Abmeldung: de-register your address (the key step)
When you leave Germany for good — moving abroad with no new home in Germany — you must de-register your address (Abmeldung) within two weeks of moving out (§17(2) Bundesmeldegesetz); you can do it up to a week before you go. It's free, can often be done by post or online, and you receive an Abmeldebescheinigung (de-registration certificate). Keep that certificate safe: it's the proof you'll need to stop the broadcasting fee and to end some contracts. It's the mirror image of the Anmeldung you did when you arrived.
The leaving-Germany plan: what to cancel, in order
A sensible order saves you money:
- Give notice on your flat (see the notice period below).
- De-register (Abmeldung) and collect the certificate.
- Use it to stop the Rundfunkbeitrag and trigger contract terminations.
- Notify your health insurer and the Finanzamt.
- Keep one bank account open for refunds that arrive after you leave.
- Set up mail forwarding (Nachsendeauftrag).
Each step below has the rule that makes it work.
Cancel the broadcasting fee, rent, utilities and phone
- Rundfunkbeitrag (€18.36/month): you can de-register only when you permanently give up your German home, and you must submit the Abmeldebescheinigung as proof — see the Rundfunkbeitrag guide.
- Rental contract: as a tenant your notice period is about three months — give notice by the third working day of a month to end it two months later (§573c BGB). The longer periods apply only to landlords.
- Internet, mobile and phone: if you're moving where the service isn't offered (i.e. abroad), you can terminate with one month's notice (§60 TKG); providers usually ask for the Abmeldebescheinigung.
- Electricity and gas: check your contract's Sonderkündigungsrecht for moving.
Claim a pension refund (for non-EU leavers)
If you paid into the German pension system, you may be able to reclaim contributions (Beitragserstattung, §210 SGB VI) — but with two big conditions. First, you must wait 24 calendar months after leaving the system. Second, it's effectively only for non-EU citizens from countries without a social-security agreement with Germany; EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and those from agreement states generally keep the right to insure voluntarily and so can't cash out. You're refunded your own employee share (roughly half of total contributions) — the employer's half is not refunded. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung explains exactly who qualifies.
Your final tax return, bank account and mail
You may be owed money via a final income-tax return for the year you leave, so tell the Finanzamt you're going and consider filing — see the Steuererklärung guide for the mechanics. Because the pension refund and tax rebate can land months later, keep a German bank account open until they do. Finally, set up a Nachsendeauftrag with Deutsche Post so letters follow you abroad. Build your leaving-Germany plan so nothing keeps billing after you've gone.