The path · month 0 to 6
How does moving to Germany as an IT professional work?
In short
With a passport from Spain, Greece or another EU country, you need no visa and no work permit. What shapes the first six months is everyday life alongside the job: your family, net pay and rent, registering your address in the first two weeks, German outside the team, and the probation period. Here, each of these stations comes with a checked number and its source.
Sources: Section 2a FreizügG/EU, European Commission, Your Europe
of immigrants who have left Germany again would have liked more support with work and career. 34% each name learning German and finding a flat, 30% dealing with public offices.
Immigrants from all countries of origin, 403 people who had left, surveyed from November 2025 to February 2026.
Source: IAB-Kurzbericht 10/2026, retrieved on 26 October 2026.
Circles: the five stations. Diamonds: our check-ins in weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12. Numbers below: months after the start.
The stations of the first six months
- Before you acceptCan my family come with me, and can my partner work in Germany?Yes, with an EU passport, without a visa or work permit. Family is the most common reason why immigrants leave again.
- Before you signWhat is left of an IT salary in Germany once the rent is paid?At €65,000 gross, about €3,341 net per month. In Munich, a two-room flat on a new lease costs about €1,050 to €1,470 before utilities.
- Moving weekWhen do I have to register my address in Germany?Within two weeks of moving in. Your tax ID follows.
- The first weeksDo I need German for an IT job in Germany?For many IT jobs, English is enough at work. Outside work, a lot happens in German.
- Month 6How long is the probation period in Germany, and what applies during it?At most six months, with two weeks’ notice for both sides.
And Switzerland?
The second path has its own rules: permit, registration with the municipality, health insurance per person and withholding tax. All of it, with a sample calculation for Zurich: How does moving to Switzerland as an IT professional work?
Three views of the same station
Each station has three sides: you as the IT professional, your partner at the kitchen table, and the team at the company. Each page shows the questions asked there and what helps. A company can read here what is on the family’s mind at home.
How we work
- After the first conversation
- Your net-income breakdown is on the table: in writing, with a source and date on every figure, in your mother tongue.
- Before every interview
- You know the company, the interview style, the typical questions and the salary range.
- When you sign
- No open questions left: probation period, notice periods and salary components have all been talked through.
- In the week of the move
- Registration, bank account, keys: prepared, and in the right order.
- Until the end of probation
- Check-ins in weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12, then as needed. In between, we are one message away.
- Cost
- Free for you. Always. We are paid by the hiring company. Never by you.
Not in our hands: The housing market, free appointments at public offices, a job for your partner, and whether someone stays. We tell you what we know about these. We make no promises there.
Calculate your own path
With your city and your salary: comparison calculator. Talk your path through with us: write to us. Who we are: home page.
Sources
- Institute for Employment Research (IAB), IAB-Kurzbericht 10/2026, Kosyakova et al., International Mobility Panel of Migrants in Germany, figures A2 and A3. Survey November 2025 to February 2026, immigrants from all countries of origin, 403 people who had left, multiple answers possible, retrieved on 26 October 2026.
- Section 2a (1) Freedom of Movement Act/EU (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU), retrieved on 26 October 2026.
- European Commission, Your Europe: Work permits, last checked 03/09/2026, retrieved on 26 October 2026.