Your Child Was Born Abroad: How They Get a German Steuer-ID After You Move to Munich
A child born outside Germany never gets a German Steuer-ID at birth, the way a child born in Germany does automatically through the Standesamt. The BZSt's own FAQ is direct about why: children living abroad generally aren't taxable in Germany, so no ID is assigned to them at all, even if they already hold German citizenship or a Kindergeld entitlement. The trigger that finally gets them one is your family's Anmeldung, address registration, in Munich, since the Meldebehörde then transmits the required data to BZSt and the ID is generated and mailed automatically, with no separate application needed on your part. BZSt itself points to the 3-month mark after registration as the point to actively follow up if nothing has arrived, using an online-only reissue request. In the meantime, the missing ID can delay a Kindergeld application from being finally processed, since both parent and child IDs have been legally required since January 1, 2016, but you can still open the application and submit foreign identification documents while the German ID is pending, rather than waiting to apply until it exists.
The Official Rule
Germany’s tax identification system draws a sharper line than most newcomers expect: it’s built around tax liability, not citizenship or family ties, and that distinction is exactly why a child born outside Germany doesn’t get a Steuer-ID the way a child born inside the country does.
BZSt’s own FAQ states this directly: “Kinder, die im Ausland leben, sind grundsätzlich in Deutschland nicht steuerpflichtig. In diesem Fall wird daher keine Identifikationsnummer (IdNr) zugeteilt.” Children living abroad generally aren’t taxable in Germany, so no ID is assigned to them at all. This holds true even if the child already has German citizenship or an existing Kindergeld entitlement through a parent, tax liability, not those other facts, is what drives the assignment. There’s one narrow documented exception: children of German diplomats, armed forces members, or people posted abroad by a German authority under Section 1(2) EStG, where BZSt can assign an ID on request even before the family relocates.
Compare that with a child born inside Germany, even to foreign parents. The Standesamt (civil registry office) automatically reports that birth to BZSt as part of the standard birth-registration pipeline, and the tax ID gets generated and mailed with no application required. That automatic pipeline simply doesn’t exist for a birth that happened somewhere else, which is the entire reason the process feels different for families arriving with a child already born.
What actually triggers the ID for a child born abroad is your Anmeldung, the address registration every resident completes after moving to Munich. Once the Meldebehörde transmits the required registration data to BZSt, the ID gets assigned and mailed automatically, again with no separate application on your part. BZSt doesn’t publish a guaranteed number of weeks for this to arrive, but its own guidance points to the 3-month mark as the moment to proactively follow up if nothing has shown up by post.
- Complete your family's Anmeldung in Munich. This is what starts the process, there's no separate application to file for the child's ID itself.
- Wait for the Meldebehörde to transmit your data to BZSt, then for BZSt to generate and mail the ID. No promised turnaround is published.
- At the 3-month mark with nothing received, use BZSt's official online-only reissue request, phone and email aren't accepted for this process.
- If you need to apply for Kindergeld before the ID arrives, open the application using foreign identification documents rather than waiting.
If BZSt still hasn’t sent anything by that 3-month point, the fix is a formal request through BZSt’s own “Erneute Mitteilung der steuerlichen Identifikationsnummer” service, an online-only form for data-protection reasons, not a phone call or email.
What Real People Say
The practical snag families run into isn’t the ID itself, it’s what the missing ID blocks in the meantime, most concretely Kindergeld. Deubner Steuern’s explainer is clear that both the parent’s and the child’s Steuer-ID have been a hard legal requirement for Kindergeld since January 1, 2016, and that the Familienkasse is legally obligated to stop payment if the numbers are never supplied. That sounds alarming on first read, but the same source is equally clear that the application itself can be opened and submitted using foreign identification documents while the German ID is still pending, it’s only the final processing that waits.
The recurring practical advice, consistent across the sources that cover this, is to treat the Anmeldung as the starting gun rather than a formality to get through quickly and forget about. Families who open their Kindergeld application immediately, using whatever identification they already have, tend to fare better than families who wait for every document to be in perfect order first, since the German-side processing clock for Kindergeld doesn’t start until you’ve actually applied.
Step by Step
- Complete Anmeldung for your whole family, including the child born abroad, as early as possible after arriving in Munich.
- Don’t file a separate application for the child’s Steuer-ID, it’s generated automatically once the Meldebehörde transmits your registration data to BZSt.
- Mark your calendar for the 3-month point after Anmeldung as your own follow-up deadline, not a promised delivery date.
- If nothing has arrived by then, use BZSt’s official online reissue request, not a phone call or email, this specific process is online-only.
- Open your Kindergeld application right away using foreign identification documents, rather than waiting for the Steuer-ID to exist first.
- Submit both the parent’s and the child’s Steuer-ID to the Familienkasse as soon as they arrive, since final Kindergeld processing is held until both numbers are on file.
Compliance Note
This page explains the general legal framework for Steuer-ID assignment to a child born abroad, current as of mid-2026. It is not legal or tax advice, and your family’s exact timeline depends on your specific Meldebehörde and BZSt’s current processing load. Confirm your situation directly with BZSt or your Familienkasse if you’re approaching the 3-month mark with nothing received.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Why doesn't my child get a Steuer-ID at birth if they were born outside Germany?
Because Germany's Steuer-ID system is built around tax liability, not citizenship. BZSt's own FAQ states it plainly: children living abroad generally aren't subject to taxation in Germany, so no ID is assigned, and this holds even if the child already has German citizenship or an existing Kindergeld entitlement through you. A child born in Germany gets one automatically through the Standesamt's birth registration pipeline precisely because that pipeline doesn't exist for a birth that happened somewhere else.
Is there any way to get the ID assigned before we move, if we already know we're relocating to Munich?
Not through the standard route, the assignment is tied to the Meldebehörde transmitting your Anmeldung data to BZSt, which only happens once you've actually registered an address in Germany. The one documented exception applies narrowly to children of German diplomats, armed forces members, or people posted abroad by a German authority, where BZSt can assign an ID on request even while the family is still abroad. For the ordinary relocating family, the ID simply follows the Anmeldung.
How long should we expect to wait after Anmeldung before the ID arrives?
BZSt doesn't publish a guaranteed turnaround time, its own guidance frames 3 months as the point at which you should proactively follow up if nothing has arrived by post, rather than a promised delivery window. If you hit that mark with nothing in hand, use BZSt's official online reissue request rather than trying to call or email, phone and email requests aren't accepted for this specific process for data-protection reasons.
Can we submit our Kindergeld application before the Steuer-ID shows up?
Yes, you can open the application using your foreign identification documents rather than waiting for the German ID to exist first. What can't happen is final processing, both the parent's and the child's Steuer-ID have been a legal requirement for Kindergeld since January 1, 2016, so the Familienkasse holds the file open rather than paying out until the numbers are in hand. Opening early rather than waiting is still worth doing, since it gets your place in the processing queue secured while the ID catches up.