The packing list nobody gave you

1. Papers — pack these in your hand luggage

If the suitcase gets lost, you can still survive. If this folder gets lost, you cannot.

• Passport with visa Check it is valid at least 6 months after you land.
• Air ticket, printed Your phone battery will die. Paper does not.
• Forex card + €300–500 cash in small notes Many German shops still refuse cards. Keep €50 in coins and €10 notes for the first day.
• University admission letter / job contract Two printed copies. The Ausländerbehörde will ask.
• Blocked account or salary proof Sperrkonto confirmation, or your employer's letter.
• Health insurance paper Travel cover for the first weeks, until German insurance starts.
• Birth certificate + marriage certificate, originals Important: India and Germany do not use the Apostille. German offices check Indian documents through the German embassy, and that can take months. Ask your German embassy or VFS what your case needs before you fly. Carry originals plus copies. More: bringing family to Germany.
• All degree and school certificates, originals Plus one photocopy set kept in a different bag.
• Vaccination record and any old medical reports
• Driving licence + International Driving Permit The Indian licence works in Germany for 6 months. After that you need a German one.
• Biometric photos, 35 × 45 mm Bring 12. German photo shops charge €10–15 for four. Make a 35×45 photo sheet free →
• Scans of everything in your email Send the folder to yourself. Then you can never lose it.
• Offline map + your address written on paper Your phone will have no data for the first hour in Germany.

2. Bags

Most airlines to Germany allow 2 × 23 kg. Weigh at home — €80 for excess baggage hurts on day one.

• Two large suitcases — Koffer Hard shell lasts longer. German streets are cobbled, so buy good wheels. See on Amazon.de
• Cabin trolley — Handgepäck See on Amazon.de
• Luggage weighing scale — Kofferwaage Cheapest thing on this list. Saves the most money. See on Amazon.de
• TSA locks and luggage tags See on Amazon.de
• Vacuum bags for clothes Winter jackets take half the space after vacuuming. See on Amazon.de
• Laptop backpack — Rucksack See on Amazon.de
• Luggage tracker (AirTag or similar) One in each suitcase. If the airline loses a bag, you can tell them exactly where it is. See on Amazon.de
• Neck pillow for the flight See on Amazon.de
• Zip lock bags, a big pack Double-bag every masala and pickle. One leak ruins a whole suitcase of clothes. See on Amazon.de
• Foldable shopping bag German shops charge for bags and nobody carries plastic.

3. Electronics and power

German sockets are round two-pin, type F, 230V. Your Indian plugs will not fit. Your Indian voltage is the same, so devices work fine.

• India → Germany plug adapters, buy 4 — Reiseadapter The single most forgotten item. Buy them before you fly. See on Amazon.de
• Extension board with Indian sockets One adapter then feeds six Indian plugs. Very clever, very cheap. See on Amazon.de
• Laptop and charger
• Phone, plus your old phone Keep the old one with your Indian SIM for bank OTPs.
• Power bank — Powerbank Hand luggage only. Airlines will not allow it in the suitcase. See on Amazon.de
• Spare charging cables, 2 of each type See on Amazon.de
• Earphones See on Amazon.de
• Pen drive or external SSD with all your documents See on Amazon.de
• LAN cable — Netzwerkkabel Many German student rooms still give internet through a wall socket, not WiFi. See on Amazon.de
• Trimmer or shaver A haircut in Germany starts around €20. See on Amazon.de

4. Clothes for a real German winter

From November to March it is cold, wet and dark by 4 pm. Delhi winter clothes are not enough. But do not buy the whole winter wardrobe in India — the jackets sold there are usually too thin.

• Thermal inner wear, 3 sets — Thermounterwäsche This is the layer that actually keeps you warm. Cheap in India, buy there. See on Amazon.de
• One good winter jacket — Winterjacke Honest advice: buy this in Germany in the January sale. Bring one medium jacket to survive until then. See on Amazon.de
• Waterproof shoes Hamburg and most of north Germany is rain, not snow. Wet feet all winter is misery. See on Amazon.de
• Woollen socks, 6 pairs See on Amazon.de
• Cap, scarf and touchscreen gloves See on Amazon.de
• Small umbrella that fits in a bag — Regenschirm See on Amazon.de
• Sweaters and hoodies, 3–4 German houses are warm inside. Most of the year you live in a hoodie, not a jacket.
• Inner wear for 2 weeks Washing machines here are shared and slow. Two weeks of stock saves a lot of trouble.
• Night wear, warm Full sleeves. German bedrooms get cold at night, heating is expensive.
• One formal outfit For the visa office, job interviews, and one wedding you did not expect.
• Traditional clothes, one set Gurdwara, temple, Diwali, community functions. You will use it more than you think.
• Bathroom slippers German shops sell these, but not everywhere and not cheaply.

5. Kitchen things worth the weight

German shops have everything except these. Each one costs three times more here, or is simply not sold.

• Pressure cooker + 2 spare gaskets and safety valves The gaskets are the real gold. Nobody in Germany sells your size. See on Amazon.de
• Tawa and one kadhai Check your German kitchen first. Many have induction plates, so buy induction base. See on Amazon.de
• Masala box with 7 compartments See on Amazon.de
• Rolling pin and chakla See on Amazon.de
• Tea strainer and a small steel pot
• One good knife, peeler and tongs (chimta) Knife goes in the checked suitcase, never in hand luggage.
• Chopping board Light and thin one. Or buy here for €3 — do not carry a heavy wooden one.
• Steel glasses, plates and spoons for one person Enough to eat on day one. Buy the rest here at IKEA or a second-hand shop.
• Electric kettle — Wasserkocher Do not bring from India. Costs €12 here and the plug already fits. See on Amazon.de

6. Food — and the rule that gets people fined

Dry, vegetarian, sealed and factory-packed is the safe rule. Keep it under a few kilos and put it all in one bag so customs can check it fast.

• Your home masalas, sealed packets Garam masala, sambar powder, chaat masala. Factory packs, not loose in a bag.
• Hing, methi, ajwain, curry leaves, dried Expensive and hard to find here.
• One or two dals for the first week Do not fill a suitcase. Indian shops in Germany have all of it.
• Tea leaves you actually like German supermarket chai is not chai.
• Ready-to-eat vegetarian packets, 4 or 5 Only for the first two nights, when nothing is open and you know nobody.
• Dry fruits — almonds, cashew, raisins, anjeer Allowed, and expensive here. This is one of the few things really worth the weight.
• Jaggery and tamarind Dry and sealed only. German shops do not have proper gud.
• Pickle, oil based, sealed jar Vegetarian only. Wrap it in two plastic bags and put it in the middle of the suitcase.

7. Medicines

In Germany you cannot walk into a pharmacy and buy antibiotics. You need a doctor's prescription, and getting a first appointment can take weeks.

• Your regular prescription medicines, 3 months Carry the doctor's prescription with them, in English, with the generic drug name written on it.
• Paracetamol, ORS, antacid, cough syrup
• Small first aid box, band aids, antiseptic See on Amazon.de
• Pain relief balm or spray, Vicks
• Lip balm, 2 sticks By December your lips will crack. Everybody learns this the hard way. See on Amazon.de
• Dettol or antiseptic liquid, small bottle
• Thermometer See on Amazon.de
• Vitamin D tablets Real thing, not a joke. There is very little sun here from October to March and almost everyone runs low. See on Amazon.de
• Spare spectacles + your eye prescription Get the eye test done in India. It is far cheaper.
• Hair oil, and any cream your skin is used to German winter air dries Indian skin badly. Bring a heavy moisturiser.

8. Room and study

Most German rooms come with a bed frame and nothing on it. No sheets, no pillow, sometimes no mattress.

• Two bedsheets and one pillow cover German bed sizes are 90×200 or 140×200 cm. Indian sheets often do not fit — check before buying. See on Amazon.de
• One towel, one small hand towel
• Health faucet / jet spray German toilets do not have one. This is the item every Indian family misses on day one. It screws onto the normal water connection. See on Amazon.de
• Light blanket for the first nights German beds use a Bettdecke with a cover. Buy one here in the first week.
• Clothes hangers, folding ones German cupboards come empty. Not one hanger inside.
• Whatever you pray with Gutka Sahib, a photo, a small kapoor dani, a mala. It weighs nothing and it matters on the hard days.
• Sewing kit and safety pins
• Nail cutter, scissors, small tool
• Notebooks and pens Bring a few. German stationery is good but not cheap.
• Scientific calculator, if your course needs one See on Amazon.de
• A1 German book, if you have not started yet Start on the plane. Every single thing here is easier with a little German. See on Amazon.de
• Small gifts from India For your landlord, professor or first friends. Tea, spices, a handicraft. Costs little, opens doors.

9. Leave these at home

Every kilo you save is a kilo of masala you can carry instead.

• Mixer grinder and rice cooker Heavy, and cheap here. Second-hand ones are everywhere for €15.
• Iron, hair dryer, induction plate Not worth the weight. €10–20 in any German shop.
• Soap, shampoo, detergent, toothpaste in bulk Cheaper at dm and Rossmann here than in India. Bring one small pack only.
• Rice and atta in big bags Every Indian grocery in Germany has them. You are paying airline rates per kilo.
• Ghee, paneer, khoya mithai, any meat Not allowed. See the warning above.
• Full winter wardrobe from an Indian shop Indian "winter" jackets are too thin for January here. One jacket to survive, then buy properly.
• Many pairs of shoes Two pairs is enough. They eat the most space in a suitcase.

10. Do this in India, before you fly

These few appointments will save you hundreds of euros later. Every one of them costs many times more in Germany.

• Full dental checkup and any pending work The biggest money saver on this whole page. German insurance covers very little dental work — one root canal here can cost €400–800 out of your pocket. Get it done in India.
• Eye test, and order a spare pair
• Full body checkup, carry the reports A German doctor asking for old reports is normal. Having them speeds everything up.
• Haircut in the last week €20–30 here. Buy time.
• International roaming on your Indian SIM for one month You need a working number for OTPs until your German SIM is active.
• Tell your Indian bank you are moving abroad Otherwise they block the card the first time you use it in Europe.
• Write your name and phone number inside each suitcase Outside tags fall off. A paper inside is what actually gets the bag back to you.
• Weigh both bags at home the night before

11. Your first two weeks in Germany

Nothing to pack here. But everyone gets the order wrong, and the wrong order costs weeks.

1. Anmeldung — register your address at the Bürgeramt. Book the appointment the day you land. Everything else needs this paper.
2. Bank account — most banks want your Anmeldung first.
3. Health insurance — Krankenkasse. Your university or employer will tell you which one.
4. Tax ID — Steuer-ID arrives by post about two weeks after Anmeldung. Do not throw the letter away.
5. Residence permit — Aufenthaltstitel at the Ausländerbehörde. Take the biometric photos you brought.
6. German SIM — prepaid first. Long contracts need a German bank account anyway.
7. Rundfunkbeitrag — the monthly broadcast fee. One per flat, not per person. If you share a flat, do not each pay it.