isaac_uk

Hi

I'm going to be moving to Germany in the next few months with my (German) girlfriend but will continue to be working for my UK company; for a number of months after moving, I'll be travelling back to the UK for work reasons every month for a week or two.

Bearing in mind that I'll still be employed with a UK company and (at least initially) paid into a UK bank account, what I'm unclear about are some of the logistics that happen after moving. For example: -

1. Do I need to "register" in Germany immediately? Again, bear in mind I'll be employed in the UK when moving.
2. Do I need to sort out health insurance whilst I'm working + (part-time) living in the UK? Can I just use my EU Health Insurance card?
3. Is it beneficial for me to be paid directly into a German bank account?
4. What would my working status be? I wouldn't want to claim unemployment benefits etc. in Germany as I'll be employed remotely. Does it even matter?

Appreciate any advice - even if you can point me in the direction of someone else that might know etc..

Cheers

amideislas

All things considered, perhaps you might consider waiting a while until you discover whether the reasons for moving to Germany are permanent before getting governments involved - and potential grief that could cause you (and potentially, your employer too).

Rent a flat in her name, leave your earnings in the UK and either draw from it with a debit card, or transfer money to her account. For now, anyway.

isaac_uk

Hiya

Thanks for your reply. Yes, initially I think that that's what I would do. I just want to know if there's any issue with doing that?

Re: Permanent - it will be. It's just that for the short-medium term I'll be shuttling back and forward. In the longer term that would probably change. I was reading up on a link from another post regarding health insurance etc. - it sounds a bit complicated to me!

amideislas

You have to "pay" for health insurance in Germany (just as you do in most places in the world). And the difference between public insurance (Krankenkasse) and private insurance is significant, both in terms of cost, and what you get at the point of delivery. That's just one thing that will require getting used to.

In the mean time, as a "shuttle" resident, you can legally continue to operate in the way you are accustomed, which will buy you some time to get accustomed to the German system, sort it all and decide whether it makes sense for you.

Good luck.

isaac_uk

Hi

By "way in which you are accustomed", I assume you mean EHIC etc.?

amideislas

"free" healthcare in the UK.

OK, I know it isn't "free" but the contribution for it is less "visible" than in other countries, which leads people to believe it's "free".

If you are resident in Germany, you have to "pay" for health insurance separately from your taxes, which are not cheap in the first place. For many Brits, that takes a little getting used to, because it's not perceived to be "free" as it was back in Blighty.

Also, the German tax system can be rather obtuse and inflexible, and very complicated, especially if your company doesn't actually employ you in Germany and you are forced to register as selbständig (self-employed). In that case, you absolutely must pay a steuerberater to manage it, or else you'll get slammed for the maximum tax they can manage to extract from you. And you don't fight the finanzamt. They can hurt you. Avoid mistakes before you make them. It's really important.

But you'll sort all that over time.

Good luck.

isaac_uk

OK - thanks a lot for the advice :-) I don't see how I could register for public health care (Krankenkasse is it?) because that's supposed to be 15% of my salary and the same amount paid for by my employer. So that just leaves private health care or relying on EHIC, at least for the time being.

amideislas

Right. But is your UK employer prepared to set up German employment for you? If they aren't already familiar with the bureaucracy, will they open up that can of worms just for you? If not, I suspect you will end up self-employed, and then all of the burden is on you.

Again, as long as you are a "shuttle" resident, then yes, I think you're probably better off just letting the lion sleep. Until there's a real need to change it, and the will to do so.