Your First Weeks in Brussels: a Step-by-Step Checklist

Brussels administration runs on one principle: each step unlocks the next. Do them out of order and you will spend your first month bouncing between counters that turn you away for a document you can't get yet. This is the sequence that actually works, and — just as important — why the order is what it is.

The one rule that governs everything: the commune first

Nearly every service in Belgium wants proof that you legally live at a Brussels address. That proof comes from your commune (municipality) — Brussels is made up of 19 of them, each with its own service des étrangers / dienst vreemdelingenzaken (foreigners' office). Registering there triggers your national register number (numéro national / rijksregisternummer), the 11-digit ID that the bank, the mutuelle, the tax office and itsme all ask for.

So the whole checklist hangs off one first action.

Deadline: You must report to your commune within 10 days of arriving in Belgium. Miss it and an administrative fine of up to €200 can be imposed (IBZ – FPS Home Affairs).

The checklist, in dependency order

1. Book your commune appointment

Find your commune by your postal address (Ixelles, Saint-Gilles, Schaerbeek, City of Brussels, etc.) and book with its foreigners' office. Bring — at minimum — your passport, your rental contract, and passport photos; EU citizens must present a complete file at the first appointment or it won't be accepted (a rule tightened from 1 September 2025).

• Non-EU nationals typically start with a déclaration d'arrivée (Annex 3) and, depending on your permit, an Annex 15 covering you while the application is processed.
• EU/EEA nationals apply for a registration certificate and receive an Annex 19 (or Annex 19ter for family members) as proof the application is pending.

Exact documents vary by nationality and status, so check your own commune's page before you go — do not rely on a friend's list from a different commune.

2. Get your national register number (NRN)

You usually receive a provisional national register number at the first appointment. Then the local police visit your address to confirm you actually live there. Only after that check clears does the commune finalise your file and invite you back to collect your residence card (electronic eID for the card holders entitled to one).

Why it's step 2: the NRN is the key the next four steps demand. You can start some of them with just the provisional number, but several only fully activate once your card is issued.

3. Open a bank account

You need a Belgian IBAN to receive a salary, pay rent, and set up direct debits for utilities — so this comes before utilities and often before the card is even printed.

• Bring passport + proof of address (lease or an official document dated within the last 3 months).
• Major banks — KBC Brussels, ING, BNP Paribas Fortis — will usually open a provisional account on your passport and lease, then ask you to add your national register number within about 90 days. Confirm that window with the bank.
• Wise and Revolut are useful bridges the moment you land — a euro IBAN for transfers and card spending while your Belgian account is being set up. Use one to move your first month's money in cheaply, then switch your salary to the local IBAN.

4. Join a mutuelle

Health insurance affiliation with a mutuelle / mutualité / ziekenfonds is compulsory for anyone living, working or studying in Belgium — and you must arrange it yourself; your employer will not (Commissioner.brussels).

• All funds provide the same legally-defined basic cover, so choose on service, language support and small optional extras — not on the core reimbursement.
• Common funds: Partenamut, Solidaris, CM / Christian Mutuality, Mutualité Libérale, Mutualité Neutre, and the public CAAMI/HZIV.
• You'll need your NRN to join. Coverage begins once your file is processed (commonly 2–4 weeks) and you receive your membership documents/vignettes.

5. Set up itsme

itsme is Belgium's near-universal digital identity app. Once running it logs you into government portals (tax, My eBox, health), your bank and countless private services — turning trips to a counter into a few taps.

• Activate it either via a Belgian bank (BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius, KBC, ING, Hello Bank, Fintro) or with your Belgian eID by scanning it with your phone's NFC.
• Both routes need something you only get after steps 1–3 — a Belgian bank login or your eID card — which is why itsme sits here, not on day one.

6. MOBIB and STIB

STIB-MIVB runs Brussels' metro, tram and bus. Fares load onto a reusable MOBIB smart card.

• Buy a personalised MOBIB card at a BOOTIK, a GO machine, or online; the basic card is widely reported to cost around €6 and stays valid for years — confirm the current price on the STIB fares page.
• A single Brupass journey is €2.70; travellers aged 18–24 who live in Brussels get a heavily discounted annual pass (€12/year). For the standard adult monthly/annual season pass, check the official product catalogue — prices are updated periodically and I won't quote a figure I can't verify.

A personalised MOBIB needs your identity details, so it's easiest once you're registered — but you can travel on contactless single tickets from day one.

7. Set up utilities

Your landlord's meters exist; you just need a supplier contract in your name. In Brussels the distribution network (the physical wires and pipes) is run by Sibelga for all 19 communes — but you sign your electricity/gas contract with a commercial supplier you choose (Sibelga).

• Take the meter readings on move-in day and keep them.
• Choose a supplier, provide your EAN codes (on the meter/prior bill) and your Belgian IBAN for direct debit — which is why this follows the bank account.
• Arrange internet separately (Proximus, Telenet, Orange and others).
• Water in Brussels is via Vivaqua and is usually handled by the landlord/syndic — confirm with yours.

8. Register with a GP (open your DMG)

You don't formally "sign up" with a doctor in Belgium — you simply pick a médecin généraliste (GP) and ask them to open your Dossier Médical Global (DMG) / Globaal Medisch Dossier at your first visit.

• The DMG is free to open, and your mutuelle reimburses up to 30% more on consultations with that GP afterwards (Belgium.be).
• It needs to be step 8 because the reimbursement flows through your mutuelle (step 4) — the doctor notifies your fund electronically.

Common problems and fixes

• "Come back when you're registered." Almost every counter says a version of this. The fix is always the same: finish step 1, then return. Don't fight it — sequence it.
• The police residence check hasn't happened. Politely follow up with your commune; keep your name clearly on the letterbox and doorbell, since the officer needs to confirm you live there.
• Bank keeps asking for the NRN you don't have yet. Use the provisional-account route (passport + lease, NRN within ~90 days) rather than waiting for your card.
• Mutuelle "not active" when you see a doctor. Pay out of pocket and keep the receipt — you can claim the reimbursement retroactively once your affiliation date is confirmed.
• Address on documents doesn't match the lease. Fix mismatches early; a single wrong flat number can stall the police check and cascade through every later step.

Your one concrete next step

Open your commune's website today, find the foreigners' service (service des étrangers / dienst vreemdelingenzaken), and book the earliest registration appointment — you're on a 10-day clock from arrival, and everything else on this list waits behind it.