Your first months
in Germany,
in order.
Anmeldung → Tax ID → bank → residence permit. One missed step blocks the next. We mapped the chain so you don't learn it the hard way.
Open a bank account
Bring Meldebescheinigung + Tax ID
Done
Anmeldung
11
Students surveyed
11
Bureaucratic steps
2
Languages (EN + DE)
0
Ads, ever
The forms are German. The deadlines are hidden. One office won't help you until you've been to three others first.
Most international students discover the dependency chain by tripping over it. We surveyed 11 students at Konstanz in May 2026 and every single one had been caught by it.
German-only
Hidden deadlines
5+ offices
Lost paperwork
From confused to on-track in 90 seconds.
Step 01
Tell us your situation
Country, status, arrival date, visa. Six questions, 90 seconds. No account.
Step 02
Get your personalised plan
11 steps in dependency order — documents, offices, deadlines, all spelled out.
Step 03
Stay on track
Mark steps done, see what unlocks next. Never miss a deadline you didn't know existed.
The moments we wish we'd known earlier.
Verbatim quotes from our May 2026 survey of international students in Konstanz.
Re: GEZ / Rundfunkbeitrag
I did not go to a presentation about the Rundfunkbeitrag and ended up regretting it VERY MUCH. Cue several letters exclusively in German.
Erasmus student
🇫🇷 France
Re: Bank account / Tax ID
Opening a bank account without a Tax ID. Nobody told me one blocked the other — I lost two weeks before I figured out the right order.
Master's student
🇵🇰 Pakistan
Re: SIM card
I wish I knew that I could activate my SIM card at the post office with my passport. I spent days trying to get a contract I didn't need.
Master's student
🇧🇾 Belarus
We've been stuck too.
Sharif and Farid are international students at Universität Konstanz. We built PaperPilot because we got lost in the bureaucratic chain ourselves — and we couldn't find a single trustworthy guide that actually walked us through it.
Validated
11-student survey
Reviewed
by Welcome Center
Updated
every semester
Reminders
(Phase 2)
Not another Sperrkonto seller.
VisaFlow, Fintiba, Expatrio, Coracle — every commercial platform earns commission from selling you financial products. We don't.
Commercial platforms
- Earn commission when you buy a Sperrkonto, insurance, or SIM contract
- “Recommended” providers are sponsored placements
- Optimised for the visa application — pre-arrival
- Generic for all of Germany
PaperPilot
- Earns nothing. No commission, no sponsorships, no upsells.
- Honest comparisons. Says “cheapest” when it’s cheapest. Says “best for English support” when it is.
- Built for post-arrival. Anmeldung → Tax ID → bank → permit → enrolment.
- Konstanz-specific. Real local offices and wait times. Reviewed by the Welcome Center.
Tell us about you.
Six quick questions. Takes 90 seconds. Nothing is shared with anyone, and you don't need an account.