7/26 – Registration requirement

Until now, shipowners were required to register and deregister all crew members of their German-flagged seagoing vessels with the resident registration office at the shipowner’s headquarters at the beginning and end of each employment contract. Due to frequent crew changes, this registration requirement - set out in Section 28(2) of the Federal Act on Registration - entailed a considerable administrative burden for shipping companies. In addition, a violation of the registration requirement could result in a fine.

At the suggestion of the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Ship Safety Division of the BG Verkehr, the Federal Ministry of the Interior introduced a draft act in 2025 that also includes the repeal of the previous registration requirement. The “Gesetz für den Bürokratierückbau im Bereich des Bundesministeriums des Innern” was passed by the German Bundestag on 21 May 2026 and entered into force on 10 July 2026. Pursuant to Article 5, paragraph 5, of this act, Section 28 of the Federal Act on Registration has now been amended so that it no longer contains any registration requirements for crew members of seagoing vessels.

Effective immediately, shipping companies are no longer required to register or deregister any of their seafarers with the resident registration offices. In doing so, the federal government has relieved shipping companies of bureaucratic burdens and made the German Flag more attractive.

In the future, German seafarers who do not have a place of residence in Germany but wish to vote in German elections will have to take it upon themselves to register on the voter rolls. According to the legislative proposal, however, the number of such cases is expected to be small, and the effort required to be added to the voter rolls is expected to be minimal (Bundestag Document 21/3620, page 23).