○ TL;DR
Confirm with your supervisor where your office exactly is,do not assume it's in C0 (Saarbrücken).
Start looking for an accommodation where you can register with the city hall, as you need a Tax ID.
Make sure you have a SEPA EU IBAN bank account, so you can receive your salary.
The page about "Hints before you sign a rental contract" is still relevant!
Accommodation
Of course, the general information under [“Hints before you sign a rental contract(/accomodation/hintsbefore) will apply for you in most cases. However, since you are staying around 3 months, here is what you need to pay attention to:
- Prioritize finding a flat or flat-share where you can do the city hall registration (“Anmeldungâ€), this means avoiding hotels (even if they have “flat like†accommodations) or AirBnBs. You do need a place with your own postbox.
For your salary, you will need a Tax ID (“Steuer IDâ€), which is assigned to you within 2 weeks of [registering in the city hall](/accomodation/registration).
Be careful with this, as not every accommodation you find might allow this, make sure to clarify!
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Flat-shares (WGs) are pretty common in Germany, especially for students. The websites below are the most popular/common ones for finding one:
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Pay attention to the kitchen situation! The term “EBK†(Einbauküche) is usually used to indicate that there is a kitchen available.
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You might have to pay a deposit, which you will receive after you move out.
Here you can find a nice collection of keywords you might need:
Keywords for rental-hunt in Germany
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Nebenkosten (NK)
→ “Side costsâ€, usually up to 25% of the total rent
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Warm, Warmmiete
→ "The price where side costs are already included. Usually does not include electricity or internet, so make sure to read well!"
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Kalt, Kaltmiete
→ "The naked price, where side costs are not considered."
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ZKB (Zimmer, Küche, Bad)
→ "“Room, Kitchen, Bathroomâ€, something you will see on most of the postings."
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EBK (Einbauküche)
→ "This means the kitchen is already built in. In Germany, most flats don't come with an equipped kitchen, so beware!"
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Miethöhe
→ "The amount of rent"
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Mietdauer
→ " “Rent lengthâ€, the rental term"
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Kündigung
→ " Notice (e.g the notice you are giving when you want to terminate your contract)"
Salary / Taxes
In Germany, even babies have a Tax ID! To receive one, there are two ways:
- Registering with the city hall
- Registering with the Finanzamt (Tax Authority)
You can only do one or the other.
The second option is only recommended if you do not have an accommodation that can be registered. It is a relatively complex process, hence we would recommend that you find an accommodation that can be registered instead.
How will I receive my salary?
You need a SEPA account, AKA a bank account with a European IBAN (specifically in the SEPA Area). If you are already from a country where SEPA is the norm, or from an EU country with a Euro account, it should work.
If not, there are various online/direct banks you can open accounts with.
We recommend that you keep the bank account active for a month or two, after you stopped working with us.
But where will I exactly work?
You might already know that CISPA has multiple locations, one of them being our iconic building next to the Saarland University campus, nicknamed C0 (Stuhlsatzenhaus 5, 66123 Saarbrücken)
We have actually four other locations in the town of St. Ingbert.
Three of them could be relevant for you, so please check in with your supervisor where your office is, before looking for apartments!