7 ms·

No, only if you're planning on living in the Netherlands for 3 months or more.

garmaine 6y ago
As an American it is so weird that a country would require you to register with the police at all, no matter your length of stay.
- vincnetas 6y ago
  I see registering your place of living is quite importand when dealing with local taxes. Ie when staying in one place for longer than some period of time, alos same information is used for social purposes, for example to assign your kids a place in kindergarten or school. It just so happens that this responsibility is assigned to police. By the way passport issuing is also i think is under police in LT. And yeah tourists who stay for long periods are handled with same subroutine (if i can say so). Stay at one place for prolonget period of time, please register.
- shafyy 6y ago
  As an European, it seems weird that in the US you don't need to register your address at all, leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process.
  - mcntsh 6y ago
    As an American who now lives in Germany, it does make me think how the U.S works at all without this "registration". There are times where you fill out government forms with your address, but there's no way to know for sure where someone is living at any given moment. As far as the "government" is concerned (which government? state, local, federal? AFAIK it's all pretty decentralised) I'm still living at the place I registered to vote from years ago. I suppose it's cultural differences. There's a staunchly individualistic attitude in the US and the idea of a central government tracking its citizens is very unpopular. I get it, too. If you take a look at the "Anmeldung" process in Germany, where the government has a list of everyone and their race/religion/nationality, along with exactly where they live/which building/which floor/which side of the building, you can see how such a system could be dangerous if Germany were to ever shift from the liberal democracy it is today.
    - garmaine 6y ago
      Heck, I remember it getting drilled into me in middle school that the Nazis were able to kill so many Jewish people because they had complete records of where everyone lived and their religious affiliation. When the time came, they knew what doors to knock on. It boggles my mind that this system still exists in modern Germany, of all places. The American model is highly distributed and need-to-know. Many government forms ask for your current address, but it is not automatically shared with the police and there is no requirement to update it in a timely manner. Many Americans are highly skeptical of the police, and for good reason. Expecting people to go to the police to register when moving would be a complete non-starter in most neighborhoods that I have lived.
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        America is even more extreme - there the state asks you for your political affiliation in many cases. That’s absolutely crazy to me.
        mcntsh 6y ago
        Hmm I've never been asked this on any official form other than when I register to vote (so I can join a party), and that's optional.
        chrisseaton 6y ago
        Right... but why does the state want to know which party you're a member of? This doesn't get supervised by the state in other countries. It's usually a personal, private matter between you and the party.
        mcntsh 6y ago
        Ah, right, sure that's a good point but I wouldn't say it's more "extreme" than other countries, seeing as it's a totally optional thing. I can vote in elections without being affiliated with a party. In Germany, for example you don't have the choice but to have your race/gender/religion/address on file with the central government. Disclaimer: I'm not complaining about how it is in Germany/other countries in Europe. The trust in government is quite high here, and for a good reason :)
  - garmaine 6y ago
    > leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process What are you referring to? We have a every-ten-year census mandate built into our constitution. It’s been an ongoing thing since the 18th century. The census results are mostly kept private and anonymized, with only aggregate data being shared.
    - morelisp 6y ago
      In other countries the role of the census is significantly lessened in modern times because basic population questions can be answered with "instantaneous" (in terms of when it was measured, if not when you get the results) data. The idea of waiting increments of 10 years to get basic counts of where people are living / moving to / from seems ridiculous. Deeper demographic information is usually handled via sampling, and does not require the nationwide (and especially this time, logistically taxing) mobilization of census-takers. I do agree it would be difficult for the US to shift to such a system given the requirement is constitutional rather than merely a procedure of the civil service.
  - kube-system 6y ago
    The US census is also intended to count people without an address. Also, in the US it is state governments that are the authority for most things pertaining to where people live: property and rental law, identification cards, property taxes, voters registration, etc. Most states do require people to change their voters registration and drivers license when they move between states. It’s not that strange that you don’t register your address with the federal government, when in fact, the only interaction that many Americans have with the federal government at all is their yearly tax filing.
    - shafyy 6y ago
      In reality, there are a lot of problems with the Census that in the end unproportionally effect minorities and lower income folks negatively. It's the same in Germany and Switzerland (and I think in a lot of other European countries): You register with your local government when you move, not the federal government.
- namdnay 6y ago
  ??? My memory is fuzzy now, but I’m 99% sure the same rule applies in the USA
  - garmaine 6y ago
    Nope.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      The US does do this. I’m always asked where I’m staying when I cross into the US. I have to write it on my landing card and they ask me about it at the border. And this is someone who doesn’t need a visa, even.
      - garmaine 6y ago
        that’s something different. Every country asks where you will be staying on their immigration entry forms. This thread is about local police, no immigration and customs agencies. In Germany, it is required that when you move to a new apartment you walk into the nearest police station or town hall within a few days and fill out a form telling them your new address, who you live with, what their religious affiliations are, etc. You will get in trouble with the police if you do not do this. In China they take it even further, and even tourist have to do the same. If you stay in an Airbnb in China and do not register with the local police, it is possible you can get in real trouble. This is not “write your hotel’s address on the immigration form”, it is “tell the local cops where to find you.” There is a huge difference in my mind at least.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
        chrisseaton 6y ago
        > This is not “write your hotel’s address on the immigration form”, it is “tell the local cops where to find you.” There is a huge difference in my mind at least. I'm sure it all goes into the same database.
- refurb 6y ago
  As a Canadian, I concur. I've lived in other countries with a pretty strict registration requirement and it always felt odd. I was always thinking "why do the police need to know where I live? I haven't done anything wrong".
  - Ekaros 6y ago
    It's really useful information for things like mailing your tax returns, verifying which municipality should receive taxes and also affects you social security. Sending voting information. For police they need to know where to send court documents and so on. In Finland it's not really handled by police, usually done with Posti. Other great thing is that it also updates your details to most places...
- eythian 6y ago
  It's not really registering with the police, though they probably get access to the information. When you do it you go to the council building and register there (at least when I last did it several years ago), so it's more like registering with the city. This means that things like local taxes and such go to you automatically. I do know a lot of people who aren't registered where they live, because they're illegally subletting or something so they're registered at their parents' place or whatever. It's pretty accepted that this is common.
  - seanmcdirmid 6y ago
    Ya, the latter doesn’t really work in Switzerland, where they bring in swat if you aren’t registered properly, much to my shock.

As an American it is so weird that a country would require you to register with the police at all, no matter your length of stay.

vincnetas 6y ago
I see registering your place of living is quite importand when dealing with local taxes. Ie when staying in one place for longer than some period of time, alos same information is used for social purposes, for example to assign your kids a place in kindergarten or school. It just so happens that this responsibility is assigned to police. By the way passport issuing is also i think is under police in LT. And yeah tourists who stay for long periods are handled with same subroutine (if i can say so). Stay at one place for prolonget period of time, please register.
shafyy 6y ago
As an European, it seems weird that in the US you don't need to register your address at all, leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process.
- mcntsh 6y ago
  As an American who now lives in Germany, it does make me think how the U.S works at all without this "registration". There are times where you fill out government forms with your address, but there's no way to know for sure where someone is living at any given moment. As far as the "government" is concerned (which government? state, local, federal? AFAIK it's all pretty decentralised) I'm still living at the place I registered to vote from years ago. I suppose it's cultural differences. There's a staunchly individualistic attitude in the US and the idea of a central government tracking its citizens is very unpopular. I get it, too. If you take a look at the "Anmeldung" process in Germany, where the government has a list of everyone and their race/religion/nationality, along with exactly where they live/which building/which floor/which side of the building, you can see how such a system could be dangerous if Germany were to ever shift from the liberal democracy it is today.
  - garmaine 6y ago
    Heck, I remember it getting drilled into me in middle school that the Nazis were able to kill so many Jewish people because they had complete records of where everyone lived and their religious affiliation. When the time came, they knew what doors to knock on. It boggles my mind that this system still exists in modern Germany, of all places. The American model is highly distributed and need-to-know. Many government forms ask for your current address, but it is not automatically shared with the police and there is no requirement to update it in a timely manner. Many Americans are highly skeptical of the police, and for good reason. Expecting people to go to the police to register when moving would be a complete non-starter in most neighborhoods that I have lived.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      America is even more extreme - there the state asks you for your political affiliation in many cases. That’s absolutely crazy to me.
      - mcntsh 6y ago
        Hmm I've never been asked this on any official form other than when I register to vote (so I can join a party), and that's optional.
        chrisseaton 6y ago
        Right... but why does the state want to know which party you're a member of? This doesn't get supervised by the state in other countries. It's usually a personal, private matter between you and the party.
        mcntsh 6y ago
        Ah, right, sure that's a good point but I wouldn't say it's more "extreme" than other countries, seeing as it's a totally optional thing. I can vote in elections without being affiliated with a party. In Germany, for example you don't have the choice but to have your race/gender/religion/address on file with the central government. Disclaimer: I'm not complaining about how it is in Germany/other countries in Europe. The trust in government is quite high here, and for a good reason :)
- garmaine 6y ago
  > leading to this last-cenutry 10-year Census process What are you referring to? We have a every-ten-year census mandate built into our constitution. It’s been an ongoing thing since the 18th century. The census results are mostly kept private and anonymized, with only aggregate data being shared.
  - morelisp 6y ago
    In other countries the role of the census is significantly lessened in modern times because basic population questions can be answered with "instantaneous" (in terms of when it was measured, if not when you get the results) data. The idea of waiting increments of 10 years to get basic counts of where people are living / moving to / from seems ridiculous. Deeper demographic information is usually handled via sampling, and does not require the nationwide (and especially this time, logistically taxing) mobilization of census-takers. I do agree it would be difficult for the US to shift to such a system given the requirement is constitutional rather than merely a procedure of the civil service.
- kube-system 6y ago
  The US census is also intended to count people without an address. Also, in the US it is state governments that are the authority for most things pertaining to where people live: property and rental law, identification cards, property taxes, voters registration, etc. Most states do require people to change their voters registration and drivers license when they move between states. It’s not that strange that you don’t register your address with the federal government, when in fact, the only interaction that many Americans have with the federal government at all is their yearly tax filing.
  - shafyy 6y ago
    In reality, there are a lot of problems with the Census that in the end unproportionally effect minorities and lower income folks negatively. It's the same in Germany and Switzerland (and I think in a lot of other European countries): You register with your local government when you move, not the federal government.
namdnay 6y ago
??? My memory is fuzzy now, but I’m 99% sure the same rule applies in the USA
- garmaine 6y ago
  Nope.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    The US does do this. I’m always asked where I’m staying when I cross into the US. I have to write it on my landing card and they ask me about it at the border. And this is someone who doesn’t need a visa, even.
    - garmaine 6y ago
      that’s something different. Every country asks where you will be staying on their immigration entry forms. This thread is about local police, no immigration and customs agencies. In Germany, it is required that when you move to a new apartment you walk into the nearest police station or town hall within a few days and fill out a form telling them your new address, who you live with, what their religious affiliations are, etc. You will get in trouble with the police if you do not do this. In China they take it even further, and even tourist have to do the same. If you stay in an Airbnb in China and do not register with the local police, it is possible you can get in real trouble. This is not “write your hotel’s address on the immigration form”, it is “tell the local cops where to find you.” There is a huge difference in my mind at least.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        > This is not “write your hotel’s address on the immigration form”, it is “tell the local cops where to find you.” There is a huge difference in my mind at least. I'm sure it all goes into the same database.
refurb 6y ago
As a Canadian, I concur. I've lived in other countries with a pretty strict registration requirement and it always felt odd. I was always thinking "why do the police need to know where I live? I haven't done anything wrong".
- Ekaros 6y ago
  It's really useful information for things like mailing your tax returns, verifying which municipality should receive taxes and also affects you social security. Sending voting information. For police they need to know where to send court documents and so on. In Finland it's not really handled by police, usually done with Posti. Other great thing is that it also updates your details to most places...
eythian 6y ago
It's not really registering with the police, though they probably get access to the information. When you do it you go to the council building and register there (at least when I last did it several years ago), so it's more like registering with the city. This means that things like local taxes and such go to you automatically. I do know a lot of people who aren't registered where they live, because they're illegally subletting or something so they're registered at their parents' place or whatever. It's pretty accepted that this is common.
- seanmcdirmid 6y ago
  Ya, the latter doesn’t really work in Switzerland, where they bring in swat if you aren’t registered properly, much to my shock.