The city of Amsterdam is an amazing place to be a student with its diverse nightlife and beautiful architecture. For the many international students residing within Amsterdam however, the Dutch capitol is not always great to live in. Apart from high rent prices and scarcity of student housing, registration is posing a rising problem within international student communities. Are you an international student in a precarious registration situation? Then ASVA can help you out.
Moving to Amsterdam from abroad, there are many bureaucratic hurdles to be taken. Through the local municipality, important administration needs to be arranged, such as registration, taxes, social security services and mandatory Dutch health insurance. For most international students, this process is manageable. For a smaller group of international students, having access to basic civic registration is impossible, due to temporary housing, i.e. campsites, hostels, or friends’ couches. Failing to register means students are unable to attain a BSN-number, which is essential for insurances, taxes, voting and much more.
For these international students, being unable to register is cumbersome. Unregistered students are essentially ostracized from many government services. It sucks.
What many do not know however, is that there is a solution! Under certain circumstances, it is possible to register at the municipality: at the address Amstel 1, or at friends, family or anyone who is willing to help. ASVA Student Union can help you arrange a registration. Therefore, anyone who is in a temporary unregistered living situation can contact us at registration@asva.nl. This is only possible when you are practically homeless: thus when you are hopping from couch to couch, or from hostel to hostel. Not if you have a permanent place to stay where you still cannot register.
Do you have a permanent residence, but are you still unable to register? Even then ASVA Student Union can help you out! Sometimes, due to municipal laws, there is a maximum amount of registration in your residence. Thankfully, it is not so hard to apply for a permit to increase this amount. Need help convincing your landlord? Shoot an email to registration@asva.nl.