Move to Germany
from the UK

With a thriving economy, lower costs of living than the UK, and most importantly a fantastic lifestyle in a country with buzzing cosmopolitan cities, divine natural landscapes, intelligent, friendly locals, and - of course - plenty of beer, Germany is a destination with plenty to please British expats.

It has a healthcare system ranked 3rd globally, and since June 2024, full dual citizenship rights that let you hold both passports without surrendering either.

Roughly 180,000 British citizens have taken the plunge to live in Germany, and over 50,000 have taken German citizenship since the Brexit referendum.

You probably don’t need us to tell you this but Germany is NOT a country that does things your way.

You'll encounter bureaucracy that makes the DVLA look streamlined, a cash-obsessed economy, and a social culture that is famously tough to crack. Making friends in Germany is not easy.

But that’s part of the charm here… Germany rewards those who commit.

(While punishing those who wing it.)

Brexit had a profound effect on the Brit-German relationship. A recent StepStone survey found Germany was the first-choice EU destination for the 44% of skilled British workers considering a move abroad.

Over 1,000 businesses have relocated from the UK to Germany since 2016. Many seeking closer links to the wider EU market.

Economically speaking, the draw is fairly obvious.

This is Europe's largest economy, with unemployment at 3.1%, and a cost of living roughly 6.7% lower than the UK with rents averaging 31% cheaper.

Adjusting culturally is the biggest challenge.

Daily life runs on rules, structure, and relentless planning. Shops close on Sundays - pretty much all of them. Quiet hours are enforced with Germanic precision: your neighbour will knock on your door at 10:01pm. You'll separate your recycling into roughly seven categories. There’s appointments for bloody everything, from the GP to a casual dinner with friends, it all requires advance booking measured in weeks!

If you think this is overly pedantic, there’s a good reason for why Germany operates like this… it works!

Without doubt, expats who learn German, join a Verein (club), and accept that friendship here is a slow-burn investment report far higher satisfaction than those who stick exclusively to the English-speaking bubble.

You can’t get by in Germany treating it like the Costa Del Sol.

Germany’s health system has a lot going for it - to the point where many expats who use it end up questioning the inherent appeal of the NHS back home.

What if there could be something… better?!

Germany's system is ranked 3rd globally by the FREOPP World Index of Healthcare Innovation (behind only Ireland Switzerland).

The main takeaway is that healthcare in Germany is insurance-based, not tax-funded.

You will see deductions from your salary. You will pay co-pays. But you will also get same-day GP appointments, wide choice of specialists, and hospital treatment in a country with nearly twice the OECD average of hospital beds per capita.

After years of NHS waiting lists, many British expats describe German healthcare as “a revelation”.

We think that’s an understatement…

Public health insurance (GKV)

The GKV covers around 90% of residents and it is mandatory for employees earning below €77,400/year (based on the 2026 threshold).

The contribution rate is 14.6% of gross salary plus an insurer-specific surcharge averaging 2.5-3%, and this is split equally between you and your employer.

Your total employee share works out to roughly 8.5% of gross salary.. which is visible on your payslip in a way that NHS funding via general taxation never is.

Whatever you think about the system, it is much more transparent in that sense.

Coverage is comprehensive across the board: GP and specialist visits (no co-payment for consultations), hospital treatment, prescription medications (€5-10 co-pay per item, capped at 2% of annual income). plus maternity care, mental health care , and many preventive check-ups.

Families also benefit, since non-earning spouses and children are covered at zero additional cost through the Familienversicherung program.

This alone makes GKV much cheaper than private insurance for families.

Major English-friendly insurers you might want to explore include TK (Germany's largest, popular with expats) and Barmer.

Private health insurance

If you are not able to benefit from state health insurance you will need to take out a private healthcare plan, the costs for which will be dependent on your age, general health, and other factors.

This is available to employees earning above the threshold, freelancers, and the self-employed.

Monthly premiums range from £170-340 for healthy 25–30 year olds to £510-765+ for those aged 50–60.

The main advantages come in the form of faster specialist access, private hospital rooms, and a much broader dental coverage.

Keep in mind, though, that premiums rise with age, and switching back to GKV is nearly impossible after 55. Every family member needs a separate policy if you take this path.

While young, single, healthy high-earners can save money with PKV - it's effectively a lifelong commitment.

Health insurance is legally mandatory for residents in Germany. Proof of health insurance is required for residence-permit applications.

Mental health and emergencies

For mental health services, GKV covers psychotherapy fully but wait times for a therapist are a bit less impressive here, averaging 3-6 months.

English-speaking therapists are tough to find outside Berlin and Munich.

Emergency number is 112 (EU-wide), with 116 117 for non-emergency out-of-hours care.

Germany is an excellent place to raise children - safe, outdoorsy, with strong public infrastructure and an ever-present club culture that puts some of our own British extracurricular offerings to shame.

The question is whether to go international or state, and the answer depends almost entirely on your child's age at arrival.

The standard of education in German state schools is generally high, albeit with some rumbles of recent discontent, but lessons are taught in German… which can be a problem for some expat families.

If you are living in Germany with your children, it is compulsory to enrol them in school, as home schooling is illegal.

International schools with British curriculum

There are many excellent international schools if you want to stick with a British curriculum.

These include:

• Berlin British School - ages 3–18, English National Curriculum to IGCSE and IB. Early Years fees are €13,400-€16,300, and school tuition is €16,950-€19,800, with a €2,750 registration fee for the monolingual/Ergänzungsschule stream.
• St George's British International School - has campuses in Cologne (with boarding - unique in Germany), Düsseldorf/Duisburg, and Munich. English National Curriculum to IGCSE and IB.
• Frankfurt International School - ages 3–18, full IB programme. Premium tier. Tuition ranges from €11,590 to €31,365 depending on programme/year, with a €1,500 new-student registration fee and a €6,600 capital assessment fee for eligible new students.
• Munich International School - ages 3–18, IB programme, 1,800+ students from 60+ nationalities. Seen as one of Germany's top IB schools.

Registration fees typically add £400-£1,800 on top to the overall cost, with learning support or EAL costing an extra £1,740-£5,200/year where required - this is all based on the latest pricing we found (25/26).

Check each school for the latest pricing and fee sheets.

State schools - free but German-only

German state schools are free for all residents and legally compulsory.

The thing to note here is that all instruction is in German.

While many cities offer Willkommensklassen (welcome classes) for non-German speakers, the transition is considerably harder for older kids, and is something that families must keep in mind.

German secondary schools stream early into Gymnasium (academic), Realschule (intermediate), and Hauptschule (vocational), and arriving without the language puts your child at an immediate disadvantage.

For secondary-age children, an international school for at least the first two years is strongly recommended. We think it’s best to assume you would need an international school for the entire school journey - unless your child is sufficiently young enough to learn German fast during the early years.

Childcare (Kita)

Germany guarantees a legal right to childcare from age one, but in practice there is a severe shortage of Kita places… and that is especially the case in the cities that Brit expats love.

The costs vary by state and are often income-linked, ranging from £130-350/month.

Berlin has made Kita essentially free. Nearly all operate in German - yes, bilingual options exist in major cities but they nearly all have punishing waitlists.

Register the moment you know you're moving, ideally before arrival, and be prepared for an extended wait.

How do kids adapt?

As with pretty much every country we cover, it’s the younger kids who have an easier time adapting to life in Germany.

Children under 5 adapt will likely become more comfortable in German within a year. Primary-age children do well with parental support and a willingness to read in English at home.

Teenagers find it hardest - academically, socially (even harder for Brit teenagers to mix), and in terms of overall identity outside of the expat circles.

If there’s a bright spot, it’s that the Verein (club) system is Germany's secret weapon for integration: over 90,000 sports clubs offer everything from football to fencing for annual fees as low as £45-175.

German playgrounds are excellent, outdoor culture is embedded, and the level of everyday safety is generally seen as higher than in most UK cities.

Your main challenge won't be keeping your children safe or entertained… it's keeping their English at native level once German takes over!

What else do you need to consider before jumping ahead with a move to Germany?

We need to re-emphasise that this is a country that runs like clockwork.

Everything is well organised, public transport is efficient, and the streets are clean as a whistle. Germans also highly value a healthy work-life balance, with most people working a 35 hour week and having more days paid holiday than in the UK.

This together with good rates of pay, healthy outdoor activities, and an emphasis on friends, family and downtime provides expats living in Germany with a high quality of life.

Getting around

German public transport is comprehensive, reliable, and outrageously cheap by British standards. The Deutschlandticket (€63/month) is one of Europe's best transport deals - you can use it for unlimited travel on all regional trains, buses, trams, U-Bahns, and S-Bahns nationwide.

It doesn't cover ICE or IC long-distance trains, but it covers pretty much everything else. Roughly 14 million Germans currently subscribe. And you should too if you come here.

Driving is on the right-hand side - the opposite of the UK, and the adjustment takes a few weeks of intense concentration, particularly at junctions.

Your UK driving licence is valid for the first six months of living here, after which you will need to exchange it for a German licence at the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde.

The legendary Autobahn does indeed have sections with no speed limit (roughly 30% of the network!)… though the advisory speed is 130 km/h and speed cameras are prolific elsewhere.

Make sure you’re actually on the Autobahn before you put your foot down…

Phone, internet, and banking

Mobile plans cost more than the UK - expect around £15–25/month for a decent data SIM package (O2 and Congstar offer OK value when we last checked). Home broadband is around £26-44/month for 50–250 Mbit/s.

Surprisingly, Germany's fibre rollout still lags behind the UK's.

For banking, open an N26 account before or immediately upon arrival - it's app-based, in English, requires no Anmeldung (registration of address) initially, and provides a German IBAN… which is extremely useful.

Indeed, you will need this before almost anything else works.

Germany's enduring love of cash is absolutely real: many restaurants, bakeries, and smaller shops still display "Nur Bargeld" signs.

Maybe things will change eventually, but for now: allways carry notes.

For transferring pounds to euros, we recommend Wise: it offers mid-market exchange rates and low fees - far cheaper than traditional bank transfers.

Language reality check

Can you get by speaking just English?

Perhaps, but it’s not really sustainable.

About 56% of Germans speak English, and in Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt you can navigate daily life without much German at all.

But if you deal with institutions like the Ausländerbehörde, Finanzamt (tax office), and so on, you’ll quickly learn that most official processes operate exclusively in German.

Long-term, not learning German limits your career, social life, and housing options quite significantly.

The US Foreign Service Institute rates German as a Category II language - roughly 750 hours of study for professional proficiency. The grammar (four cases, three genders, separable verbs) is the hardest part; pronunciation is not too bad.

Shared love for beer and food

Lederhosen, beer, sausages and sauerkraut are just some of the stereotypes that us Brits have regarding the German lifestyle.

Whilst it can be confirmed that lederhosen are mostly a thing of the dim and distant past, beer and good German cuisine certainly isn’t.

Germans love to drink beer and have fun and there are excellent bars and clubs where people dance and party until the wee hours.

Traditional food is hearty and rich with each region having speciality dishes, and cities such as Berlin have an up and coming foodie scene complete with Michelin star restaurants and a wide variety of cuisine from all over the world.

Buying property and finding a flat

Foreigners don’t face any restrictions on buying property in Germany - in that there is no residency requirement, no special permissions.

However, Germany is famously a renting nation: 57% of households rent (rising to 80%+ in Berlin), and homeownership rates are among Europe's lowest.

The rental market in major cities is brutally competitive, and we don’t say that lightly.

You'll need a Schufa credit report (Germany's credit score - you won't have one as a new arrival, which is in itself problematic), three months' proof of income, employer references, and previous landlord references. Deposits are capped at three months' cold rent by law.

Bringing your pet

UK-issued EU pet passports are no longer valid post-Brexit.

That means that every trip from the UK to the EU now requires a fresh Animal Health Certificate (AHC) from an Official Veterinarian, issued no more than 10 days before travel.

Your pet needs a microchip and rabies vaccination at least 21 days prior. Expect to pay £100-300 per pet for the certificate. There is no quarantine if documentation is correct.

Once in Germany, dogs need to be registered locally and are then subject to dog tax (Hundesteuer) of typically £50-155/year depending on the municipality. Certain breeds, like pit bulls, face restrictions.