Immigration and Registration

The following procedure is typically required if your salary is paid out through the University. If you receive a salary through some other channel (ESA for example), not all steps may be required. Please check with your funding agency in that case.

Upon arrival you need to register at the following official agencies

1. Aliens Police (optional for EU/EEA citizens, see below)
2. City Hall
3. Tax Office

It is important to go through these three in the order mentioned. Note that until you have your SOFI-number from the Tax Office, you will NOT get your salary! So arrange everything as quickly as possible after arriving in the Netherlands. If you are required to register with the Aliens Police, it may be a good idea to ask one of the secretaries to make an appointment with the Aliens Police well in advance of your arrival. The Aliens Police may take quite a while before they can interview you. Only after making an appointment is a person registered with the aliens department and free to move about in Holland.

When it comes to immigration routines, foreign nationals are formally divided into two groups, namely EU citizens and non-EU citizens. The group of EU-citizens actually consists of citizens of EU and EEA (European Economic Area) countries (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway).

The difference is that EU/EEA citizens are not formally required to obtain a residence permit. Some agencies (insurance, banks, city hall) seem to be unaware of this, and may still ask you to present one to prove you are legally living in The Netherlands. Luckily, this practice is becoming rare. If you so wish, you can obtain a residence permit at a later time. This will cost you 16 euro.