live and work in Berlin and will offer German courses for beginners for our employees regulalry. If you are interested, please contact us. 

For all those who would like to expand and deepen their language skills in conversation with colleagues, we organize language tandems at the BIH. In the language tandem, two people meet who each want to learn the language of the other person. They take turns speaking in both languages, so that both can benefit. It's about supporting each other, correcting mistakes and exchanging ideas on different topics. Not only will you improve your language skills, but you will also learn a lot about the other person's culture. If you are looking for a tandem partner, we will be happy to support you in finding the right person.

There is a well-developed public transport network in Berlin. You can use the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram as well as ferries and buses to get from A to B. Transportation is operated by a variety of providers whose sites and apps allow you to find travel information, view connections, and purchase tickets. 

https://www.vbb.de/

https://sbahn.berlin/

https://www.bvg.de/de

On the website of the Berlin Medical Association https://gesund.bund.de/suchen/aerztinnen-und-aerzte  you will find information about medical practices, here you can choose different languages. 

Information about  emergency practices (for acute illnesses outside the regular opening hours of medical practices) you can find here. https://www.116117.de/de/englisch.php#content1292

You can make appointments at the following online portals and choose your preferred language in the search: 

https://www.doctena.de/de/

https://www.doctolib.de/

https://www.jameda.de/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

JobRad is a bicycle leasing model offered by JobRad GmbH. It works similarly to the well-known company car leasing model — except with bicycles and e-bikes instead of cars. Employees of Charité may have the opportunity to lease their preferred bike through their employer and benefit from financial advantages.

Charité leases the JobRad on your behalf. You can use it flexibly—for commuting to work, in everyday life, during your free time, or even on vacation. The monthly leasing payments are automatically deducted from your salary. You can calculate your individual savings potential using the following link https://portal.jobrad.org/charite/kFWTsMAeha?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=none

You can find more information as well as the requirements for the JobRad program at: intranet.charite.de/infrastrukturundnachhaltigkeitsmanagement/service/fahrrad/dienstrad_leasing/

As a citizen of an EU member state, you can drive in Germany with your driver's license. If you have a driver's license from a non-EU country, you are allowed to drive with it 6 months after registering your residence in Germany, after which you will need a conversion to a German driver's license. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.hand bookgermany.de/de/driving-licence.

To make it easier for you to get started in Berlin and at BIH@Charité, we started a buddy network. Colleagues are here to help and advise you. 

Our BIH Buddy Network offers new and established international employees the opportunity to network and make their first months in Berlin and at BIH at Charité easier. Experienced colleagues (mentors) accompany new international colleagues (mentees) over a fixed period of time. The program is based on trust, openness and mutual respect. As a mentee, you will receive support from experienced colleagues who will provide you with tips on working and living in Berlin. As a mentor, you will pass on your knowledge, get to know new employees and make international contacts. If you are interested in participating in the International Staff Mentoring, please contact us.

Charité employees can take advantage of exclusive and discounted employee offers from well-known manufacturers and brands as soon as they start work. This is made possible by Charité's new collaboration with Corporate Benefits, the market leader for employee offer programs. Charité  employees can register free of charge with their Charité e-mail address during their free time and benefit from an extensive program of discounts.

Charité employees can use this page to register for the health and fitness platform Wellhub  at the start of their shift. After signing up, you will have access to a wide range of sports, fitness and wellbeing services, such as gyms, courses and digital programmes for exercise, relaxation and health. The platform allows you to choose a suitable membership model and use offers flexibly according to your personal needs.