What can I not bring to Frankfurt when moving from abroad?

Which electronics from abroad won't work in Frankfurt apartments

Germany runs on 230V at 50Hz. If you're coming from the United States, Canada, or Japan — where the standard is 110–120V — most of your appliances will not work without a voltage converter, and some will be damaged the moment you plug them in. A simple plug adapter is not enough.

Items that commonly cause problems:

• Hair dryers and straighteners rated at 110V
• American or Japanese rice cookers and stand mixers
• Electric shavers without a dual-voltage switch
• Older laptop chargers (check the label — most modern ones are 100–240V and are fine)
• Baby monitors and medical devices that require specific frequency ranges

Smart home devices are a separate problem. US Amazon Echo or Google Nest devices are often locked to their home region's Wi-Fi frequencies and may not connect reliably on German networks. Your television from outside Europe almost certainly won't receive DVB-T2 (Germany's digital terrestrial broadcast standard), and it may not support PAL colour encoding for any local input.

The practical answer for a stay of 3–18 months: leave the large appliances behind. Frankfurt has a MediaMarkt on Zeil — the city's main shopping street — and a Saturn nearby. You can replace most things within an afternoon. If you're renting furnished through a service like UniRents, kitchen appliances and tech accessories are already included and calibrated for German sockets.

What food items are banned when flying into Frankfurt Airport

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is one of Europe's busiest entry points, and German customs — the Zoll — enforces EU agricultural rules consistently. Getting this wrong means confiscation at the green channel, occasionally a fine.

If you're arriving from outside the EU, you cannot bring:

• Meat and meat products (including cured sausages, jerky, and tinned meats from non-EU countries)
• Fresh fruit, vegetables, and plants with soil attached
• Dairy products from most non-EU countries (there are narrow exceptions for infant formula)
• Eggs and egg products
• Honey in quantities above 2kg, depending on origin country

Dry goods — sealed spices, tea, coffee, chocolate, pasta — are generally allowed in reasonable personal quantities. If you're travelling from a country with known plant pests or animal diseases, customs officers may inspect even packaged food. Declaring is always safer than not; the Zoll declaration form asks specifically about food and animal products.

Students arriving from South or Southeast Asia frequently want to bring home spices and lentils. Sealed, commercially packaged dried goods in quantities that are clearly personal use (under 2kg per item) are usually fine. Loose, unpackaged spices get scrutinised more heavily.

Which prescription medications need special permits to enter Germany

For most standard prescription medications — blood pressure drugs, antidepressants, thyroid medication — you can bring a personal supply for up to 30 days without special documentation. For stays longer than 30 days, carry a letter from your doctor in both your home language and German, listing the medication name, dosage, and your diagnosis.

Controlled substances are a different matter. Germany classifies narcotics under the Betäubungsmittelgesetz (BtMG) — the Narcotics Act. If you take medication containing opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants (including some ADHD medications like Adderall, which is not approved in Germany at all), or certain sleep aids, you need a certificate from the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices — the Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM) — before you arrive.

Adderall specifically: it contains amphetamine salts and is a controlled substance in Germany. German physicians typically prescribe Ritalin or Elvanse instead. If you rely on Adderall, speak to your neurologist before departure and contact BfArM at least six weeks before travel.

CBD products and some herbal supplements that are legal in your home country may also be restricted. If a supplement contains any substance listed under the BtMG, it can be confiscated regardless of how it is marketed at home.

Should you ship furniture to Frankfurt or rent locally

For a stay under 18 months, shipping furniture from abroad is rarely worth it. Here's the practical breakdown:

Frankfurt apartments — particularly in Sachsenhausen, Bockenheim (close to Goethe University on the U4 and U6 lines), and the Westend — tend to be older Altbau buildings with narrow staircases, small lift cabins, and room proportions that don't match North American or Asian furniture standards. A US queen bed is often slightly too wide for the standard German Schlafzimmer (bedroom). Flat-pack furniture bought in Germany is sized for German rooms.

International shipping costs for a one-bedroom's worth of furniture typically run between €2,000 and €5,000 depending on origin, plus customs clearance fees and the time cost of coordinating delivery to a rental apartment whose landlord may not permit external movers to operate in the building.

If you're staying 3–18 months, renting furniture and household equipment locally is the more practical option. UniRents delivers to Frankfurt addresses, handles setup, and collects everything when you leave — no need to sell or dispose of anything before departure. For finance professionals on secondment or students doing a semester exchange, it removes one logistical problem entirely.

The exception: personal items with sentimental value, specialist equipment for your work, and anything that would be expensive or impossible to source in Frankfurt. Bring those. Leave the IKEA equivalent behind.

Customs restrictions when moving personal belongings to Frankfurt

If you're moving to Germany permanently or for a long-term assignment, EU customs law (specifically Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009) allows you to import personal belongings duty-free under the Übersiedlungsgut (removal goods) exemption. To qualify:

• You must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months
• The items must have been owned and used by you for at least 6 months before the move
• You must submit the customs declaration within 12 months of establishing residency in Germany
• You cannot sell the items within 12 months of import

New items — still in original packaging, or clearly purchased just before the move — do not qualify and are subject to import duties and German VAT (currently 19%). Customs officers at Frankfurt's Zollamt (customs office) do check.

Alcohol above 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of wine, tobacco products above 200 cigarettes, and cash above €10,000 all require separate declaration regardless of the removal goods exemption.

For shorter relocations — a secondment or student exchange — you're not moving permanently, so the removal goods exemption does not apply. You're allowed personal luggage and reasonable personal effects, but shipping a full household's worth of goods will attract duties.

Items Frankfurt landlords commonly prohibit in rental apartments

Your Mietvertrag (rental contract) will contain a section on permitted use of the apartment. Frankfurt landlords — especially in the Westend and Nordend, where older buildings have stricter Hausordnung (house rules) — frequently prohibit or restrict the following:

• Washing machines in apartments without a designated connection point. Many older buildings have a shared Waschkeller (laundry room) in the basement, and landlords prohibit individual machines to protect pipes and floors.
• Dishwashers that are not built-in, for similar reasons.
• Electric grills and air fryers on balconies — fire risk clauses are common.
• Waterbeds — the floor load and leak risk mean most landlords explicitly ban them.
• Subletters and Airbnb guests — short-term subletting without landlord consent violates most Mietverträge and is grounds for eviction under German tenancy law.
• Pets — not universally banned, but requires written landlord permission in most cases. Exotic pets (reptiles, certain birds) are almost never permitted.
• Drilling into certain walls — some listed buildings (Denkmalschutz) have restrictions on what you can attach to walls.

Before you bring a large item or make a modification, check your Mietvertrag first. If it's unclear, email your landlord and keep the reply — verbal permission is not enforceable.

When you sign your contract, you'll also deal with the Kaution (security deposit), which in Germany is capped at three months' Kaltmiete (base rent, excluding utilities). The Nebenkosten (additional costs — heating, water, building maintenance) are listed separately and are usually settled annually via a Nebenkostenabrechnung (utility cost statement). Frankfurt rents in Bockenheim typically run €14–18 per square metre Kaltmiete; Sachsenhausen and the Westend are higher, often €18–24 per square metre.

After signing and receiving your keys, your first administrative task is the Anmeldung (residence registration) at the Bürgeramt (citizens' office). You have 14 days from moving in to complete it. Without it, you cannot open a German bank account, and your Schufa (credit check) profile — which future landlords will request — cannot be built up.

What to watch out for

Ghost listings on property portals

Fake apartment listings on ImmobilienScout24 and eBay Kleinanzeigen are common in Frankfurt, particularly targeting newly arrived expats. The giveaway: unusually low rent for the Westend or Sachsenhausen, a landlord claiming to be abroad, and a request for a deposit transfer before you've viewed the property. Never transfer a Kaution before signing a Mietvertrag and holding the keys.

Warmmiete vs Kaltmiete confusion

Listings sometimes advertise Warmmiete (rent including utilities) and sometimes Kaltmiete (base rent only). The gap can be €200–400 per month in Frankfurt. Always confirm which figure you're looking at before comparing apartments or budgeting. Ask for the last 12 months of Nebenkostenabrechnung to see what utilities actually cost.

Customs delays on shipped medication

Even if your medication is legal to import, Frankfurt customs can hold a parcel for 2–4 weeks for inspection. If you're shipping prescription medication in advance of your arrival, build in that buffer. Do not ship controlled substances by post under any circumstances — they must travel with you, with documentation, through the manned customs channel.

Assuming furnished means fully equipped

In Germany, möbliert (furnished) can mean a bed and a table — or it can mean a fully equipped kitchen with linens and Wi-Fi. There is no standard definition. Before signing, get a written inventory list (Übergabeprotokoll) of exactly what is included. This protects you at checkout as well.

Common questions

Can I bring my ADHD medication to Germany?

It depends on the medication. Ritalin and Elvanse (lisdexamfetamine) are approved in Germany and can be brought with a doctor's letter for up to 30 days' supply. Adderall is not approved and classified as a controlled substance — bringing it requires advance authorisation from BfArM, and even then, quantities are limited. Contact BfArM at least six weeks before your move.

What documents do I need to rent an apartment in Frankfurt as a foreigner?

Most landlords require: a valid passport or residence permit, Einkommensnachweise (proof of income) for the last three months, a Schufa (credit check) report, and sometimes a Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung (rental debt clearance certificate) from your previous landlord. Expats without a German Schufa history can substitute an employer letter and the last three months of bank statements showing salary deposits.

How much is the security deposit when renting in Frankfurt?

The Kaution (security deposit) is capped by law at three months' Kaltmiete (base rent). For a one-bedroom apartment in Bockenheim at €1,200 Kaltmiete, that means a maximum deposit of €3,600. The landlord must hold this in a separate account and return it — with interest — within three to six months of you moving out, provided there is no damage.

What is Anmeldung and do I really need it immediately?

Anmeldung is the official registration of your address with the city. In Frankfurt, you do it at the Bürgeramt and have 14 days after moving in to complete it. You need it to open a bank account, get a tax ID (Steuer-ID), and register for health insurance. Book the appointment online at frankfurt.de before you arrive — slots fill quickly, especially in September when students return.

Is it worth shipping furniture from abroad for a one-year stay in Frankfurt?

For most people, no. International shipping for a one-bedroom typically costs €2,000–€5,000, takes 6–12 weeks, and requires customs clearance. Frankfurt apartments — particularly in Altbau buildings in Sachsenhausen or the Nordend — often have narrow staircases and room layouts that don't suit furniture sized for North American or Asian markets. Renting furniture locally for the duration of your stay and returning it when you leave is usually cheaper, faster, and simpler.