Initial registration in the Netherlands

Are you moving to the Netherlands for the first time? In that case, you must personally register with the municipality. All individuals who are moving with you should also come in person. Make an appointment with the Civil Affairs department by calling (020) 496 21 21.

Description

When you move to the Netherlands, you need to register with a municipality. Have you never lived in the Netherlands before? Then you need to do an 'initial registration''.  If you have previously lived in the Netherlands but emigrated before October 1994, you also need to do an 'initial registration'.

Conditions

The requirements for an initial registration in the Netherlands are:

  • You have 
    • Dutch nationality, or
    • You have a passport from an EU/EEA country, or
    • You have a residence permit for a definite or indefinite period
  • You will be residing in the Netherlands for more than 4 months
Term

After your arrival in the Netherlands, you must register within 5 working days.

Procedure

Here's how to register for the first time in the Netherlands:

  • Visit the municipality in person.
  • Bring along:
    • Your valid identification document (with your nationality stated).
    • Proof of your place of residence, such as a rental contract or proof of ownership.
    • If you were not born in the Netherlands: your birth certificate.
    • If you do not have European nationality: proof that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has approved your stay.
    • If you are coming from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, or Saba: a change of address notification.
    • Potentially, the following certificates:
      • Marriage or divorce certificate
      • Death certificate of your partner (as proof of marriage dissolution due to death)
      • Birth certificates of your children
  • If you have a proof of deregistration from the previous country, bring that along as well.
  • All individuals moving with you must also come in person.

If the requested documents are not in Dutch, English, German, or French, or if you do not have a multilingual model form, you will need to have them translated. If the translator is sworn in the Netherlands, you do not need to legalize the translation. If the translator is sworn outside the Netherlands, you must re-legalize the legalized original document in the Netherlands. You can find more information about this on Netherlandsworldwide.nl.

Please note:
The Netherlands aims to provide generous reception for refugees from Ukraine. Therefore, different rules apply to them. The rules for these refugees are only available in Dutch on RvIG.nl or nvvb.nl.

More information