Find your community in Berlin

Free advice, associations, church, sport, media, children and doctors for Indonesians in Berlin.

Statistics Berlin-Brandenburg (Statistischer Bericht A I 5 hj 1/26, population register at 30 June 2026) counts 3,136 Indonesian nationals in Berlin: 1,627 women, 2,501 aged 15 to 45. Indonesia is not a separate origin group in the table on people with a migration background by district, so there is no official figure for that group and no district ranking. With about 3,100 people it is a small community; networks are mostly student, church and cultural ones.

Links checked on 5 November 2026. Opening hours and events change, so confirm before you go.

Free advice

• Willkommenszentrum Berlin (Berlin Senate): willkommenszentrum.berlin.de. In-person advice is described as free and multilingual; there is also an online platform. Bahasa Indonesia is not in the language filter of its list of counselling centres (checked 5 Nov 2026), so expect German or English and ask for an interpreter or an Integrationslotse when you book.
• Nurses with a foreign degree: BBeFaP, the Berlin counselling centre for nursing staff with a foreign qualification, run for the Senate by DAREconsulting GmbH. Free, Monday to Friday 10:00 to 14:00, advice from immigration through recognition to the workplace. Contact: [email protected], 0175 2264572. Source: berlin.de. The page does not say which languages are spoken. See also Nursing route and Recognition.
• Integrationslots:innen: more than 200 guides in over 40 languages who go with you to offices and advice centres. The page does not say whether Indonesian is covered; you reach them through the organisations that run the programme. berlin.de.

Meeting people: associations, culture, faith

• PPI Jerman (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia di Jerman e.V.), the Indonesian students' association in Germany. Its site lists a Berlin-Brandenburg chapter. ppijerman.org, [email protected]. It is student-run; it also works with Indonesian state offices.
• Rumah Budaya Indonesia (Haus der indonesischen Kulturen), the cultural house of the Indonesian embassy's education and culture department. A report on a minister's visit on 4 March 2026 describes a language room, a library, an angklung room and gamelan performances. Not verified: the street address (an older guide gives Theodor-Francke-Straße 11, 12099 Berlin; the March 2026 report places it in Tiergarten) and the opening times. Write to [email protected] or check the house's Facebook or Instagram page before you travel.
• GBI Berlin (Indonesian Bethel Church), listed by the Protestant regional church EKBO as an Indonesian-language congregation: Leipziger Straße 56, 10117 Berlin. gbiberlin.org. Sunday services are on site; the clock time is not published, so ask through the site. The Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin lists no Indonesian-language community on its page for language communities.
• Watch Indonesia! e.V., a Berlin human-rights and environment association (Am Sudhaus 2, 12053 Berlin) with public talks and publications on Indonesia in German and English. Example: "People Power: The Energy Transition from the Ground Up" on 11 Nov 2026. watchindonesia.de. It campaigns politically; it is not a social club.
• Muslim prayer: this guide does not list mosque associations. Ask colleagues or classmates, or look for a prayer room at your university or hospital.
• Meetup and Facebook: search "Indonesians in Berlin" or "Indonesisch Stammtisch Berlin" and read the group rules first. Do not pay anyone to join.

Festivals and events

• ARTCHIPELAGO, Experiencing Indonesia: held on Sunday 6 September 2026 at the Kulturbrauerei, organised by the Association of Indonesian Students in Berlin-Brandenburg with Rumah Budaya Indonesia. Open-air festival 12:00 to 18:00 free; the evening show was ticketed (25 euro). 2027 dates: not yet published. Kesselhaus listing.
• Karneval der Kulturen, Kreuzberg, free: expected 14 to 17 May 2027; official dates not yet published. karneval-berlin.de.

Sport and leisure

• Badminton is popular with many Indonesians. ATV Berlin 1861 runs a friendly recreational group for adults (18+), beginners welcome, with trial training. Times are not published on the page; ask [email protected], 030 610 74 336. atv-berlin.de.

Students and professionals

• PPI (above) is the first contact for students. Studierendenwerk Berlin lists an International Student Counselling service: stw.berlin. The page does not say if it is free; ask when you book.
• Money and admission: Money for studying, Admission.

News and media

• The Jakarta Post, English-language daily from Indonesia, subscription model: thejakartapost.com. For Germany-Indonesia topics see Watch Indonesia! above.

Job search

Start with the route that fits you: nursing, skilled worker, Chancenkarte, Ausbildung, and recognition of your degree.

German, tandems, volunteering

• German courses: Learning German. For a language tandem search Meetup for "Tandem Berlin" or ask at your university's language centre.
• Volunteering is a good way to practise German: engagiertes.berlin points to the search of Berlin's volunteer agencies at lagfa.berlin.

Children: heritage language

Berlin schools can offer voluntary extra lessons in the first language, usually two hours a week, if at least twelve children take part; you register through the school with the form "Interessenbekundung zur Teilnahme". The Senate page names Arabic, Kurdish, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and Vietnamese "among others"; Indonesian is not named, so ask your school or the school authority. berlin.de. At home, Rumah Budaya Indonesia is the nearest contact for Indonesian lessons (not verified for children).

Doctors who speak your language

The statutory physicians' association KV Berlin has a doctor search whose entries can show languages: kvberlin.de/arztsuche. Urgent appointment: 116117. For what to do first, see After arrival.