A lot of planning goes into relocating to another Country, and there’s a lot of t’s to cross and i’s to dot. If you’re relocating to the Netherlands, then registering your new residency is an important process and a pivotal part of regularly living in the Country. You will, in fact, need to make it official that you are living in the Netherlands – by registering you allow the municipality to better handle inhabitants matters, track the size of the population and correctly assign municipal taxes. We understand, however, that bureaucratic matters can be stressful and lengthy – and we want to help! After the success of our Anmeldung guide about Berlin, here we help you with registering your address in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands.

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GBA (Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie persoonsgegevens) – Personal Records Database of the municipality.

Gemeente – Register with municipality

IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst) – Immigration and Naturalisation Service.

RNI  (Non-residents Records Database) – People who stays in the Netherlands for less than 4 months.

BSN (Burgerservicenummer) – Personal identification number found in Dutch passports, etc. Required in order to receive a salary, open a bank account, buy insurance, registering at a doctor’s surgery, and more.

Apartment registration in the Netherlands

EU citizens relocating to the Netherlands are required to register at the local municipality if they plan to stay for more than four months. Doing so allows the BRP (Basisregistratie personen) to keep their records up to date in order to allocate taxes and resources accurately to each municipality based on their population.

Anyone visiting the country for less than four months should follow the procedure for short stay migrants: anyone who comes to the Netherlands to work or study should in fact register and still needs a BSN number and you can register as a non-resident in the Non-residents Records Database (RNI) using your address abroad. Failing to register a correct address after relocating to the Netherlands, or presenting incorrect documents upon registration, could result in fines of up to 325 euros.

 

How to register

You should visit your local gemeente within five days of arrival to register your new address. If you don’t have a fixed address yet, you should proceed to registration as soon as your contract of lease or rent is finalised. Registering your new address in the Netherlands is free of charge, but you will need to make an appointment beforehand, with your local town hall: you will then receive a confirmation by post or e-mail, where you’ll also find a list of all the documents you should bring at your appointment. To make your life easier, we also have this list of unforgettable documents in order to make your registration successful:

• a form of identification (valid passport or identity card, driving licence will not be accepted)
• your employment contract
• your original birth certificate in either Dutch, English, French, or German (documents in other languages will need to be officially translated and may also require notarising)
• If applicable, your work permit
• If applicable, a foreign marriage certificate, certificate of registered partnership or divorce

And one of the following:

• tenancy agreement (huurovereenkomst)
• house deed or evidence of sale
• written permission from the main tenant of a shared property along with a copy of their passport or ID card.

The town halls will only accept documents in the following languages: Dutch, English, French or German. We advise you to get your documents officially translated from other languages. For some documents they will even ask you for an actual proof of authenticity,  like an apostille: get this sorted before you leave your home Country.

After registering with the municipality, you will be automatically issued with a BNS number (Burgerservicenummer). You’ll need your BNS if you plan to work, open a bank account, obtain health insurance, or access medical care in the Netherlands.

Requirements and renting

As we mentioned, everyone living or moving to the Netherlands is required to register their address at the Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP). Failing to register may result in fines, so it is important to double check, if you are renting a room or an apartment, that you can actually register with that address. While the municipal taxes are normally included in your rent, many landlords would not allow registration at their property, in order to avoid paying the increased tax.

Where to register

There are two places to register in the Netherlands: the Expatcenter (in Amsterdam, this is now called “IN Amsterdam” – and no, this is not a pun!) and the Stadsloket (civil registry).

You need to register at the Expatcenter if:

• you are a highly skilled migrant (registration will be arranged when you obtain your residency permit)
• you are an EU Citizen working for a company recognized as an official sponsor by the IND

You need to register at the Stadsloket (City Hall, or City Office) if:

• you are an EU citizen working for a company that is not recognized as an official sponsor by the IND

All other registrations should be arranged with the district office.

Moving within the Netherlands

If you change address in the Netherlands after registering, you will also have to inform your local municipality of this. You can visit the local gemeente of your new address to complete your registration, or if you prefer changing address online, you can do so on the gemeente’s website with your DigiD code, which can be obtained once you have registered in the Netherlands.

Once you leave the Netherlands, you can deregister at the same location you visited to register your address. This should be done approximately one month before leaving the country.

 

Locations of local municipalities across the Netherlands

Amsterdam

Gemeentehuis Amsterdam
Amstel 1
1011 PN Amsterdam
t: 14 020
e: stadsdeel@centrum.amsterdam.nl

Rotterdam

Stadhuis
Coolsingel 40
3011 AD
Rotterdam
t: 010 267 1625

The Hague

There are 8 district offices in The Hague. Click here for addresses and opening hours (in English).

Utrecht

Expat Center Utrecht
Stadsplateau 1
3521 AZ
Utrecht
t: 030 286 00 00
e: expatcenterutrecht@utrecht.nl

 

For each city, the required documents might be slightly different, you’ll find all the important information within each city’s site.

See the complete list for RNI-municipalities, click here.

 

Have you registered your apartment in the Netherlands? Leave your tips and advice below in the comments!