Everything Else Before Leaving

The Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting fee) does NOT cancel automatically when you deregister. You must cancel it separately.

How to cancel:
1. Go to rundfunkbeitrag.de
2. Download the cancellation form ('Abmeldung einer Wohnung')
3. Fill it out with your Beitragsnummer (contribution number) and your Abmeldung date
4. Attach a copy of your Abmeldebestätigung
5. Send it by mail to:
ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice
50656 Köln
Germany

Or submit online through the Beitragsservice portal.

The cancellation is effective from your Abmeldung date. Any overpaid fees will be refunded to your bank account (keep it open until the refund arrives).

If you were living in a WG and were the registered payer: make sure one of your remaining flatmates takes over the registration. Otherwise, you're all in trouble.

Go through every German contract and subscription. Here's your checklist:

📱 Phone contract (Handyvertrag):
• Check your Mindestvertragslaufzeit (minimum contract period) — usually 24 months, increasingly 1 month with newer contracts
• Kündigungsfrist (cancellation notice period) — usually 1–3 months before the contract renewal date
• If you're locked in: you may need to pay remaining months or find someone to take over the contract (Vertragsübernahme)
• Prepaid SIM cards: no cancellation needed, they just expire
• Write a formal cancellation letter or use the provider's online portal

🌐 Internet/broadband:
• Similar rules to phone contracts — check minimum period and notice
• Most providers require written cancellation (email or letter)
• The router may need to be returned (check your contract)

💪 Gym membership:
• Often has 3-month cancellation periods
• Moving abroad may qualify as Sonderkündigung (special cancellation) — provide your Abmeldebestätigung

📺 Streaming services:
• Netflix, Spotify, etc. — cancel through the app/website
• These are usually monthly and easy to cancel

🛡️ Insurance policies:
• Haftpflichtversicherung (liability insurance)
• Hausratversicherung (household contents insurance)
• Rechtsschutzversicherung (legal insurance)
• Cancel each separately with a written letter + Abmeldebestätigung

Tip: Use a service like Aboalarm or Volders to find and cancel German subscriptions you may have forgotten about.

After you leave, important letters may still arrive at your old German address — tax documents, insurance confirmations, pension correspondence, bank letters.

Set up a Nachsendeauftrag (mail forwarding service) with Deutsche Post:

📮 Duration and cost:
• 6 months: ~€28
• 12 months: ~€45
• Can be set up online at nachsendeauftrag.de

What it does: All mail addressed to you at your old German address is forwarded to a new address — including international addresses.

What it doesn't cover: Packages over a certain size, registered mail in some cases, and mail from senders who specifically opted out of forwarding.

Set this up 5–7 business days before your move-out date. It takes a few days to become active.

Alternative: If you have a trusted friend in Germany, you can give them a Vollmacht (power of attorney) to open and forward important mail to you. This is a good backup for anything the Post forwarding misses.

Before leaving your university, complete these steps:

🎓 Exmatrikulation (deregistration from studies):
• Visit or contact the Studierendensekretariat (student registrar)
• Submit an Exmatrikulationsantrag (deregistration application)
• You'll receive an Exmatrikulationsbescheinigung (proof of deregistration)
• This document may be needed for future academic applications

📜 Transcript and diploma:
• Request your official Transcript of Records (Leistungsübersicht / ToR)
• If you've completed your degree: confirm when your Zeugnis (certificate) and Urkunde (diploma) will be ready. These often take weeks or months after your final exam.
• Ask if documents can be mailed internationally — most universities will do this
• Request certified English translations if your documents are in German

📚 Library:
• Return all borrowed books and materials
• Clear any outstanding fees
• Your library card will be deactivated with your Exmatrikulation

🪪 Student ID and semester ticket:
• Some universities ask you to return the student ID card
• Your semester ticket becomes invalid upon Exmatrikulation

🔑 Other university matters:
• Return any keys (lab, office, dorm)
• Clear your locker if you had one
• Download important files from university systems (course materials, emails) — access is usually revoked shortly after Exmatrikulation
• Save any university email correspondence you might need later

Pro tip: Download everything from your university portal before deregistering. Once your account is deactivated, it's gone.

Before you leave Germany, make sure you have physical and digital copies of every important document from your time here. You may need these years or decades later.

📁 Keep these permanently:

🔹 Abmeldebestätigung — proof you left Germany (needed for pension refund, tax matters)
🔹 All Meldebescheinigungen — proof of your registered addresses
🔹 Lohnsteuerbescheinigungen — wage tax certificates from every employer, every year
🔹 Employment contracts (Arbeitsverträge) — proof of your work history
🔹 Pay slips (Gehaltsabrechnungen) — at least the first and last of each job, plus December for annual summaries
🔹 Sozialversicherungsausweis — your social security card with your pension number
🔹 Tax returns and Steuerbescheide (tax assessment notices) — keep for at least 10 years
🔹 University certificates: enrollment letters, transcripts, diploma, Exmatrikulationsbescheinigung
🔹 Health insurance confirmation letters
🔹 Rental contracts (Mietverträge) — including the Kaution (deposit) agreement
🔹 Residence permit copies (even expired ones) — useful for future visa applications
🔹 Bank account closure confirmation
🔹 Gewerbeschein (if you had a business)

💡 How to store them:
• Scan or photograph every document at high resolution
• Save in cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud) in an organized folder structure
• Keep physical originals of the most important documents (Abmeldebestätigung, degree certificates) in a safe place
• Consider keeping a USB backup too

The German bureaucratic system has a long memory. Being able to produce a document from your German years — even 10 or 20 years later — can save you enormous headaches with pension claims, tax matters, or future immigration applications.