What Your Gemeente Can Do for You

“Gemeente” (or Town Hall) is probably the third Dutch word you’ll feel compelled to learn (after koffie and Goedemorgen). And it must be your first stop after moving to a new town in the Netherlands to register your residency and, if you haven’t already, get a BSN (personal ID) number. Since your first few visits to the Gemeente can be rather taxing, here are some thoughts on making the process easier; or at least more informative.

Volunteer statue in front of the Maastricht Gemeente

Know Why You Are There

The Gemeente is responsible for more than just residency. Some other things handled there are:
- Registration for a Drivers License
- Registration for a Green Bin
- Management and billing of city services (for example, sewer, road tax, housing taxes, etc)
- Information about business and residential zoning.
And, of course, they all have a general information desk and Maasricht now has an International Desk as well.

Read the Rest at Maastricht Region: to Live