Residence permit

Every foreign student (European and Non-European) must register to the Town Hall of his/her residence area in order to obtain the residence permit. The procedure is rather long (6 to 7 weeks).

The student must show himself/herself at the Town Hall of the area where he/she lives (Population Department - Foreigners) with different documents (passport or identity card, photos, Saint-Louis registration certificate delivered by the Erasmus Office, a proof of health insurance (European or private), the renting contract). The student must pay around 12,00 € for administrative costs but this amount may vary from one place to another.

A policeman will come to the place of residence of the student in order to check the validity of the address

- if there is nobody, the policeman comes back 3 weeks later 

- if the student is in his rented room, the police gives him/her a written notification to show her/himself again at the Town Hall (the date and time are already fixed)

On the appointment day, the Town Hall delivers the official residence permit

When the student leaves Belgium, he must give back the document to the authorities.

It is an important administrative step :

in case of attack or robbery, the policemen will only take into account the complaint and charges if the student has complied with the rule.

 the residence permit is necessary if the student wants to travel out of Belgium during his exchange stay.