City guides Germany
Berlin
Germany has no nomad visa. What it has is a freelance residence permit with no fixed income bar, which leads to settlement and to citizenship after five years. The catch: it is only for freelancers, the paperwork is in German, you need German health insurance and a Berlin lease before you apply, and furnished asking rents now run EUR 21 to 27 a square metre in the districts people want.
Every figure checked 14 Oct 2026
- EUR 1,100 to 1,650 a month Furnished one-bed, asking
- EUR 63 a month Deutschlandticket
- EUR 115 to 275 Coworking monthly
- Country Germany
- Time zone UTC+2 06:20 there now
- Language German
- Currency Euro (EUR)
- Plugs Type F and C, 230V
How far English gets you English goes a long way in the cafes, coworking spaces and startup scene of Mitte, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Neukölln. It runs out at the state's front desk. The immigration office (LEA) writes its requirements, forms and online application in German. So are your rental contract, the address registration at the Bürgeramt and letters from the tax office. Budget for a translator or adviser for the paperwork, even if you never need German at the bar.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
Freelancers with real, documentable clients, such as designers, developers, writers and consultants, who are ready to make Berlin their main home, register an address and buy German health insurance. In return you get a legal, renewable permit with a five-year path to settlement and to citizenship. It also suits anyone who wants a big English-friendly creative and tech scene, EUR 63 a month for local transport across all of Germany, and a city that rewards long stays over short ones.
It does not suit you if
Anyone who wants a nomad visa: there isn't one. Salaried employees of a foreign company: there is no route for you, and 90 days in 180 across Schengen is all you get. Anyone who hates paperwork in German, or wants to land and rent something cheap next week. If you are over 45 without a solid pension or about EUR 232,000 in assets, the freelance permit will likely be refused. And winters are dark, grey and near freezing for four months. If you came for sun, cheap rent and easy admin, go somewhere else.
Money
What everything else costs
| Furnished rent, whole city | EUR 24.14 per square metre a month, all-in | Berlin Senate, 2025 asking rents. EUR 21.01 net of service charges. It was EUR 14.37 in 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Coworking day pass | EUR 35 | betahaus Kreuzberg, Monday to Friday 9:00 to 16:30, excluding VAT |
| Single ticket, zones AB | EUR 4.00 | A 24-hour ticket is EUR 11.20. The 7-day ticket was scrapped in January 2026 |
| VBB-Umweltkarte, zones AB | EUR 113 a month, or EUR 81.30 a month on subscription | Berlin only. EUR 117.20 and EUR 84.30 from 1 January 2027 |
| Cheap weekday lunch | Price not checked | No source was found for a Mittagstisch, the set lunch |
| Cappuccino | Price not checked | No source was found |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Who qualifies | Freelancers in a recognised freelance profession under section 18(1) no. 1 of the Income Tax Act. Foreign clients are fine. Not employees of a foreign company: there is no route for you. Owners of a foreign company: unclear, the LEA does not say |
|---|---|
| Minimum income | None fixed. The LEA judges an income forecast (Ertragsvorschau) and client contracts or at least two letters of intent. Artists and language teachers must also show other regular income |
| Over 45 | Since 1 July 2025 you must show a pension of EUR 1,612.53 a month from age 67, paid for at least 12 years, or assets of EUR 232,204. Nationals of the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka are exempt |
| Evidence | The income forecast form, client contracts or letters of intent, a CV with qualifications, references or funding commitments, a licence where your work needs one, a lease and proof of rent, and a German health insurance certificate |
| How long | Up to three years, extendable if the business succeeds and supports you |
| Fee | EUR 100 for the electronic residence card, which takes about 4 to 6 weeks, or EUR 56 for a sticker in your passport |
| Permanent residence | A settlement permit after five years. The three-year fast track in section 21(4) does not apply to freelancers |
| Citizenship | Five years. The three-year fast track was abolished from 30 October 2025 |
| Without a visa | British passports: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen, and days in other Schengen countries count. American passports: under 90 days without a visa |
| Tax residency | A continuous stay of more than six months, with short breaks ignored. Having a home in Germany you keep and use makes you resident from day one |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
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Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain
EUR 25.00 per square metre a month, furnished all-in asking, for the districtThe densest cluster of English-friendly cafes, coworking (betahaus is here) and nightlife
The catch Furnished flats cost more here than in Neukölln or Pankow, and the bars and club traffic bring noise and tourist crowds to your doorstep
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Neukölln, including Kreuzkölln
EUR 21.11 per square metre a month, the cheapest of these four districtsA young international crowd and canal-side cafes
The catch Cheap only by Berlin standards: furnished asking rents here rose from EUR 12.50 a square metre in 2012. Parts of the north feel rough and grubby
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Prenzlauer Berg
EUR 24.33 per square metre a month, for the whole of PankowLeafy, renovated old-building streets, calm and easy for families
The catch Quiet to the point of sleepy, with fewer late-night options, and a settled, family-heavy scene that newcomers find hard to break into
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Mitte
EUR 26.54 per square metre a month, the highest in BerlinCentral for everything, with St. Oberholz on Rosenthaler Platz and the best transport links
The catch The dearest district for furnished rent, and the tourist core around the big sights feels like nobody actually lives there
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 3.2C, grey, frosty
- Feb 4.9C, freezing nights, Berlinale
- Mar 9C, thawing, still cold
- Apr 15.1C, driest month, 28mm
- May 19.6C, long light evenings
- Jun 22.9C, warm, some rain
- Jul 25C, wettest month, 70mm
- Aug 24.8C, warm
- Sep 19.8C, marathon weekend
- Oct 13.9C, cooling fast
- Nov 7.7C, dark and damp
- Dec 4.1C, cold, Christmas markets
Come now Fine Avoid
On weather alone, May, June and September are the months, with highs of 20 to 23 degrees. July is the warmest at 25 degrees and also the wettest, with 70mm of rain. From November to February highs stay between 3 and 8 degrees, and January nights average below freezing. April is the driest month. The averages are the German Weather Service's 1991-2020 figures for Berlin-Brandenburg airport, via Wikipedia. Book early around the Berlinale (10 to 21 February 2027), ITB (16 to 18 March 2027) and the marathon (26 September 2027). We have not checked when the city is busiest or when hotel prices peak.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
That is Germany's median fixed download, 103.72 Mbps, from Ookla data reported in May 2026, which puts Germany 65th in the world. There is no Berlin figure. The regulator's own measurements matter more: in its 2024/25 report, the Bundesnetzagentur found only 45.9 per cent of fixed-line users got their full contracted download speed, and 85.9 per cent got at least half. Do not trust the number on the contract.
If your income depends on calls, pay for a coworking desk rather than gambling on a cafe or a flat's line. A betahaus day pass at EUR 35 is the honest benchmark.
Somewhere to work
Coworking in Berlin
Work
Remote roles open to someone in Germany
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
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Döner
EUR 3.50 to 8.50, a little over EUR 7 on averageThe classic kebab in bread. EUR 3.50 is rare now, found at a couple of places in Neukölln
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Currywurst
EUR 4.00Sausage in curry ketchup, with or without the skin, at Curry 36 on Mehringdamm. Chips are EUR 3.80 more
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Cheap weekday lunch
Price not checkedLook for a Mittagstisch, the set lunch. No source was found
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Cappuccino
Price not checkedNo source was found
Days off
Worth a Saturday
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Museum Island
EUR 24 for a one-day ticketOne ticket for the island's museums for a day. Under-18s are free with a free ticket. The Pergamonmuseum is shut for renovation until 4 July 2027
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Reichstag dome
Free, but you must register firstThe glass dome on top of the parliament building. Visitors 16 and over must bring a passport or ID card, originals only. Same-day places only if any remain
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Tempelhofer Feld
Price not checkedA disused airport turned into a 300-hectare park. Walk or cycle the old runways. Open 7:00 to 19:00 in October, until 23:00 in June and July
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Mauerpark flea market
Free entrySecond-hand stalls in Prenzlauer Berg, on Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00, so keep it for the day after
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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No 7-day ticket
The VBB scrapped the 7-day ticket in January 2026. A single AB ticket is EUR 4.00 and a 24-hour ticket EUR 11.20
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The EUR 29 ticket is gone
Sales of Berlin's EUR 29 monthly ticket stopped on 11 December 2024. The Deutschlandticket is EUR 63 now and EUR 66.80 from 1 January 2027. A guide that says EUR 29 is out of date
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No tourist visa route
You cannot apply for the freelance permit on a Schengen C visa. Arrive on a D visa or visa-free
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German health insurance only
The LEA says foreign insurance generally does not suffice. Buy German statutory or compliant private cover
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A home makes you tax resident
A flat you keep and use makes you German tax resident from day one, whatever your day count
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Rents are up by two-thirds
Citywide furnished asking rents went from EUR 14.37 a square metre in 2012 to EUR 24.14 in 2025
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Five years, not three
The three-year fast track to citizenship was abolished from 30 October 2025. A guide that says three is out of date
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 14 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.