Long term municipal registration

If you are eligible for our services and have a registration address within the municipality of Rotterdam, you can schedule an appointment at the Rotterdam International Center. Please note that a service fee applies. For a first registration, your BSN can usually be issued on the day of your appointment, provided that all required documents are complete. In some situations, including re-registration, a change from RNI to long-term registration, or when a housing permit (HVV) is required, your registration may take longer to process.

If you are not eligible for our services, you can register directly with the Municipality of Rotterdam. You can schedule an appointment online or by calling +31 (0)10 267 1625. Registration at City Hall is free of charge. Please note that it can take up to four weeks for your registration to be processed and your BSN to be issued.

Residence permit needed?

If you are a non-EU citizen, you or your employer will need to arrange your residence permit application through the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). Before you can register with the municipality, you must be able to provide documentation from the IND confirming your right to stay in the Netherlands. Once you have this documentation, you can make an appointment to register.

Things you will need to bring along in order to register:

1. Your passport or national ID card (EU)
If you are a national of a European country, then your passport or ID card will be needed in order to register. Your driving license from an EU country is not an accepted proof of identity at this time. If you are not from Europe, then a passport will be required. An ID card or driving license from a non-EU country is not an accepted proof of identity.

2. A completed print-out of the application form
A separate copy of the form must be completed correctly for each person registering.

3. Proof of residence/a tenancy agreement/signed statement by main occupant

• If you will be renting a house: a copy of the rental contract or the tenancy agreement, filled in and signed by the landlord.
• If you will be sharing a house with someone: a form declaration by main occupant, completed and signed by the person giving you permission to register at his/her address, accompanied by a photocopy of his/her passport or ID and a copy of the tenancy agreement (verhuurdersverklaring). If the person giving consent for you to live in their house does not live at the same address, then you will also need to prove that they own the residence. (If the registered occupant is married, you only need to provide a signed statement by the main occupant.)
• If you bought a house: a copy of the purchase agreement for the property.
• If you will be staying in a hotel: Please bring a written statement from the hotel manager stating specifically that you are allowed to register at the hotel address; your full name must be specified in the statement. This letter must be signed and stamped by the manager. A confirmation letter of the hotel reservation is not sufficient.

! Please be aware that rental contracts/tenancy agreements with dates in the future or older than three months will not be accepted,  and that a housing permit is needed to live in certain neighbourhoods in Rotterdam (HVV). Check your postal code here.

4. A residence permit (if applicable)
Non-EU nationals must have a valid provisional residence permit (Machtiging voor Voorlopig Verblijf, MVV), which allows you to enter the Netherlands, or proof of being in the process of applying for a provisional residence permit.

5. Birth/marriage certificate
Your original birth certificate. If applicable, you will also need a notarised copy of your marriage certificate, and any divorce decree(s) or death certificate(s). These certificates must be in English or Dutch, or translated to one of these languages, and legalised by an approved notary (this international document is called an ‘apostille’). You can find more information about apostilles on the website of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the website of Netherlands Worldwide you can find information about the legalisation of foreign documents for use in the Netherlands.

6. Housing permit (if applicable)
Certain streets in Rotterdam require a housing permit (huisvestingsvergunning or HVV). This means that permission from the municipality is needed to live in a rental property in these streets (check the list of streets). To apply for a housing permit from the Public Affairs office of the municipality, please make an appointment by calling (+31)10-2671625 (press 2 for an English-speaking officer). 

! Please note that this check applies to the main tenant and all household members aged 16 and older. If all required documents are submitted, the application is usually reviewed within 5 weeks (missing documents or additional investigation may cause delays).

Highly Skilled Migrant: one stop service

If you are a highly skilled migrant (the term used by the IND is kennismigrant), your employer will arrange the registration for you, your partner and your children. Once you receive approval from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) for your ‘highly skilled migrant’ status, a combined appointment will be scheduled for you to pick up your residence permit and register at the municipality. This will be organised via the Rotterdam International Center (formerly Rotterdam Expat Centre); you or your employer can make an appointment here.

Deregistration

Be aware that some cities in the Netherlands require you to remove yourself from your previous country’s official register of residents (this mainly applies to EU citizens who relocate here). If you do not deregister in your previous country of residence before registering in the Netherlands, you may be obliged to pay taxes in both countries. It is also important that you deregister from the municipality when you leave the Netherlands.

Note: You must go to city hall in person for your first registration. However, once you are in the municipal register, any relocation to a different address within Rotterdam can be registered with the municipality online or by post.

Re-registration

If you have been registered in the Netherlands prior, and are intending to stay in the Netherlands again for a period of more than 4 months, you will have to re-register in the municipal records database (BRP). For this you can also schedule an appointment at the International Center if you fall under the stated criteria. You require the same documents as for first registration, except instead of the first registration form, you fill in the re-registration form.