Registration of Residence
All residents of Germany must register with the residents' registration office (Bürgerbüro) in the city in which they live.
If you live in Dortmund long-term, you must register with the City of Dortmund within two weeks of your arrival. This rule applies to stays of 90 days or more. For shorter stays of less than 90 days, registration with the German authorities is not necessary.
We will gladly answer any further questions you may have.
The offer of the Welcome Services is exclusively directed to international guest researchers, doctoral students, postdocs and professors. Therefore, if you are an international BA/MA student, please have a look at the website for international students.
Third-country nationals with a residence permit in accordance with §§ 16-21 of the Residence Act who are resident in Dortmund, can have their registration carried out with the help of the Welcome Services team.
Send us the following documents to welcome.services@tu-dortmund.de in order to be registered:
- Completed registration form
- Landlord's confirmation (only in German) completed by the landlord
- Copy of the first page of the national passport
- Copy of the visa
- Copy of the entry stamp
- Current residence permits, if applicable
The registration documents (registration certificate, tax identification number*) as well as a letter of invitation to apply for a residence permit, if applicable, will be sent to you by mail afterwards. Please make sure that your mailbox is labelled accordingly.
*If you have already registered your residence in Germany in the past, you will have received your tax identification number with your first registration. This number is valid for life and will not automatically be sent to you again when you register in Germany again, but will only be issued upon request. You can apply for a renewed notification of your tax ID on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office. You will receive it by mail to your current registration address.
Important note: Regardless of the registration of residence carried out by us, marriages and birth certificates of children under the age of 18 must be recognized and entered into the register of the city of Dortmund ("Melderegister"). We will be happy to inform you where you have to present yourself for this step and which country-specific documents are required for this. In principle, the original documents (marriage and birth certificates) and translations issued in Germany are always required.
Citizens of member states of the European Union (EU citizens) who move to Dortmund either from abroad or from within Germany can only register at the Citizens' Services in the city centre. Unfortunately, the Welcome Services team is not able to handle the registration.
The following documents are required for the registration:
- Identity card or passport
- Completed registration form (only in German)
- Landlord's confirmation (only in German) completed by the landlord
- Biometric passport photograph and
- Marriage certificate and birth certificates of children under the age of 18 (original and with German translation), if applicable
You can schedule an appointment for the registration online at the service portal of the city of Dortmund (only in German).
Please follow the instructions:
EU citizens moving to Germany from abroad:
"Anmeldung von EU-Bürger*innen aus dem Ausland" > Select number of persons (e.g. 1 person) > Select date > Enter first and last name
EU citizens moving within Germany:
"Einwohnermeldeangelegenheiten" > "Anmeldung einer Wohnung" > Select number of persons (e.g. 1 person) > Select one of the Citizens' Services branch offices (maybe one that is near you) > Select a free time slot > Fill-in your information (name, e-mail etc.) > "Termin reservieren"
The registration documents (registration certificate, tax identification number*) as well as a letter of invitation to apply for a residence permit, if applicable, will be sent to you by mail afterwards. Please make sure that your mailbox is labelled accordingly.
*If you have already registered your residence in Germany in the past, you will have received your tax identification number with your first registration. This number is valid for life and will not automatically be sent to you again when you register in Germany again, but will only be issued upon request. You can apply for a renewed notification of your tax ID on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office. You will receive it by mail to your current registration address.
If you do not belong to any of the groups mentioned above and have questions regarding the registration of residence, please contact the Welcome Services.
Change of Registration
If you move within Dortmund, you will need to re-register with the citizen services within two weeks. For this purpose you will again need a confirmation from the landlord (only in German) and the deregistration form (only in German). In addition, you must bring all your identity cards and passports to register again.
A change of registration or the deregistration of residence can be done at any registration office (Bürgerbüro) in Dortmund. Please follow the link to an overview of the different locations. Via the website you can directly arrange a personal appointment. We recommend that you try to make an appointment early in the morning, otherwise there are often no free slots available.
The webpages of the citizen services are only available in German. If you have any difficulties understanding them or if you need help with the form, please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you move to a new apartment within Germany but outside Dortmund, you must notify the registration office in the new city.
Important note: If you are moving, please inform your employer, the responsible personnel department and other relevant contact persons (insurance companies etc.) in good time.
Deregistration
If you leave Dortmund completely and travel back abroad, all you need to do is fill out the deregistration form (only in German) and send it by mail, along with a scan of your ID, to buergerdienste@stadtdo.de.
You will then be deregistered accordingly, but you will not receive a written confirmation of the deregistration. If you need one, a separate appointment must be made for deregistration.
Deregistrations cannot be processed before the day of departure, so it is sufficient to do it after or on the day of your departure. If you need any help with the form, please do not hesitate to contact us.