Registration and resident permits

It is important to get a bank account (Girokonto) when living in Germany. This will be a future blog as I haven't really gotten a fully functional account yet. But before you can get a bank account, you first need to register your new address with the city. This registration is different from acquiring the legal resident status in Germany. For that, you need a resident permit (aufenthaltserlaubnis). This sounds complicated; and indeed it is.

Fortunately, Mr. Gerd Aye, the go-to guy for guest scientists at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, did all the hard work for us. He and his staff filled out the forms (Glenda and I have signed a lot of forms in the past two weeks), took them to the appropriate government offices, and even provided home delivery! He brought us our passports with the resident permits affixed this evening. Thank you, Gerd!