Opening a bank account in Germany

I know quite a lot of expats living here, and I've never heard about any problems opening a bank account. You'd need to present your id card and/or passport, and probably also a proof of residence (if it's not included in your passport).

Many banks also allow online registration, in which case you'd have to present your documents to the postman to complete the process. The whole process shouldn't take longer than a week or so.

The bank might restrict their services indeed depending on your credit score. How exactly they calculate, no one really knows.

I'd recommend you join a credit union such as the Sparda Bank. They usually provide great service, and distribute their profit among their members in one way or the other (such as a startup bonus, good offers on time deposit, free credit cards, high interest on capital shares etc.)

Hi JanKrohn!

Thanks for your help

Armand

hi,

I would definitely not recommend Sparkasse. Even so you can find Sparkasse in every city- they are totally independent, so basically  you need to pay fees for operations in every other Sparkasee, except where you opened your account.

Good luck