Request a residence certificate with eID
Get your residence certificate over the internet
In some countries, residence certificates are often required for someone to prove their address or that they are entitled to services and benefits only available for residents — such as opening a bank account or getting health insurance. In other countries, residence information is stored and shared digitally.
As such, applying for a residence certificate or updating residence information is likely one of the early services that an EU citizen will need after moving to another EU country. With a residence certificate they can access other local or national services.
To this day, many Member States have already made it possible to apply for a residence certificate online. The whole process becomes even easier with an eIDAS eID, as newly arrived citizens will probably not have a national eID yet.
What is eID and how does it work?
Countries across the EU have developed national electronic identity schemes to improve citizen’s access to national services. But all these national eID systems had differing security mechanisms and were based on different philosophies, lacking cross-border recognition and validation.
To address this, an EU approach, underpinned by the eIDAS Regulation, has been set up. CEF eID now provides the standards and supports the infrastructure (the eIDAS network) which allows these national eID schemes to be mutually recognisable.
A network of eIDAS nodes has been set up across all EEA Member States, based on these standards. This means that an ever growing number of notified national eID schemes can now be used to identify citizens who wish to access different public services in other EU countries.
An overview of the countries already providing notified eID schemes under eIDAS can be found here.
Where can you apply for a residence certificate with an eIDAS eID?
If you have an eID from a notified eID scheme, you can start using it right away to access online public services in EU countries. The list of notified eID schemes is growing rapidly — currently 19, across 15 Member States. 1
Countries which have already connected their Residence Certificate Request service to the eIDAS network make it possible for citizens from other EU countries to access it, using a notified eIDAS eID.
Here are some examples of where this is already possible:
Finland
Population Information System is the central Finnish system, storing basic information about Finnish and foreign citizens residing in Finland. Resident certificates and a range of other official documents can be requested here, upon identification with a national eID or eIDAS eID.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg’s central eGovernment Portal provides access to a number of public services. By logging in with their national eID or an eIDAS eID, users can request different certificates, such as an extract from the National Registry of National Persons stating their official place of residence.
Other countries where you can use an eIDAS eID to request a residence certificate
Austria - Estonia - Finland - Luxembourg - Slovakia - Spain (Pamplona) - Spain (Ceuta)
If you know of another EU Member State where this service can be accessed using an online eID, contact us with the details and we will add them to the list.
If you do not yet have an eID from a notified eID scheme, but are a citizen from one of the countries that already provide them, you can consult the overview of notified eIDs across the EU and apply to get one.