Cologne first · built in English

Tell Expadu your day. It plans the rest.

Your situation, deadlines, ticket, weather and location become one useful next step — not another generic checklist.

83 official-source guides 8,600+ places 700+ local events Free — no card needed
Ask or plan — live demo
I'm a…
I just arrived — what do I do first?
Day one
Anmeldung — register your address
Bürgeramt · find the right office
The statutory window starts after you move in
🚶 6 min · chained for you
This week
Make your health-insurance status explicit
Needed for work, study and many permits
The right route depends on your situation
🚶 4 min · chained for you
Then
Watch for your tax ID
Sent after a first registration in Germany
Payroll and tax processes use it
Demo data. The real app plans from 8,600+ Cologne places — and never invents an opening hour, fare or deadline.
The part everyone dreads

German bureaucracy, decoded — in English, with sources.

Your situation builds the checklist. Every fee, deadline and document links to the official page.

  • 83 guides — Anmeldung to permanent residency
  • Deadlines tracked — with a leave-by time on the day
  • Life events — new baby, new job? The path updates itself
↓ try it — tick the documents
Before fly
First 14 days
First 90
Settled
Permanent
Anmeldung — register your address within 14 days
Bürgeramt · free of charge
Source: stadt-koeln.de · checked Jul 2026 ✓ source-checked
Getting around

Transit that speaks newcomer.

Live KVB/VRS data, explained in English. Tap the delayed line in this demo.

KVB · Bf EhrenfeldDemo · live format
everything in English — including disruptions fares that know your Deutschlandticket leave-by times on every plan
How that compares to typical transit apps ▾
What newcomers needExpaduTypical apps
Everything in English — including disruptionspartly
Fares that know your ticket (D-Ticket, SemesterTicket)
Plans around appointments, with leave-by times
Delays shown with a way around thempartly
Suggestions that fit your situation
83
official-source guides
8618
Cologne places
727
local events tracked
Why Expadu exists

Built in Cologne by an expat who had to figure it out first.

Expadu started with the scattered official pages, missed context and German-only notices that make a new country feel harder than it is. We turn them into one plan — and show where every fact came from.

AI plans the shape. Verified data supplies the facts.No invented fees, opening hours or deadlines.
Official source and checked date shownYou can inspect the evidence behind important claims.
stadt-koeln.de · BAMF · ELSTER
live KVB/VRS data · EU-hosted
Useful before you even sign up

Free tools — no account needed.

Every tool also lives on its own page →

The Expadu field guide

Practical English guides, checked against official sources.

Start with the two sequences that remove the most uncertainty from your first months.

Explore every guide →

Questions, answered.

Is Expadu free?
Yes — free. No card, no trial timer.
Which cities does it cover?
Cologne, properly — every place, office and tram line. The free tools work Germany-wide. Somewhere else? Leave your city in the footer and you’ll know the day we arrive.
Do I need to speak German?
No. The interface and every guide are in English. Germany will still send you letters in German — we tell you what each step means before you’re standing at the counter.
Is the advice official?
Every fee, deadline and document list links to its official source — Stadt Köln, BAMF, ELSTER — with the date we last verified it. If something changes, you can flag it with one tap.
Where does my data live?
On EU servers in Germany. GDPR isn’t a checkbox for us — it’s home turf.
Is there an app?
Expadu is a web app you can install in two taps — iPhone and Android, straight from the browser. No app store detour.

Your first years in Germany, handled.

Set up your situation once. Expadu takes it from there.