Do you want to live and work in Offenbach?

The first step when you arrive in Offenbach is to go to the "Bürgerbüro". You must register there in person within one week with a valid address, confirmation of residence and an identification document (passport or identity card).

To do this, you must make an online appointment using the online scheduler of the Citizens' Office:
https://tevis.ekom21.de/off/select2?md=1

• Click on "Meldewesen" and select the item "An-, Ab- Ummeldung, sonstige Meldeangelegenheiten" and click on the plus sign for an appointment (click on the plus sign several times for a family, depending on the number of people)
• Then select an appointment and fill in the form.
• An e-mail address is required to confirm the appointment.

Address:
Citizens' Office of the City of Offenbach am Main
Kaiserstrasse 39, 63065 Offenbach

After registering, make sure your name is clearly legible on the letterbox. This is the only way you can receive important mail from the authorities. In Germany, it is common to receive mail from various authorities. As a rule, you have to take action, e.g. answer questions. If you do not understand the letter, have it translated by someone you trust. Sometimes there are even fees to pay. If you do not pay them on time, you will first receive a "reminder" and then the amount will increase. This is not good for your reputation or your account balance. Please avoid a full letterbox. In Germany, you receive a lot of advertising, so your letterbox gets full and important letters can be overlooked.

Bank account
In Germany you need a bank account.
It is not possible to open a bank account without registering with the Citizens' Registration Office. Without a bank account, you cannot make many payments legally.
Cash payments for rent or salary are not common in Germany. These are often a sign that you are a victim of fraud.
If you have to pay your rent in cash, make sure you ask for a receipt.

When moving or returning home
If you move to another city or leave Germany, you must deregister at the Citizens' Office (OF). Also check which contracts you need to cancel in advance.

Rent
To rent an apartment, you sign a "rental agreement". It regulates your rights and obligations as a tenant. The landlord usually requires a "deposit" - a maximum of 3 basic rents. A deposit means that this money stays with the landlord until you move out. You will get the deposit back if you have fulfilled your obligations when you move out of the apartment (renovation if necessary, no rent arrears).
The rent consists of "rent for the living space" (= basic rent) + "ancillary costs" (all = warm rent).
You usually have to take out extra contracts for electricity, water, telephone connection and internet. You will receive all the necessary information when you register at the Bürgerbüro.
Please note the "notice period" in your contract!

Apartments are expensive in Offenbach. You only conclude a rental contract with the landlord (private individual) or the property management (administration, company).
In Offenbach there are also affordable apartments, so-called "social housing". You have to "apply" for these at the housing office. In Offenbach, you can apply for a "Wohnungsberechtigungsschein" if you have registered in advance at the Bürgerbüro Offenbach. The "Wohnungsberechtigungsschein" is issued after the documents have been checked. You then have to look for an apartment yourself.

Many people are rented a "room" or a "bed" via a contact person. These are often overpriced and the quality is sometimes poor. Find out about reasonable prices.
As a general rule, do not sign anything immediately that you do not understand.
If the housing conditions are not in order, inform an authority or an advice center.
It is also bad for your health if many people sleep on mattresses in one room!

Here are some rules to avoid conflicts:
Observethe quiet hours from 13:00 to 15:00 and from 22:00 to 06:00.
Keep the apartment and stairwell, the property, streets and public places clean . Everyone can contribute to this.
Waste separation: Separate household waste from organic waste, packaging, paper and glass. There are special bins for each type of waste with easily recognizable labels. There is also bulky waste (furniture, lamps, etc. for private households). All information can be found on the websites of both cities.
Barbecues are permitted in gardens or designated parks. You should not barbecue on the balcony.
Parking your car correctly not only shows respect for other people, but also saves you money, as parking incorrectly is a punishable offense.

In Germany, everyone must have "health insurance". There are many statutory health insurance companies, e.g. AOK, DAK, and also private health insurance companies. The health insurance pays for visits to the doctor and hospital stays.
If you have health insurance from your country of origin, find out what medical care it covers in Germany.
Do you have an employment contract with an employer from your country of origin and work for them in Germany? Then your "European Health Insurance Card" (EHIC card) is valid here for up to two years. After that, you will have to take out German health insurance.
In all other cases, European health insurance is only valid for three months and only for medical emergencies. You have to pay privately for all other visits to the doctor! The costs are high. Sometimes this results in debt! If you have debts, please contact a debt counseling center.

How do you take out health insurance?
If you or a family member with an employment contract in Germany work for more than 450 euros a month, your employer will take out your health insurance.
If you are self-employed, you must take out either private or statutory health insurance yourself. There are minimum contributions for voluntary statutory health insurance. You can find these on the Internet on the respective health insurance websites. A major advantage of statutory health insurance is that family members are also insured free of charge.

With German health insurance, you have a free choice of doctor and you do not have to pay for medical examinations at the doctor's surgery. Exceptions are examinations that are not covered by your health insurance. However, the doctor must be able to document this in writing.
You can find doctors with expertise in your language on the Internet here. In the search mask, you must select "Specialty", "Location" and "Foreign languages".

If you leave Germany - except for a vacation trip - please do not forget to cancel your health insurance (and school) yourself. Otherwise your health insurance will continue and you will have to pay.
As a general rule, every contract must be terminated within the agreed notice period, otherwise you will have to continue paying.

What can you do if you do not have health insurance?
You can go to these places and do not have to pay anything for the first examination.

Malteser Medicine for people without health insurance
Ketteler Hospital
Lichtplattenweg 85
63071 Offenbach/Main
Open consultation hours every Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm
Phone: 0175 7646026
E-Mail: mmm.offenbachmalteserorg

Student Polyclinic
Breite Gasse 28 - 60313 Frankfurt am Main
Tuesdays 17:00 to 19:00
Wednesdays 18:00 to 20:00

Caritas street outpatient clinic
Platz der Deutschen Einheit 7, 63065 Offenbach
0152 09291775
069 800640

E-Mail: caritashaus-st.josefcv-offenbachde

Have you signed an employment contract where you earn more than the statutory minimum wage per month? Then your employer must register you for social insurance (health, long-term care, pension, unemployment and accident insurance). You pay half of the contributions, the other half is paid by the employer.

In Germany, there is a statutory minimum wage and also industry-specific minimum wages, for example:

Construction industry: for construction workers and skilled construction workers
Building cleaning: for interior cleaning and for glass and façade cleaning
Care sector: for care assistants and qualified care workers

Are you looking for work here?
There are various ways to find work: There are various ways to find work:

• On the Internet via job portals, for example the job exchange of the "Agentur für Arbeit ": https://jobboerse.arbeitsagentur.de/vamJB/ (opens in a new tab)
• The local "Agentur für Arbeit", where you can register as a job seeker
• "Temporary work" companies
• Newspapers

Some employers require "application documents" for recruitment. An "application" consists of a letter of motivation, a CV, copies of educational certificates and qualifications, work references and sometimes translations of these if you have acquired them in a country other than Germany. There are offices that help with the recognition of your certificates:

Business registration
Many people who come to Germany work as self-employed persons. This means that you have your own small company.
There is a risk that you will be considered "bogus self-employed". This is a criminal offense! You are "bogus self-employed" if you only have one client and receive instructions like a normal employee. In order for you not to be considered "false self-employed", you must, for example, have several clients and always negotiate the orders yourself. You also have to pay all the insurance mentioned above, register with the Chamber of Crafts or Chamber of Industry and Commerce and pay taxes yourself.

Employment relationship
Sometimes employers do not pay you your wages. Make a note of your working hours, place of work, activity and employer. If you have any uncertainties or problems regarding your employment relationship, please contact:

Fair Mobility Advice Center Frankfurt
Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße 69-77
60329 Frankfurt am Main
Telephone:
0170/1707882150 (German, Polish, English)
069/2729 7567 (German, Romanian, English)
069/97764996 (German, Romanian, English)
Fax: 069 2729 7568
http://www.faire-mobilitaet.de/beratungsstellen

If you cannot find work
Under certain conditions, you can also receive financial assistance if you are unemployed. The relevant job center will decide this after checking your documents. There are separate job centers in Offenbach and the districts for the people who live there.

Child benefit
In Germany, you receive child benefit for children who are still at school or in training. You can apply for child benefit at the family benefits office, where your details will be checked very carefully.

Addresses of the family benefit offices:
Offenbach am Main
Family Benefits Office Hesse
Hanau location
Am Hauptbahnhof 1
63450 Hanau
E-mail: familienkasse-hanauarbeitsagenturde
Internet: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/vor-ort/familienkasse/familienkasse-hessen-hanau.html (opens in a new tab)

Kindergarten
Recommendation: Send your children to a daycare center if they are under 6 years old. Here they will learn German faster and make friends quickly.

Offenbach daycare center (EKO)
City of Offenbach am Main - Town Hall
Berliner Straße 100
63065 Offenbach
Telephone: 069 / 8065 2130
E-mail: kitasoffenbachde

School
School attendance is compulsory in Hesse. Every child has to go to school for 9 years! School attendance and books cost nothing in Germany.

State education authority for the city of Offenbach am Main
and the district of Offenbach
Admission and counseling center for lateral entrants
Stadthof 13
63065 Offenbach
Telephone: 069 / 80053 0

Services for families
Good to know: There are countless services for families and people in all walks of life, for example pregnancy counseling, parenting advice, education and training, for single parents, for age-appropriate leisure activities, from youth to old age. These services are free of charge. Take advantage of these services!
Ask the local youth welfare office or the migration advice centers for the right offer for you.

German courses
Living in Germany means speaking German. Learn German as quickly as possible. Then you can take care of your own affairs and are not dependent on other people. You yourself represent your interests best!

There are many offers for German courses!

If you do not speak German well enough and hire someone to translate or interpret, you should check carefully: Who are you giving personal information about yourself to? Do you know this person? Do you trust this person?

You can find information on language course providers in Offenbach at:

Interpreting services
If you sign a contract with a company or an office and do not understand it, then it is better to take a recognized interpreter with you. These interpreters cost money. However, you can then be sure that the interpreters are independent and translate the truth.

Self-organizations of migrants
Migrant organizations are often reliable contacts to represent you and your interests. As a rule, they work together with the local authorities and enjoy their trust. They also offer a wide range of cultural activities. There are many such organizations in the Offenbach region.

Migration advice
People who are new to Germany can go to the migration advice service. Migration counseling is free of charge. They receive individual advice and support on their way to a new life.

Public transportation in the region:
https://www.rmv.de/c/de/start/ (opens in a new tab)

Further information

Luigi Masala
Municipal Integration Officer

Office for Employment Promotion, Statistics and Integration Kaiserstraße 39
63065 Offenbach am Main

By appointment
Phone:
069 8065 3587
Email:
luigi.masalaoffenbachde

Basic rules and laws
The Offenbach region is international. People from all over the world live here. Everyone brings their own culture and customs with them. That makes life here interesting. But living together only works if everyone treats others with respect, shows consideration for them and respects and follows the basic rules and laws here. This sometimes means reconsidering certain behaviors from your home country in public, at home or in traffic.

Be careful when downloading files (films, music, etc.) from the Internet: pay attention to copyrights. Anything that is not marked "free" costs money and is very often prosecuted. You can find lawyers with native-speaker expertise on the Internet.

Pay attention to the specialization: employment law, family law, tenancy law, school law, etc., because not every lawyer can advise on all areas of law.

Emergency services and emergency numbers

110 Police

112 Fire brigade and ambulance