FAQ for Expats in Germany to make your life in Germany easier.
In several hundreds of consultations over the last 9 years, we have collected many questions from our clients.
Please check the questions and write to us if you are missing something – so that we can add it to our FAQ for Expats in Germany
What is the consultation fee?
We do not charge a consultation fee for the expat consultation.
The Swiss Life Select Headquarter in Hannover decided, that we are allowed to charge a 95 Euros onetime consultation fee – but we as the German Sherpa Expat Team decided to skip this fee for all our clients.
What is the reason for this?
We believe that first you should experience how we work and build trust with us.
If you are a happy client, you will recommend us to you friends and colleagues – you can use our recommendation form for this
So that we create a win-win-win situation:
You get our consultation for free and save the 95 Euros onetime consultation fee
Your friend gets the same good consultation and
we get additional clients.
How is the consultation process?
Usually new clients attend our free seminars (face to face or online)
Here you can register for the next seminars
Then we go for an individial 1:1 meeting with one of the consultants where we come up with a concept and solutions for your financial topics.
At this time you decide to become a client.
Once you are a client, we will set up (at least) yearly follow up meetings to monitor changes in your personal or financial situation and adapt the strategy accordingly.
How does the sport sponsoring works?
If you are member of any sports team we can sponsor your team.
Let’s connect to discuss the details.
Can you also sponsor our cultural group?
Yes, if you are part of any cultural team we can also sponsor your team.
Let’s connect to discuss details.
When do you offer your next seminars?
please check our seminar calendar, there you will find all the upcoming online and live seminars.
When will you come in my city for a face to face seminar?
We plan to host face to face seminars across Germany.
If you manage to invite 30 people we can set up a dedicated seminar for your specific group.
Let’s connect to discuss the details.
Does it makes sense to bundle all insurance contracts with just one company?
Honestly – NO.
There is no company the best provider for all the insurance.
If a company provides you a bundle of 20-30% if you take all insurance with them they added the discount on the price upfront.
With our Best Select Approach we find the best provider and solution for each and every product – for a better price.
For some insurance it makes sense to separate the provider – e.g. Do you really think the same company would sue themselves if their liability would not cover a damage if you have legal insurance and liability with the same provider?
Let’s set up a 1:1 Meeting to discuss details.
What happens with my contract when I leave Germany?
For all contracts there is an extra cancellation right if you deregister from Germany. In case of leaving Germany we only need the official deregistration form from the city and the insurance providers will refund already paid future premiums back to your account (This might take a few weeks but is is a proven process).
Some products like some flexible asset growth schemes you can also continue abroad.
In some scenarios it can make sense to continue contracts for a certain period (Some private health care plans with worldwide unlimited coverage – e.g. if you move to the US can be used there for up to 60 months)
Can I nominate a person / multiple people in my home country as a beneficiary in the event of my death?
Usually you can nominate one person as your beneficiary in case of your death.
This can be the spouse or any other person (parent, brother, sister,…)
Here it is irrespective if this person lives in Germany or abroad.
You can also change the beneficiary person anytime in the future.
Can you support tax filing for me?
As financial consultants we are as per law not allowed to do the tax filing for our clients.
We know that there are some other financial consultants outside our team are providing this service but this is not legal and can cause a lot of trouble for you.
As financial consultants we can support to to avoid future taxes by converting taxes into assets and use legally allowed ways to receive government support and subsidies.
We have three alternatives for your tax filing:
- Apps like elster or tax fix (Pro: low cost solution / Con: only for standard tax filing)
- Communities like Steuerring (Pro: personal contact / medium price range)
- decicated tax consultants (Pro: individual support for more complicated cases / Con: starts at 1000 Euros per year)
What is the interest rate for a private / homeloan?
As we work with more than 500 Banks and the interest rate is effected by many factors (such as household income, expenses, Loan-to-value ratio of a property and many more) I suggest to book a 1:1 Meeting with one of our loan and homeloan specialists.
How does investment work in Germany?
As a starting point we identify your investors profile.
This means we consider
- your goals and wishes
- your personal financial situation
- your investment experience so far
- your investment horizont (timeline)
- your risk affinity
Then we match it against our know how and the plus 8500 available investment options in germany and the current market situation.
As a result we come up with a tailor-made incestment proprosal.
The result will be different based on the situation.
Why is a investment funds based pension scheme better than a custodian account?
compared to a normal custodian account the investment into a funds based pension scheme has the following advantages:
- No taxation inside the contract (no automated yearly capital gain tax)
- Cash out anytime (earnings to be taxed like normal mutual saving plan)
- No entry fee for the funds
- B2B Investment (lower fees / kickback, B2B funds)
- Switch of funds anytime free of costs
- After age 62: 50% of all profits become tax free + usually lower tax rate as pensioner.
- Global Citizen Contract (you can continue anywhere) while custodian account needs to be closed by leaving Germany
How fast can I buy a real estate in Germany / What is the process to buy real estate?
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Why haven’t I made a return after a year of investment?
In Managed products such as funds based pension schemes the costs for the entire runtime are charged within the first five years.
In many cases the break even is reached after 5-7 years – as these contracts are mid to longterm investments this is nothing to worry about.
We also have examples where the break even was reached already 12 months after signing up for the contract. This is all related to the choosen funds and the market situation.
Why doesn’t the insurance pay if I drop my phone/laptop?
Liability covers those damages you or one of your family members (same household) cause to 3rd party.
You cannot protect your belongings against damages caused by yourself, as you as the owner have responsibility against your assets yourself.
Why don’t I receive my insurance certificate via the app?
Welcome in Germany!
An insurance policy is still an official document and therefore it needs to be sent to you as an original via post.
Pls ensure that your name is on the letterbox so that you can receive the post with the policy document.
Anything you need?
Contact us!
Feel free to reach out to us by filling out the form below.
We look forward to connect with you during a free 1:1 online consultation.
