All foreign students staying in Ghent have to report to the Foreigners Registration Office of the City as soon as possible after arrival (normally within eight working days). Please note that you can't register if you don't have an address in Ghent.


Please read very carefully the guidelines below.

Short stays - less than three months ( = less than 90 days)
Attention please!  There is no need for on-line registration.

Go to the Foreigners Registration Office of the City (look below for the contact information)
Attention: the foreigners Registration Office 'Het Zuid' is only by appointment! (tel + 32 (0) 9 266 71 50)
Please bring along the following documents:
- passport or identity card,  if necessary with visum
- 4 passport photographs on a white background (!)
- 10 EUR registration fee.
You receive an 'arrival certificate'.

Long stays (more than three months)
Foreign students who are staying longer than three month and who need a domiciliation in Ghent have to register on-line (not at the counters of the Foreigners Registration Office).

Please follow the steps below.

FIRST STEP
Register on-line as a foreign student.

• You have to fill in the "Arrival Form"
  You can download the Arrival Form (fill in this document) - see 'Related info' at the right.
  ATTENTION
  It is necessary that you fill in the Dutch 'Arrival Form'.
  The other document, a translation in Dutch and English, only explains what you need to fill in.
  Fields in red, bold and with an asterisk * are mandatory.
  Please, fill in this document very carefully. Use the information of your official passport or identity card to fill in your surname, name, birth (date, country, city).
• Mail it to internationalstudent@gent.be
  To all students from non-EU-countries: if possible please send also a scan of your visa together with the 'Arrival Form'.
• You will receive a mail confirming your registration.

SECOND STEP

• When all compulsory information (fields in bold, red and with an asterisk *) has been completed and sent off, a police officer will come to check that you do in fact live at your student residence. 
• As soon as the Foreigners' Registration Office gets the confirmation from the police,
  you will be posted an appointment to complete your registration and to apply for your electronic card. 
• When you go to the Foreigners 'Registration Office, please bring all the necessary documents. If a single document is missing, the office will not to be able to deliver the permit. Respect also the date and the hour of your appointment.

You can read the procedures in detail: look at the documents by 'Related info'.

• Students in the neighbouring countries (the Netherlands, France, Germany or Luxemburg)
• Students from another EU-country (non-neighbouring countries)
• Students from non-EU-countries

THIRD STEP 

Departure (for all students)

Just as you register when you arrive, it is very imortant to de-register within eight days before leaving Belgium.

 you must go to the City Hall and inform them of your departure. This closes your record at the Registration Office for Foreigners, and your landlord stops paying the taxes of your registration.

You can find the departure form at the right 'Related info'.
Please fill in the form and send it to the City Council by post or by e-mail (fill in, sign and scan the document).

You can alo go to the City Hall and inform them of your departure.
Go to the desk at the right in the entrance hall and ask for the form. It isn't necessary that you take a number.

Important addresses: City Council, Foreigners Registration Office

For students living in the city centre, north of St-Pieters station:
Foreigners Registration Office 'Het Zuid' (Administratief Centrum ‘Het Zuid’, Loket Migratie)
Woodrow Wilsonplein, B-9000 Gent
tel + 32 (0) 9 266 71 50 - fax + 32 (0) 9 266 71 69
Open: on working days between 08h00-13h00, Wednesday aditonally between 14h00-18h00.

For students living south of St-Pieters station: 
Dienstencentrum Nieuw-Gent, Rerum Novarumplein 186/A
tel + 32 (0) 9 268 21 70 - fax  + 32 (0) 9 222 06 25 - dcng@gent.be
Open: on working days between 08h00-13h00 and 14h00-16h00, Wednesday aditionally between 14h00-18h00.

For students outside the Ghent territory:
Go to the city hall of the city where you reside.

You can find a list of the addresses at 'Related info'.