Amsterdam Dutch

All residents, foreigners or otherwise, are also required to register at the City Hall.

The GBA (Gemeentelijke basisadministratie persoonsgegevens) is part of the Civil Affairs Department of the local city, town or district council hall. It handles all administrative aspects of residence permit requests and immigration. Law requires registration with the GBA for everyone (EU as well as non-EU nationals) residing in the Netherlands for longer than three months and should happen within the first 3-5 days after arrival. It also acts simultaneously as registration in the municipal register, triggers notification of your details to the IND, and the tax office, which in turn automatically connects your details to a SoFi number (required by both employers and the tax office to work).

It also proves your residence (and therefore your rights) within a municipality, gives you access to these institutions, and is where you will need to exchange your driver’s licence. The way you are registered (i.e. number of people in your family) will also automatically determine the charges for water and refuse collection, enable you to register for middle/low cost housing (woonvergunning or huisvestingsvergunning) depending on your income and eventual residence status, and vote in local and European elections.

To register at the GBA you will need to provide the following documents: passport (valid for a minimum of the duration of your stay, unless permanent); rental contract (in your name); employment contract (if applicable); birth and marriage certificates of all family members who also have to appear in person at the first application. These documents may require document authentication referred to as ‘legalisation’. Information about legalisation from countries of origin can be given by embassies, the department of civil affairs or the IND.

In Amsterdam these functions are carried out by Dienst Persoonsgegevens (DPG). It provides the following administration:

• Registration of dwelling
• Copies of official Dutch documents
• Lost & Found for identity cards
• Taxi permits
• Official written documents from the Gemeentelijk Basisadministratie Persoonsgegevens
• Votes and referendums
• Changes in personal information

Address: Stadhouderskade 85
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 08.30-16.00
Tel: +31 (0)20 551 9252 (Hours: Mon-Fri 08.30-12.00 and 13.00-15.00)
Website: www.amsterdam.nl/dpg

The Burgerzaken department (resident’s affairs) handles the following administration for established residents and citizens:

• Travel documents
• Driver’s licenses
• Change of address notification
• Notification of intent to marry
• Official written documents from the Gemeentelijk Basisadministratie Persoonsgegevens
• Notification of births
• Notification of death
• Requests for a declaration of (clean) criminal history

Address: Stadhouderskade  85  
1073 AT Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 551 9911 
Opening hours: Mon–Fri 08.30-16.00

From 1 May 2006 onwards, citizens of EU or EEA member states* or Switzerland who wish to stay in the Netherlands for more than three months have to register with the IND. They will no longer have to request proof of lawful residency and in addition, they will no longer be issued with a residence permit. Family members of these people who themselves are not citizens of an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland must still submit a request for verification against EU Community Law. This also applies to citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia, as long as the EU job market is still restricted for these people.

^{* Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Spain, the UK and Sweden.}

If a citizen of an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland wishes to stay in the Netherlands for more than three months, this person has to register with the IND after three months, or sooner. Anyone wishing to register must be able to prove the purpose of his or her residence. For example, if someone is here to work, an employer’s statement must be presented. After registering, a registration statement will be issued by the IND. This is a passport sticker that will remain valid for as long as the person remains in the Netherlands. In order to register, an appointment must always be made by telephone. You can use the telephone number 0900 123 4561 for this purpose from 1 May 2006 onwards. Registration with the IND is free of charge.

Please note: Anyone who registers with the IND must first be registered in the personal records database (GBA) of the municipality in which they reside.

New EU member states
For people from Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia, the application procedure will remain the same. They must submit a request for verification against EU Community Law to their municipal authorities, and will then be given a registration sticker with a note relating to permission to access the job market. This situation will, in all probability, continue until 31 December, 2006.  After this time, open access to the job market will be available for citizens of these countries. They will then only have to register with the IND.