Registering as inhabitant (GBA-inschrijving)
29 Mar 2010
If you are staying for more than four months in the Netherlands you will need to go to the city council and register as a new resident of the town where you are living. This is a mandatory procedure irrespective of your nationality or purpose of stay. Also if you are moving within the Netherlands, you must inform your (new) municipality.
The civil servant who registers you as inhabitant will ask to see the following documents:
- a valid passport;
- evidence that you have a suitable place to live (your contract as tenant, for example);
- a certified true copy of your birth certificate indicating your name, date and place of birth. For most countries, this should be legalized.
The registration is done in person at your local town or city hall, in most cities by appointment only. All family members that will be registered must be present.
However it’s also possible that your host institution organizes a day (usually in February and August) for incoming foreign students to deal with all necessary administration at once. In that case it’s likely that a civil servant of the municipality will be there to register all newly arrived students.
No registration fees apply.
Municipal personal records database
The municipal personal records database (in Dutch: Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie, abbreviated to 'GBA') contains information regarding all residents in the municipality. This includes personal and address details of yourself and your accompanying family members, if applicable.
The database is also used as a source of information by various other organizations, including IND, Tax & Custums Administration, and Social Insurance Bank. These organizations rely on the address details as listed in the municipal database. It’s therefore important that you inform your (new) municipality of your change in address when moving within your town or within the country.
Citizen service number
Once you are registered, the municipality will issue your citizen service number (in Dutch: burgerservicenummer, abbreviated to BSN). This is a personal number that you will need for various purposes. More information is available in our section on the citizen service number.