Editing Berlin (section)

==Settling in Berlin==
If you are planning to stay in Berlin for a longer time, the main concerns will be housing, visa (if necessary), work, health insurance and the necessary bureaucracy. Please note that all information written here are rough guidelines and tips and might be outdated or incomplete.
Be aware that you might get trapped in a vicious circle: to register yourself in Berlin you need an address, to find housing you need work and for work you need to be registered.

===Housing===
Some websites that can be used if you're looking for flat-share(WG)/renting a flat in Berlin:
*[http://www.wg-gesucht.de/en/ WG-Gesucht.de (German/English)] The most used website to search for accomodation/house mates
*[http://www.studenten-wg.de Studenten-wg.de (German)] Another website to find WG's
*[http://www.immobilo.de/mieten/berlin Immobilo.de (German)] Searches multiple websites that lists accomodations.
*[http://www.immobilienscout24.de/Suche/S-T/WG-Zimmer/Berlin/Berlin Immobilienscout24 (German)] For apartments, less used for flatsharing.
*[http://www.wgcompany.de/cgi-bin/seite?st=1&mi=10&li=100 WGcompany (English)] Has a glossary in english with all important terms. Used for flatsharing.
*[http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s-immobilien/berlin/c195l3331 E-bay Kleinanzeigen (German)] Germans offer everything on E-bay.
*[http://berlin.en.craigslist.de/hhh/ Craigslist (English)] Not all very reliable, but sometimes it contains a hidden treasure.
*[http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=19711/ CouchSurfing Group 1 (English)] Find local CSers looking for flatmates, available sublets, etc.
*[http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=9251/ CouchSurfing Group 2 (English)] Find local CSers looking for flatmates, available sublets, etc.
*[http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showforum=84/ ToyTown (English)] Expat community.
*[https://www.facebook.com/groups/easy.wg/ A Facebook Group (English/German)] A good group to find housing.
*[http://www.bewelcome.org/groups/1437 BW Accommodation group] or [https://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=19711 CS Accommodation group].
*[http://www.studentenwerk-berlin.de/wohnen/woanders_wohnen/berliner_wbgs/ Berlin Apartment Corporations (German)]
*[http://www.studentenwerk-berlin.de/wohnen/woanders_wohnen/wohnraumboerse_berlin/index.html Flat Search of Studentenwerk (German)]
*[http://www.wbm.de/wbm/cms/de/wohnen/Mietwohnungen.html WBM another corporation that builds flats]
*[https://www.dreamflat.co.uk/ Dreamflat]
*[https://www.wg-cast.de/ WG-Cast] 
*[http://www.airbnb.de AirBnB Apartments, Flats and Rooms for rent]

===Buying used items===
Berlin is a hot spot for exchanging/selling/buying used items. You can find many things for sale or even for free:
*[http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s-immobilien/berlin/c195l3331 E-bay Kleinanzeigen (German)] Germans offer everything on E-bay.
*[http://berlin.en.craigslist.de/hhh/ Craigslist (English)] Good place for all sorts of items, including bikes.
*[https://www.facebook.com/groups/freeyourstuff/ A Facebook Group (English)] People offering things for FREE only.

===VISA===
General information on getting a visa for Germany can be found [http://4dayvisa.tumblr.com/ here]
====VISA Office====
[http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienststelle/index.html Ausländerbehörde (ABH)]
[http://osm.org/go/0MZv6kuHu-- MAP]

Schedule an appointment ahead of time. The waiting times are not that bad, but it's always best to have an appointment.<br>
They really don't speak English consistently so just be prepared. Bring someone with you if at all possible. Have everything you need when you go. They don't answer emails for nearly 1 month so don't bother there. You can call and ask questions, but have someone call for you who speaks German and then you might get answers.

====Freelance VISA and Artist VISA====
(This is written from a US citizen. Different rules may apply to you, although they may be similar). 
These are 2 different things. I obtained my Artist's visa while I was waiting for my Freelance visa to be approved (this will take 6-10 weeks). The Artist's visa does not allow you to work. The Freelance one does (you can list more than one profession on this visa).

====List of things that you need====
*  Completed Form (http://www.berlin.de/formularserver/formular.php?72301)
*  Letter stating your intentions, how you plan to support yourself, everthing you can think of
*  CV
*  Passport Copy
*  2 Biometric Photo (not smiling... these can be done in the bottom level of the office... leave an extra 10 minutes for this).
*  Bank Statement (proving that you can support yourself without working)
*  All Certificates
*  All Diplomas
*  All Transcripts
*  Health Insurance (GERMAN) Proof and all documents
*  German Address Registration (do NOT show up without this. You will be turned away. You must register your address)
*  References
*  €50 in cash (sometimes this is more)
*  Artist portfolio (this must be hard copies of your work)
*  Letter from 2 prospective employers (I fought this, but it's technically required and you should have it)

===Registering in Germany/Berlin - Bürgeramt===
'''Registering your address'''
Fill out page 3 of [https://docs.google.com/file/d/1RBnLXCEqJ-le6hyQSsyvQ2_0u7Uo7tF-tG4lUc76EPDL6r-8O6ipxGPkZt2-/edit this form] and then go to register.<br />
You must register your address within 2 weeks of coming to Germany and before you can do anything really.<br />
You need to either have a rental agreement or have the main renter to sign the paper or write a letter for you.<br />
[http://www.buergeramt.info/berlin.htm A list] of all the places you can go to register. You don't need to register in your own district.

===Health insurance===
In Germany you need to have a health insurance by law. It can be very expensive. The easiest way to become insured is to have a job. If you're an employee, the insurance is withhold from your loan (15,5%) automatically, and you can enter the 'Gesetzliche Krankenkasse' (insurance by law), where a broad variety of treatments is covered. If you earn more than €52.200 a year, or you are not an employee, you'd have to sign up for a private health insurance, which have a fixed price per month (starting at €130).

A list with [http://www.gesetzlichekrankenkassen.de/preise/berlin/berlin.html 'Gesetzliche' insurances].

Some private health insurances can be found at:
* [http://www.deutscheinsurance.com/ Compare insurances]
* [http://www.aok.de/rheinland-hamburg/mitglied-werden/international-english-89909.php AOK]
* [http://www.hansemerkur.de/ HanseMerkur]
Note that you need to go to an agency office to sign up. You would probably also need to be checked by a doctor before the insurance company will take you in.

If you want to apply to [http://www.bmkb.de/ KSK] (you must be an artist legally here, they will help you with the price of your insurance, but there are a lot of rules you must follow), you can contact this woman: 
Ilka Lacherbauer
Medien und Künstler Beratung Ltd.
Tucholskystr. 35
10117 Berlin - Mitte
Fon.:     +49 30 -  75 00 86 00
e-mail:  info@bmkb.de or lacherbauer@bmkb.de

===SIM Cards===
(this information was gathered from forums)

* http://www.callmobile.de/ 
* http://www.fonic.de
* http://www.blau.de
* You can get great deals on SIM's at any Saturn store. They have T-Mobile SIM cards for only 5 euro and they come with 10 euro worth of call minutes for free. 
* some Turkish phone shops, they sell Vodafone cards with credit for half-price (usually a card with 10 EUR credit for about 6 EUR, and one with 1 EUR credit for 60 cents), and what's best these are pre-activated and work right away, no need to fill out any stupid forms online.
* new SIM. For instance if you take an O2 one for 28.50E, you get 21E credit plus two months of freecalls to O2 (has a good subscrirption in Germany) numbers and to any landline. I think it is a great offer but something that you cannot renew; just comes with the new number.
*Aldi or Penny (yes, the discount stores) have easy prepaid cards for 15euro or something with the same amount of credit on it so you basically pay nothing for it. I don't know if they offer data as well, but the Aldi card uses ePlus networks so you can also charge your credit with ePlus prepaid cards if there is no Aldi around to buy new credit. adli 300mb 300 minutes = less 10 euro ;)


===Bank account===
At some point you would probably need a German bank account. You would need to find the bank of your choice, apply, and identify yourself at a post office (unless you open an account in a bank physically). Choosing your bank is not the easiest thing, since there are many banks to choose from. Criteria can be:
*Monthly fee
*Interest
*Costs of credit card
*Physical/online bank
*ATM-fee (sometimes you have to pay an extra fee if you use another bank's ATM)
*Welcoming bonus
*Ethics of the bank

There's a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_in_Germany wikipedia page] listing the banks in Germany. To compare banks, visit [http://www.girokonto-vergleich.net/vergleich.html this] and [http://www.aspect-online.de/banken/girokonto/ this] site.
If you're looking for more ethical (social-ecological) banks, check [http://blog.soziales-dorf.eu/module-news-display-sid-152.html this German blog].