What to consider before picking a relocation service in Berlin

Last update: 31/01/2021

If you are reading those lines, there is a good chance that life is going a bit faster than usual right now for you, a family member or a fellow employee. Moving countries is challenging task and nobody will question the desire to get a little help from relocation services in Berlin. This leaves time and space for the essential and the personal, while the rest is being taken care of by professionals.

While this blog has helped newcomers tackle the hurdles of moving to Germany by themselves, it is only just to recognize that sometimes, this can delegated to somebody else. Therefore, this post will aim at nailing down the right parameters to consider when booking relocation services in Berlin.

Taking a good look at your profile

The relocation process is long and complex. Portfolio of relocation agencies reflect that and offer assistance of various topics such as, but not limited to:

Visa application
Family or spouse support
Finding temporary or long-term accommodation
Opening a bank account in Germany.
Registering with a German healthcare provider.
Registration with the local authorities and tax services.
Finding school & Kindergartens for the children.
Language learning
Looking for doctors
Registering residency
Finding utilities providers.
Pet relocation
Movers coordination

Figuring how help you will need on which topics will be first huge step in moving the right relocation service in Berlin. You will be able to tell from reviews, reputation, testimonials which strengths certain providers have. Hopefully, those strengths will match the topics where you need most support.

A good relocation agency in Berlin might also challenge the perception of what you really need. Depending on your case, this also might be a good thing. These companies have crafted packages to fit the needs of most. They should be able to consult on those needs, without being too pushy naturally.

Investigate how they want to work with you

Getting to know a relocation agency is making sure that they know your expectations and that their know yours. Hence, you could grill them a bit to try to pull some information about their process. This is a list of topics you will want to raise during that get-to-know-each-other meeting.

Are they able to level with me as a client when with complicated processes, new local jargon & unsaid rules? Their job should be to ease you into any hard to grasps concepts or legal matters. So that’s important that they take the time and pick the right words.
How responsive are they and what guarantees the quick reaction time? Time is often of the essence during a relocation and you will want answers on sensitive, fast.
How they intend to communicate you and keep you in the loop while working? I don’t know about you but i like it when i can check the status on each separate topic at any time, and know if i should react to something. Even better when this can be done away from email via a modern project management tool.
How much involvement is expected of you? Is this a premium turn-in-key service or a cheaper more “manual” one?
Is my type of profile usually processed with your agency? This is important because this tells you about their level of experience on the topics you need assistance with. This can also tell you if they have bigger clients they might prioritize over your case.
How do their balance current clients vs new ones? In other words, how do you make sure my case is being followed through in the case a large batch of new clients comes in?

Ask around and look online for reviews

We live in the age of the 5 stars scale, and rating a relocation service is no exception. You can find them online in forums or in Facebook groups such as this one or that one. Ask there if needed. Think about Google reviews as well.

If you are an HR professional looking into a relocation service in Berlin, you can probably turn to fellow HR colleagues. This can be done in Linkedin or Slack groups too! If you don’t know who to ask, you could probably try to look for companies with the same relocation needs as yours.

You may also want to ask for references to the relocation agency directly. These can always help even if a bit biased.

Immigration lawyer, moving company or relocation service in Berlin?

While all those actors do work in the space of relocation services in Berlin, you will not hold the same conversations with all of them.

Immigration lawyers are able to consult on your particular visa application process and situation. They are also able to represent you on your behalf in front of the German administration, if this is needed. They provide a legal service but of course won’t help you find a school for your kids.

Moving companies are another part of the puzzle. Their basic jobs is to move your stuff from A to B, with care and enough insurance in case something goes wrong. They can’t help you on any other topic as well.

Relocation agencies in Berlin can help coordinate it all and often use preferred providers for moving and legal services. Also, they help with the rest of the process, as we discussed in the rest of this post.