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Registration with the municipality

When you will stay in the Netherlands for more than four months, you need to register with the municipality.

After registration, the municipal office will send a social security number (BSN) to your Dutch address. When you register at the municipality, this can take up to three weeks. 

If you have no fixed residential address in the Netherlands, you can register temporarily at the address of someone you know. This is called a briefadres, a postal address. You do not live at this address; you only receive your mail there. You need to formally set up a postal address by filing an application with the City of Amsterdam. Please find here more information about this procedure.

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  • Students

    Required documents

    • Passport or European ID card. A driver's license is not sufficient. 
    • Printed rental agreement for your Dutch address: showing this on your cell phone is not sufficient. If you do not have a rental agreement then you must bring a written statement of approval signed by the main tenant and a copy of his/her passport.
    • Declaration of Registration (DoR) from VU Amsterdam. This declaration is available from the moment you are registered at our university, and can be collected digitally via the 'Complete registration' page in your personal dashboard on vu.nl.

    Optional documents, only if applicable:

    • Birth Certificate (legalised)* – please note that this is only required if you are staying for longer than one year in an accommodation outside of Amsterdam or Amstelveen. If your birth certificate is not in Dutch, English, French or German, then you must supply a sworn translation into one of these languages
    • Students who are married also need to bring their marriage certificate (legalised)*
    • If you come from Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba: proof of deregistration ('Verhuisbericht')
    • A marriage or divorce certificate
    • A death certificate of your spouse (to prove that the marriage was dissolved by death)
    • The birth certificates of your children (if they also come and live here and join you for registration)

    Students who are married will also need to bring their marriage certificate (legalised).*

    * The legalisation method depends on the respective country. The Dutch missions in other countries are responsible for legalising foreign documents for use in the Netherlands. The documents must first have been legalised by the country’s own authorities, usually the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the document was issued. For more information see here.

    Registration at the municipality

    Municipality of Amstelveen

    You can arrange your registration during the Practical Matters Days, as the municipality of Amstelveen will be present. If you were not able to stop by at the Practical Matters Day, you need to arrange your registration yourself. This can be done as follows:

    • Make an appointment by phone via +31 (0)20 540 49 11 with the municipality (migration department) of Amstelveen. The municipality is located at Laan Nieuwer-Amstel 1 in Amstelveen.
    • Make sure to bring all necessary documents to the appointment:
      • Your original Passport or ID + a clear hard copy
      • Your rental agreement (digital); or statement of permission from the main tenant incl. a copy from their passort/ID.
      • In case you applied with the IND: IND card or letter of appointment
    • Within 4 weeks you will receive your BSN

    Municipality of Amsterdam

    The registration process in the municipality of Amsterdam consists of the following steps:

    • Step 1: Create a pre-registration account on the website of the municipality. You can do this until 13 September 2024.
    • Step 2: Verify your identity. No confirmation received? Check your spam folder
    • Step 3: Complete the pre-registration by uploading the requested documents
    • Step 4: The municipality assesses your pre-registration
    • Step 5: You will receive an email to make an appointment for the special student registration days from 19 August to 20 September. 
    • Step 6: Visit the municipality at Bos en Lommerplein 176 to finalise your registration and obtain a Dutch citizen service number (BSN)

    Important information

    • Did you already make an appointment yourself? Please cancel this appointment and follow the process as described above
    • Only students who will be living in Amsterdam can register
    • The BSN will be provided immediately after registration 
    • Students cannot make an appointment via telephone

    Municipality of Diemen

    If you are going to live at the Dalsteindreef or Rode Kruislaan, you can make an appointment at the municipality at a time that suits you. Make sure to bring the following:

    • Passport
    • Rental agreement
    • Residence permit card or IND letter of appointment
    • IND card or letter of appointment
    • Filled-in registration form
    • If you do not have a European nationality: proof that the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has approved your stay
    • If you are from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint-Maarten, Bonaire, Sint-Eustatius or Saba: a change of address

    Visiting address: D.J. den Hartoglaan 1 in Diemen

  • Staff

    Registering at your local municipality is a mandatory procedure if you intend to stay longer than 4 months, irrespective of your nationality. The registration is done in person at the IN Amsterdam in case you will be residing in the Amsterdam area. All family members that will be registered must be present. No registration fees apply. The database is used as a source of information by various other organisations, including IND, the Dutch Tax Administration and the Social Insurance Bank. These organizations rely on the address details as listed in the Municipal Personal Records Database.

    Online appointment form: individuals | IN Amsterdam | I amsterdam

    International employees, PhD candidates and guests of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from outside the EU/EER can only register with the Municipal Personal Records Database after they have applied for a residence permit with the IND. Both registrations will be arranged during your appointment at the Expatcenter.

  • Deregistering from the municipality

    Deregistering from the Municipal Personal Records Database (BRP) is necessary. The municipality will remove your personal details from the database and inform other government authorities of your departure.