Short Stay Registration (RNI)

If you live abroad and come to the Netherlands to work or study, you will need a citizen service number (burgerservicenummer; BSN) for your dealings with the Dutch authorities. You will be issued this number when you register your presence in the Netherlands.

If you will be staying in the Netherlands for less than 4 months, you should register with one of 18 municipalities in the Netherlands via the RNI (registratie niet-ingezetenen) procedure. This cannot be done at the IWCN.

If you will be staying in the Netherlands for more than 4 months, you should register with the municipality in which you live. If you qualify for the accelerated formalities services of the IWCN, the registration may be done at the IWCN.

RNI procedure

To register via the RNI procedure in the Northern Netherlands, you should make an appointment to go to one of the registration agencies. In the North, there are locations in Groningen and Leeuwarden.

You must go in person to the appointment and present valid proof of identity (a passport or identity card). You will also be asked to provide your address outside of the Netherlands.

You can make the appointment for Groningen city centre online.

The site is in English, so please follow the instructions to make the appointment online. You should receive a confirmation email. Print this out or make sure to save the information in the email. You will need the appointment number (afspraaknummer) when you go to the appointment.

Addresses for the municipality of Groningen:

Groningen City Center:  Kreupelstraat 1, 9712 HW Groningen

You can make the appointment for Leeuwarden online.

This site is only in Dutch, so please follow the instructions below to make the appointment online:

1. Select the number of RNI registrations you need, then click the button in the bottom right corner (“ga verder naar stap 2”)
2. Choose from the available times when to have your appointment (there is usually only one date available, with multiple time slots), then click the button in the bottom right corner
3.  Fill in your initials (initialen), first name (voornaam), surname (achternaam), email address, date of birth (geboortedatum), phone number (telefoonnummer), and any additional comments (opmerkingen). Then click the button in the bottom right corner
4. Double-check the appointment details, and then click the “afspraak bevestigen”  (confirm appointment) button
5. You should receive a confirmation email. Print this out or save the information. You will need the appointment number (afspraaknummer) at the appointment.

Address for the municipality of Leeuwarden:

Main location: Oldehoofsterkerkhof 2, 8911 DH Leeuwarden