Opening a bank account

For receiving your salary as well as making contracts in Germany, i.e. mobile phone, renting an apartment, etc. it is necessary to have a so-called SEPA bank account. SEPA is short for "Single Euro Payments Area". Most European Union countries are part of the SEPA.

To check the member countries please have a look at the Website of the European Central Bank (ECB).

If you are not from a member country you must open a bank account in Germany. Therefore you need your passport, temporary visa and the document for the registration of your address.

If you do not have a working contract (student, scholarship holder, guest, etc.), you might even need to open a blocked bank account.

The Sparkasse and Deutsche Bank are two banks that open these kind of accounts.