It's not just foreigners, it's everyone in Germany. I'm not that familiar with the details though. No such thing is required in most of the West I think. In pra

It's not just foreigners, it's everyone in Germany. I'm not that familiar with the details though. No such thing is required in most of the West I think. In practice, an ordinary life leaves an ample paper (and digital) trail, but you can legally live "off the grid" if you'd like. On the other end, the US is pretty unique in that you don't have to notify the government that you're leaving the country. I believe recent laws actually authorize an exit-tracking system, so that might be coming to an end unfortunately.