Before you start

An entry visa appropriate to your purpose, obtained before travel for most non-EU nationals
A signed rental contract and a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung from whoever provides your accommodation
An employment contract, for work-based permits
A degree checked against anabin, or a vocational qualification submitted for recognition

Step-by-step

1
Book the Bürgeramt appointment as soon as you have a move date
Registration slots are released through the city's online system across the district offices and are usually available within days — a real difference from Munich, where the same step can take weeks. Complete the form in advance and take any district office.
OnlineWho: YouBefore arrival where possible
2
Get the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung at signing
Whoever provides your accommodation must confirm your move-in in writing, by law within two weeks. In a sublet or a company flat this is what gets forgotten. Without it you will be turned away at the counter and everything downstream stalls.
In personWho: Your landlordAt contract signing
3
Register within two weeks and take extra certified copies
The appointment lasts minutes. The certificate is required separately by your employer, your bank, your health insurer and the Ausländerbehörde, so buy several copies while you are at the counter rather than returning.
In personWho: YouWithin 2 weeks of moving in
4
Answer the religion question as the tax election it is
Declaring membership of a recognised church starts automatic church tax at 8% of your income tax in Bavaria. Declaring none is lawful and simple. Leaving afterwards is a formal registry act with a fee, effective only from the following month.
In personWho: YouAt the appointment
5
Apply to the city's Ausländerbehörde, not to BAMF
Individual residence permits are decided by the municipal immigration office. BAMF sets policy, runs integration courses and handles asylum — it does not process your work permit because you live nearby. Submit as soon as you are registered, and ask for a Fiktionsbescheinigung if your entry visa will expire while the file is pending.
In personWho: YouWeeks to months
6
Take the integration or German course early if you are entitled to one
BAMF funds subsidised integration courses combining German to B1 with an orientation module, and many residence permit holders are entitled or obliged to attend. Nuremberg has an unusually good supply of providers. A B1 certificate also shortens the route from a Blue Card to a settlement permit.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with entry visa
Completed registration form and Wohnungsgeberbestätigung
Signed rental contract
Employment contract and proof of salary
Degree or vocational certificates with anabin or ZAB recognition
Proof of health insurance and biometric photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

BAMF being headquartered here does not make your permit faster.

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees sits in Nuremberg, which leads new arrivals to assume a home advantage. It has none: individual residence permits are decided by the municipal Ausländerbehörde under federal law, exactly as they would be in Kiel. What BAMF's presence does give the city is an unusually strong supply of funded integration and language courses and a large public-sector employer. Do not queue at the wrong building.

Source: BAMF

Bavaria charges 8% church tax, and Baden-Württemberg is the only other state that does.

Every other German state levies 9% of your income tax liability. The election is made on your registration form and produces an automatic payroll deduction with no separate notice, so most newcomers never connect the payslip line to a five-minute appointment. Leaving the church later costs a registry fee and takes effect only from the following month — a January answer regretted in November costs the whole year.

Source: Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern

Registration appointments here are the quiet reason Nuremberg is easier than Munich.

Munich's Bürgerbüro slots are the scarcest in Germany and the whole downstream chain — tax ID, bank account, health insurance, residence permit — waits behind them. Nuremberg is the same Bavarian administration with a fraction of the queue, typically bookable within days. For anyone weighing the two cities, this is a small but genuine argument, and it compounds with the rent difference.

Source: Stadt Nürnberg — Bürgerämter

Getting to B1 German shortens the path to permanent residence.

The route from an EU Blue Card to a settlement permit is shorter for holders who can demonstrate German at B1 than for those who cannot, and BAMF-funded integration courses are designed to get you there at subsidised cost. Nuremberg has plenty of course providers and a smaller English-speaking bubble than Munich or Berlin, which is inconvenient at first and an advantage within two years.

Source: BAMF — integration courses

Common mistakes to avoid

Approaching BAMF about a personal residence permit instead of the city's Ausländerbehörde.
Signing a sublet whose holder will not issue a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.
Declaring church membership at registration without realising it costs 8% of your income tax annually.
Skipping a subsidised integration course and lengthening your own route to a settlement permit.
Leaving the permit application until the entry visa nearly expires rather than asking for a Fiktionsbescheinigung.

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