Your money in two countries: a starter checklist for Indians in Germany

When you move to Germany, your money does not move with you all at once. A salary account opens in Germany. A savings account, a fixed deposit, a provident fund or an insurance policy stays in India. A few years later, it can be hard to say what you own, where it is, and which papers go with it.

This checklist is a starting point for getting it written down in one place. It is general. It does not tell you what to do with your money, and it does not cover tax filing. Take what applies to you and skip the rest.

Start with a simple list of everything you have

Before tracking anything, make an inventory. A spreadsheet or a notebook is enough. For each item, write down:

• what it is (for example, "current account" or "fixed deposit"),
• where it is held, and in which country,
• the currency,
• the account or policy number, or at least the last four digits,
• who the nominee or beneficiary is, if there is one,
• any date that matters: a maturity date, a renewal date, a premium due date.

Do not write passwords or PINs in this list. It is a map, not a key.

Accounts and holdings in Germany

Typical things to include:

• Current account (Girokonto) where your salary arrives.
• Savings accounts, including instant-access savings (Tagesgeld) and fixed-term deposits (Festgeld).
• Investment accounts, such as a securities account (Depot), and any regular savings plans that pay into it.
• Pension-related savings: statutory pension contributions shown on your payslip, and any workplace pension your employer offers.
• Insurance policies with a cash value, and the ones you pay for regularly, such as liability or household insurance.
• Loans and credit: credit cards, overdrafts, car loans, anything you pay back.

Accounts and holdings in India

Typical things to include:

• Bank accounts. When you become a non-resident for Indian foreign-exchange rules, resident savings accounts are generally meant to be redesignated as NRO accounts. You may also have NRE accounts or foreign-currency deposits. Your bank can confirm what applies to your accounts.
• Fixed and recurring deposits, with their maturity dates.
• Investments such as a demat account, mutual fund holdings and any regular investment plans still running.
• Long-term savings schemes such as a provident fund or a public provident fund account.
• Insurance policies, with premium dates and the nominee.
• Property and loans: a home loan, a loan you have given or taken within the family, rent you receive.
• Regular commitments: money you send to family, fees, instalments.

Documents to keep together

You will need some documents again and again, often at short notice and often from abroad. Keep a secure digital copy of each, and note where the original is.

Identity and residence

• Passport, and its expiry date.
• German residence permit, and its expiry date.
• Registration certificate for your German address (Meldebescheinigung).
• Your Indian identity documents, such as PAN and Aadhaar.

Numbers you get asked for

• German tax identification number (Steuer-ID).
• German social insurance number.
• Your health insurance membership details.

Records from each year

• Annual salary and tax statements from your employer.
• Year-end statements from banks, investment accounts and insurers in both countries.
• Records of larger transfers between Germany and India.

Bank paperwork in India

• Know-your-customer (KYC) details held by each bank, fund house and insurer: your current address, email and phone number.
• Nominee details for each account and policy.

It also helps to keep your Indian mobile number active if your Indian banks send one-time passwords to it. Losing access to that number can lock you out of your own accounts from abroad.

What to track, and how often

A list is useful only if it stays current. A light routine works better than a big clean-up once every few years.

Every month

• Balances of your main accounts in both countries.
• Money sent between Germany and India, and what each transfer cost.
• Your regular spending, so you know what a normal month costs.

Every three months

• Your total net worth: everything you own minus everything you owe, in one currency, using one exchange rate for the day. Seeing it in both euros and rupees shows how much of the change comes from exchange rates rather than from saving or spending.
• Deposits and policies with dates coming up in the next few months.

Every year

• Update your list: close what you no longer use, add what is new.
• Check nominees, addresses and phone numbers at every bank, fund house and insurer.
• Check the expiry dates of your passport and residence permit.
• Collect the year's statements from both countries into one folder.
• Look again at your emergency buffer. Has your monthly spending changed?

Tax questions go to a professional

Living in two countries raises real tax questions: where you are tax resident, what income each country taxes, and what you need to report where. Germany and India have a double taxation agreement, but how it applies depends on your situation.

This checklist does not explain how to file or what to declare. For German tax questions, a Steuerberater can advise you. For Indian tax questions, a chartered accountant (CA) can. Having the documents above in order makes that conversation shorter.

Tell one person where things are

If something happened to you, would anyone know which accounts exist, in which country? Consider telling one trusted person where your list is kept. They do not need your passwords, only the map.

Use the numbers you collect

Once you have your monthly spending, you can see how many months your savings would cover. The free emergency fund calculator does this in a few seconds. If you send money regularly, the transfer cost calculator shows what each transfer really costs against the ECB reference rate.

Keeping this picture up to date by hand works, but it takes time. That is the problem inWst is being built to solve: one view of your accounts in India and Europe, from the statements you already get. Read more on the inWst home page.