UK help and services in Germany

Services if you're visiting, studying, working or living in Germany. Includes information about trading with and doing business in the UK and Germany, and your rights after the UK’s exit from the EU.

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Emergency help for British nationals

Get help if you're the victim of crime, you've been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad.

  1. Arrested or in prison in Germany

    This guide provides information about being arrested in Germany and what conditions are like in prison there.

  2. Germany: information for victims of rape and sexual assault

    Information for British nationals who are victims of rape and sexual assault in Germany.

  3. Get help if you're a victim of crime abroad

    Contact the nearest British embassy, high commission, consulate or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London to get help if you're the victim of crime abroad

  4. If you’re affected by a crisis abroad

    Advice to British people affected by crises abroad such as large-scale terrorist attacks, natural disasters and political unrest, and how the FCDO can help.

  5. Support for British nationals abroad

    This page lists guidance on how you can help yourself stay safe abroad, and the help the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can provide.

  6. What to do after a British person dies in Germany

    Find out about local procedures, burials and cremations, and returning the body to the UK.

Passports and emergency travel documents

Includes how to cancel a lost passport, renew a passport and apply for an emergency travel document.

  1. Apply for or renew a British passport if you're visiting the UK

    You can apply for or renew a British passport while you're visiting the UK - as long as you expect to be in the UK for long enough

  2. Cancel a lost or stolen passport

    What you need to do if your passport has been lost or stolen and you need to travel urgently.

  3. Overseas British passport applications

    Renew, replace or apply for an adult or child British passport if you’re living abroad or working overseas - forms, prices, how long it takes

  4. Travel urgently from abroad without your UK passport

    Apply for an emergency travel document if you're outside the UK and have not got a valid British passport - apply online, how to apply, fee, timings

Travelling to Germany

Includes travel advice and how to get married abroad.

  1. Apply for a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)

    Applying for your free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): who can apply and where you can use them.

  2. Germany travel advice

    Latest FCDO travel advice for German including on entry requirements, safety and security and local laws and customs.’

  3. Germany: mental health support abroad

    Information about support for British nationals experiencing mental health difficulties in Germany.

  4. Getting married abroad

    Requirements, paperwork and processes for weddings and civil partnerships overseas - registration, restrictions, fees

  5. Healthcare for UK nationals visiting the EU

    How to get state healthcare when you’re on holiday or travelling to a country in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

  6. Reduce your risk from terrorism while abroad

    How to minimise your risk, and what to do if there's a terrorist attack.

Coming to the UK

Get a visa to study, work or visit the UK.

  1. Check if you need a UK visa

    You may need a visa to come to the UK to visit, study or work.

  2. Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help

    How to contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for help with your application or immigration account, from inside and outside the UK.

  3. Get your visa, immigration or citizenship documents back

    Get your documents returned if you've made a UK visa, immigration or citizenship application but need them back urgently

Living in Germany

Guidance on your rights after the UK’s exit from the EU, accessing healthcare, getting a document legalised, English-speaking lawyers, how to vote abroad.

  1. Apply for a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)

    Applying for your free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): who can apply and where you can use them.

  2. Germany travel advice

    Latest FCDO travel advice for German including on entry requirements, safety and security and local laws and customs.’

  3. Germany: doctors

    List of English-speaking medical facilities and practitioners for British nationals in Germany.

  4. Germany: mental health support abroad

    Information about support for British nationals experiencing mental health difficulties in Germany.

  5. Germany: notaries

    List of English-speaking notaries for British nationals in Germany.

  6. Germany: residency

    Information for UK nationals on applying for residency status in Germany.

  7. Germany: translators and interpreters

    List of translators and interpreters for British nationals in Germany.

  8. Germany: useful information from the British Embassy in Berlin

    This page provides guidance on common enquiries that come to the British Embassy in Berlin.

  9. Get your document legalised

    Use the online service to get a UK document legalised.

  10. Healthcare for UK nationals living in Germany

    How to get state healthcare if you live, work or study in Germany.

  11. Living in Europe: citizens' rights if you moved before 1 January 2021

    Information for UK nationals living in the EU, EEA EFTA countries and Switzerland since before 1 January 2021, including guidance on residency and healthcare.

  12. Living in Germany

    Information for British citizens moving to or living in Germany including guidance on residency, healthcare and driving.

  13. Professional services if you are abroad

    Find English-speaking lawyers, doctors and medical providers, interpreters and translators, and funeral directors overseas.

  14. UK benefits if you’re going or living abroad

    Find out what benefits you might be able to receive while you’re abroad and how to export them from the UK or claim them while abroad

  15. Voting if you move or live abroad

    How to vote if you move or live abroad, including eligibility and registration

Tax, benefits, pensions and working abroad

Includes how to pay tax, claim State Pension and get tax credits abroad.

  1. Claiming benefits if you live, move or travel abroad

    Benefits you can claim if you go abroad and countries with social security arrangements with the UK

  2. Moving or retiring abroad

    What you need to know if you move or retire abroad - tax, pensions, voting and contacting your local council

  3. National Insurance if you work abroad

    Find out if you need to pay National Insurance in the UK or in the country you are visiting when you work abroad

  4. State Pension if you retire abroad

    How to claim State Pension if you're overseas - payment, tax, change of circumstances - contact the International Pension Centre

  5. Tax credits if you leave or move to the UK

    Tax credits if you live abroad, go travelling, are a cross-border worker or subject to immigration control

  6. Tax on foreign income

    Find out whether you need to pay UK tax on foreign income - residence and ‘non-dom’ status, tax returns, claiming relief if you’re taxed twice (including certificates of residence)

  7. Tax on your UK income if you live abroad

    Find out whether you need to pay tax on your UK income while you're living abroad - non-resident landlord scheme, tax returns, claiming relief if you’re taxed twice, personal allowance of tax-free income, form R43

  8. Work in an EU country

    Where you can work, your rights, healthcare, tax and National Insurance payments.

Birth, death and marriage abroad

Includes how to get married, list of funeral directors and how to register a birth abroad.

  1. Family tracing, public records and finding people in the UK

    How to trace family and people in the UK and how to access public records.

  2. Germany: funeral directors

    List of English-speaking funeral directors for British nationals in Germany.

  3. Getting married abroad

    Requirements, paperwork and processes for weddings and civil partnerships overseas - registration, restrictions, fees

  4. Register a birth abroad

    Parents must register the birth in the country where the child was born - find out if you can also register the birth in the UK.

  5. Surrogacy overseas

    Information for British nationals who are considering entering into surrogacy arrangements in foreign countries.

  6. What to do after a British person dies in Germany

    Find out about local procedures, burials and cremations, and returning the body to the UK.

  7. What to do when someone dies: step by step

    Check what to do after a death - how to register the death, notify government departments and deal with the estate.

News and events

Find out about the UK government's diplomatic, security and development work in Germany.

  1. Germany and the UK

    Updates, news and events from the UK government in Germany

Trade and invest

Includes investing and setting up a business in the UK and doing business in Germany.

  1. Department for Business and Trade Germany

    DBT provides trade and investment services and practical support. We help UK companies succeed in Germany, and German companies set up and invest in the UK.

  2. Overseas business risk for Germany

    See below for information on key security and political risks which UK businesses may face when operating in Germany.

  3. Set up a business

    What you need to do to start a business: choose a legal structure, see if you need licences and insurance, learn about reliefs and benefits

  4. UK Science & Innovation Network in Germany

    Science and innovation underpin the economies of both Germany and the UK. Encouraging work between the two countries therefore produces benefits for both.

  5. UK Science and Innovation Network Country Snapshot – Germany

    An introductory brief from the UK Science and Innovation Network which covers the local Science and Innovation landscape, UK priorities and successes in Germany.

British embassy or high commission

Includes contact details, opening hours and consular fees and local services.

  1. British Consulate General Dusseldorf

    The British Consulate-General in Düsseldorf represents the UK government in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hessen and Saarland.

  2. British Consulate General Munich

    The British Consulate-General in Munich represents the UK government in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

  3. British Embassy Berlin

    The British Embassy Berlin maintains and develops relations between the UK and Germany.

  4. Germany: consular fees

    List of fees for consular services in Germany.

  5. Germany: mental health support abroad

    Information about support for British nationals experiencing mental health difficulties in Germany.

  6. Germany: notarial and documentary services guide

    How someone in Germany can get documents legalised, witnessed or certified, take an oath, affirmation or affidavit and obtain informative notes on UK naming law

  7. Support for British nationals abroad

    This page lists guidance on how you can help yourself stay safe abroad, and the help the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can provide.