Before you start

A visa or entry permission appropriate to your purpose, obtained before travel for most non-EU nationals
A signed rental contract and a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord
An employment contract, for work-based permits
Proof of qualifications, for the EU Blue Card route
Someone who can interpret, if your German is not yet good enough for the appointment

Step-by-step

1
Book a BürgerServiceCenter appointment through the Serviceportal
Bremen runs BürgerServiceCenter across the city and takes appointments online. If the calendar looks full, check again in the late afternoon — the city states that additional slots for the coming days are released in that window, which is the single most useful piece of local process knowledge here.
OnlineWho: YouBefore arrival if possible
2
Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung at signing
Registration requires a signed confirmation from whoever provides your accommodation. Landlords are legally obliged to supply it under §19 BMG — ask as you sign rather than chasing it later.
In personWho: Your landlord
3
Complete the Anmeldung within two weeks — everyone in person
A legal deadline, not a guideline. Everyone being registered, children included, must attend, and Bremen expects you to bring an interpreter if your German is not sufficient. The Meldebescheinigung it produces is required for almost everything that follows.
In personWho: YouWithin 2 weeks of moving in
4
Wait for the Steuer-ID by post
Issued automatically after registration and arriving within a few weeks. Until your employer has it, payroll applies the least favourable tax class — recoverable at filing, but a real cash-flow hit in your first months.
OnlineWho: The tax office
5
Deal with the Migrationsamt on their invitation, not on spec
Bremen's Migrationsamt is the Ausländerbehörde for the city. Where a permit is being issued or extended, it sends an invitation with a fixed appointment, and turning up without one does not work. Treat the letter as the appointment rather than as a prompt to queue.
In personWho: You
6
Ask for the EU Blue Card by name if you qualify
It gives faster access to a settlement permit, easier family reunification with immediate spousal work rights, and more freedom to change employer than a general work permit. Airbus, OHB, Mercedes-Benz and the university process these routinely but will default to whatever they filed last time unless asked.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with visa or entry permission
Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from your landlord
Signed rental contract
Employment contract and proof of qualifications
Biometric photographs to German specification
Proof of health insurance

Things most newcomers don’t know

Check the late-afternoon appointment release before concluding there is no slot.

Bremen's own guidance says every BürgerServiceCenter puts additional appointments for the coming days online in the late afternoon. Newcomers look once in the morning, find nothing for six weeks, and start improvising. Looking again after four is free and routinely finds something inside the two-week deadline.

Source: Serviceportal Bremen

Bremen and Bremerhaven are one state and two separate registration jurisdictions.

The Land is two cities 60 km apart with Lower Saxony between them. If your job is at the container terminal or the Alfred Wegener Institute, you are moving to Bremerhaven, which has its own offices and — as the rent ordinances show — is treated as a genuinely different place by the same government. Do not book a Bremen appointment for a Bremerhaven address.

Source: community-reported

The state and the city are the same government, which cuts one layer out.

In most German cities registration sits with the municipality and something else — licensing, or the immigration office — sits with a Kreis or a Region, and the two are separate queues. Bremen is a Land of its own, so there is no upper tier to be bounced to. It is a small structural advantage and it is real.

Source: Bremische Bürgerschaft

Church tax is 9% in Bremen and you opt into it at registration.

Declaring a religious affiliation during the Anmeldung triggers automatic deduction of 9% of your income tax — the standard German rate, against 8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Most newcomers do not realise the question has a price attached, and leaving later needs its own appointment and fee.

Source: Bremische Evangelische Kirche

Common mistakes to avoid

Giving up on an appointment after checking the calendar only once, in the morning.
Booking in Bremen for an address in Bremerhaven, or vice versa.
Arriving at the appointment without everyone who is being registered, or without an interpreter.
Turning up at the Migrationsamt without the invitation that carries your appointment.
Declaring church membership without realising it triggers 9% church tax.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.