Your first 30 days in Belgium follow a fixed order: address, commune, national number and eID, then bank account, health insurance and itsme. Get the order right and each step unlocks the next. Get it wrong and you spend weeks waiting at the wrong counter. This checklist covers the first month week by week, for Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.
Why the order matters
In Belgium almost every administrative step depends on the national number, and the national number depends on your registered address.
Address: a lease in your name where you actually live.
Commune registration: you report to the commune of that address.
Police check: an officer confirms that you live there.
National number and residence card (eID): issued after a positive check.
Bank account, health insurance fund, itsme, phone contract: all of them ask for the national number, the card or a Belgian address.
Anything you can do before step 4, do early. Anything that needs step 4, plan for weeks 3 to 6, not day 1.
The week-by-week checklist
When | Task | What you need | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
Before arrival | Housing where you can register | Written confirmation from the landlord | A hotel address cannot be registered |
Before arrival | Health cover for the first weeks | EHIC (EU citizens) or private insurance | The commune asks for proof of health insurance |
Before arrival | Book a commune appointment if the system allows | Future address | Slots in Brussels and Antwerp can be weeks out |
Week 1 | Move in, name on doorbell and letterbox | — | Needed for the police check |
Week 1 | Report to the commune | Passport, visa if any, lease, proof of health insurance | Non-EU: within 8 working days of arrival |
Week 1 | Prepaid SIM card | Passport or national ID, in an operator's shop | Online activation often needs a Belgian eID |
Week 1 | Public transport | Contactless bank card or transport apps | See the city section below |
Week 2 | Police check at your address | Be reachable | If you miss the officer, answer the card they leave |
Weeks 3–4 | Residence card, if the commune is fast | Letter from the commune with PIN codes | Usually 2 to 8 weeks after filing |
Weeks 3–4 | Belgian bank account | ID, proof of Belgian address | Some banks start online before arrival |
Weeks 3–4 | Join a health insurance fund | National number, work contract | Mutualité (FR) or ziekenfonds (NL) |
After the card | Activate itsme | Residence card and card reader, or a Belgian bank app | Opens most public e-services |
After the card | Personal MOBIB transport card | Photo, ID | For monthly or annual passes |
If your commune is slow, the "after the card" rows move to weeks 5 to 8.
Address and commune registration
You must register with the commune of the address where you live: non-EU citizens within 8 working days of arrival, EU citizens within 3 months if they stay longer than 3 months.
A police officer then visits your address. The full procedure, documents per status and differences between Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent are in our guide to registering with the commune in Belgium.
The eID: what to expect and when
Most newcomers receive their residence card 2 to 8 weeks after filing at the commune, and the card is what the rest of the checklist waits for.
Until then you hold a paper certificate from the commune, such as an Annex 15 or Annex 19. It proves that your file is in progress, but most banks and services want the card itself. Before the card is ready you receive a letter with your PIN and PUK codes; keep it. You need the PIN for itsme activation with a card reader and for logging in to government websites.
Bank account
Belgian banks ask for identification and proof of a Belgian address, such as a lease or a commune document, so open the account once your address is settled.
ING, BNP Paribas Fortis and KBC run expat services, and some large banks let you start the account online before you move and activate it after the residence permit is issued. If you are legally resident in the EU, you are entitled to a basic payment account, and a bank cannot refuse it only because you live in another country.
