Living in Germany means having your main ordinary residence in Germany. A person who was only staying in Germany temporarily on the cut-off date, 31 December 2020, but did not have their main ordinary residence in Germany, has no rights deriving from the Withdrawal Agreement.

This concerns the following persons:

• persons who were in Germany on 31 December 2020 as tourists or for the purpose of a typical business trip (for example, negotiating a contract),
• persons studying abroad who only have a room at their parents’ house in Germany and do not reside in Germany longer than just for visits (unless they have not yet spent more than 12 months outside Germany or have a right of permanent residence and left Germany less than five years ago) or
• persons who own a holiday home in Germany but only stay there very occasionally and do not have their main ordinary residence there.

It is possible to have a main ordinary residence in a number of countries and thus to live both in Germany and in other countries at the same time. For example, a person who, for the most part, spends the summer in Germany and the winter in Spain lives in both countries within the meaning of this provision. You can find more details on "harmless" absences here

For these reasons, it is irrelevant here whether or not you were registered with the registration authority in Germany. For the purposes of registration law, a person who moves into a home in Germany is required to register. However, moving into a home does not necessarily mean having a main ordinary residence there. Conversely, a person may have their main ordinary residence in Germany if they often stay in Germany and participate in social activities there, for example, even if they do not live in their own home but stay with friends, relatives or a partner during their visits.