Whether you are relocating for work in Frankfurt’s financial district or settling into a family home in Bavaria, AMC makes moving to Germany seamless.
We pack your household goods in Ireland, transport them via direct ferry and Autobahn, and deliver safely to any German address, from city apartments to rural villages.
Germany's major cities are genuinely different from each other. Picking the wrong one for your lifestyle or industry adds friction you don't need on top of an already demanding international move. Here's a plain comparison of where the Irish tend to land and what each city actually offers.
The most popular destination for younger Irish people moving to Germany. Berlin is the cheapest of Germany's major cities and the most international. You can live a fairly full life in English during your first year without it becoming a crutch. The tech and startup scene is real. So is the creative, media, and arts sector. It's also the city with the most room to explore: massive by area, with genuinely different neighbourhoods that function almost like separate towns. The downsides: Berlin salaries are lower than Munich or Frankfurt, the bureaucracy is slower than elsewhere in Germany, and Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg are no longer cheap. Look east (Friedrichshain, Neukölln, Lichtenberg) for better value.
The most expensive German city to live in, and the most in-demand. Munich draws people in engineering, automotive, life sciences, and finance, and pays accordingly. Salaries are significantly higher than Berlin, which partly offsets the rents (partly). The city is clean, well-run, and sits next to the Alps. The tradeoff is the housing market: finding a flat in Munich without contacts, a solid rental history, and ideally three months' payslips is genuinely difficult. Plan to stay in temporary accommodation for longer than you'd expect.
Germany's financial capital and the city with the most direct connections to Ireland via Frankfurt Airport with direct flights from Dublin and Cork run year-round. Frankfurt has a large international community built around the banking sector, the ECB, and the legal and consulting firms that orbit it. Rents are high but not Munich-high. The city centre is smaller than you'd expect for a financial hub. Many people live in surrounding towns (Offenbach, Sachsenhausen, Bockenheim) and commute.
Germany's second-largest city, and one that often gets underrated. Hamburg has a strong media, advertising, logistics, and maritime industry base. It's genuinely beautiful (more so than Frankfurt) and has a well-established Irish community. Rents are lower than Munich and Frankfurt. It rains a lot. If you're considering Hamburg, go in February before committing.
The Rhine corridor. Cologne has a strong creative, media, and advertising sector and an authentic city culture that neither Munich nor Frankfurt quite has. Düsseldorf is more corporate with (media, fashion, retail headquarters. Both are affordable relative to Munich and Frankfurt, well-connected by train, and have large English-speaking expat communities. Direct flights to Dublin from both cities run regularly.
AMC runs twice-weekly road freight between Ireland and Germany. The route goes via the UK (ferry from Dublin or Rosslare to Holyhead or Pembroke) and across through the Channel Tunnel or ferry to France, then east into Germany. Door-to-door delivery to Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, and all Bundesländer.
Your shipment shares a truck with other customers going in the same direction. Collection in Ireland, consolidation at our depot, delivery to your German door. The right option for studio flats, one-bedroom apartments, or anyone not moving a full house. Typical timeline: 6-10 days from collection.
Your own vehicle, your own load. For 3-bedroom houses or larger, or when your move date is fixed and groupage timelines don't work. Typically 4-7 days door-to-door. Faster and more expensive.
Germany is one of AMC's most frequent routes. Twice-weekly departures means less waiting for a groupage slot than for some other destinations.
The Anmeldung is the cornerstone of German life. It's the registration of your address with the local authorities, done at your nearest Bürgeramt or Einwohnermeldeamt (residents' registration office). Without it, almost nothing else works. You can't open a bank account, register for health insurance as a freelancer, apply for a tax number, or legally work.
Book in advance. In Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt especially, Bürgeramt appointments fill weeks ahead. Book your slot online before you arrive in Germany, or as soon as you get there. Walk-in queues exist but you may wait hours. Some cities have started offering earlier slots for cancellations. Check regularly.
Germany has mandatory health insurance. Every resident must have it. There's no opting out, and being uninsured even briefly creates administrative problems that can cost you months of backdated premiums.
If you're taking up employment in Germany, your employer enrols you in GKV automatically. The current contribution rate is 14.6% of your gross salary, split roughly equally between you and your employer, so you pay around 7-8% of your gross. At a €50,000 salary, that's around €300/month from your payslip.
GKV covers most healthcare. GP visits, specialist referrals, hospital care, prescription contributions. It also covers your family members who aren't working, with no additional premium.
Providers: AOK, TK (Techniker Krankenkasse), Barmer, DAK. TK and Barmer are the most popular among expats because they have strong English-language support.
Available to self-employed people and, in some cases, high earners above the insurance threshold (currently around €69,300/year). PKV premiums are based on your age and health at entry. So they're cheapest when you're young. The tradeoff: premiums rise significantly as you get older, and if you later take employment, switching back to GKV can be difficult.
If you're arriving employed: your employer sorts this. Confirm before you start.
If you're arriving self-employed or freelance: join GKV voluntarily. The voluntary GKV rate for self-employed people is calculated on a minimum income basis, currently around €160-200/month as a minimum. It's the lower-risk long-term choice unless you have a clear reason to go private.
If there's a gap before you start work: contact a health insurer before you arrive and arrange coverage from Day 1. Germany does not accept a period of being uninsured. Insurers can backdate premiums to the date you established German residency.
SCHUFA is Germany's credit reference agency. Landlords, almost universally in major cities, request a SCHUFA-Auskunft (credit report) as part of any flat application. As a new arrival from Ireland, you have no SCHUFA history. That's different from a bad score, but many landlords treat it the same way.
A SCHUFA-Bonitätsauskunft confirms you have no negative entries. For new arrivals, this is the report you can provide. It shows a clean record, which is true because you have no German credit history at all. Some landlords accept this. Others won't take the risk.
Corporate housing or serviced apartments for the first 2-3 months. This buys you time to build paperwork: Anmeldung, employment contract, payslips, and a starter SCHUFA entry from having a German bank account.
WG-Gesucht.de (shared flat listings) or Wunderflats (furnished short-term). Private landlords renting rooms in flat-shares are more flexible than property management companies.
Immobilien Scout 24 and Immonet are the main flat-listing platforms, equivalent to Daft.ie. Volume is high in Berlin. Competition is brutal in Munich.
The honest summary: flat-hunting in Munich as a new arrival is genuinely hard. Budget more time and more temporary accommodation money than you think you'll need. Frankfurt and Hamburg are competitive. Berlin is the most forgiving of the major cities for people without a German track record.
EU vehicles don't pay import duty when moving with their owner to Germany. But the re-registration process has costs and a few practical catches.
Timeline: You can drive on your Irish plates for up to 6 months after establishing German residency. After that, the car must be re-registered. Don't let this slide. Driving an unregistered foreign vehicle as a resident is a finable offence.
The process:
One catch specific to left-hand-drive countries: Irish cars have right-hand drive headlights designed to dip left (for driving on the left). In Germany (driving on the right), these headlights dip into oncoming traffic. You'll need to adjust or replace the headlight units. It's a common, manageable fix but adds to the cost.
Older cars or high-emission vehicles may also face restrictions in German cities, Umweltzonen (environmental zones) require a green Umweltplakette sticker, which most modern cars get automatically but some older diesels don't.
Every household in Germany pays this. It funds ARD, ZDF, and Deutschlandradio, the public broadcasting system. It's not optional, and it's not tied to whether you own a TV or listen to the radio.
A few weeks after registering your address via Anmeldung, you'll receive a letter from the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice explaining this. Pay it. Set up a direct debit and move on. Ignoring it leads to enforcement notices and penalties. At €18.36/month (roughly €220/year), it's not worth the friction.
This is one of those things nobody tells you about before you go, and then everyone who's moved to Germany tells you about immediately after you arrive.
Ireland and Germany are both EU countries. The standard EU pet travel rules apply.
Your pet needs:
No quarantine applies to EU pets with correct documentation.
Germany's breed-specific legislation is more detailed than most EU countries. At the federal level, there are recommended risk classifications, but each Bundesland (state) sets its own rules. Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and several others have specific restrictions or requirements for breeds including American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier, and pit bull types. Some require a Sachkundenachweis (a competence certificate, obtained via a test) and liability insurance. If you have a breed that might be affected, check the rules for your specific destination Bundesland before the move.
Germany is one of AMC's most frequent routes, regular departures from Ireland mean shorter wait times and more competitive groupage pricing than less common destinations.
Prices are for road freight, collection in Ireland, delivery to Germany. Packing service, vehicle transport, and specialty items quoted separately.
A. Costs depend on volume, access (lifts, parking permits), and season. Request an obligation-free quote for accurate pricing.
A. For cities like Berlin or Stuttgart we secure LEZ permits or arrange a shuttle van if the zone restricts trucks.
A. Yes. Boxes, wardrobe cartons and tape can be delivered a week or more before move-out. See our various packing materials & sizes here.
A. Transport & packing fees are payable before departure; storage is billed monthly.
A. You can, but self-packed cartons aren’t covered by insurance. Professional packing ensures full cover.
A. We’ll store goods in Naas or in Germany until you receive keys.
A. Groupage: 6-10 days from collection. Dedicated truck: 4-7 days.
A. For working life in Berlin's tech sector or Frankfurt's financial sector, you can start without German. For daily life, finding a flat, dealing with bureaucracy, building a social life outside the expat bubble, German makes everything faster and less frustrating. Most Irish people who've been there 2+ years wish they'd started learning earlier.
A. In the short term, yes. Revolut and N26 both work well for day-to-day spending. But you'll need a German bank account for salary payments, direct debits (including rent), and the Rundfunkbeitrag. Most German landlords require a German IBAN for rent payments. Open a German account as soon as you have your Anmeldung, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, ING, or DKB are commonly used by expats.
A. AMC has storage facilities in Ireland. We hold your shipment and deliver when you have a confirmed address. Flag this at booking, not the week before.
A. Yes, or someone you trust. We won't leave goods unattended at an unoccupied property.
A. Book a survey, in-person in Leinster, video call anywhere else. We'll assess the volume, go through your options, and send a written quote within 48 hours.
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