Photos for residence cards can now be taken after being suspended yesterday due to technical reasons. You can make an appointment for having your picture taken here.

Work is underway to introduce new residence permit cards at the Directorate of Immigration planned for use next July. Until the new cards have been introduced the issuance of residence cards will remain limited.

Work is underway to introduce new residence permit cards at the Directorate of Immigration planned for use next July. Until the new cards have been introduced the issuance of residence cards will remain limited.

Due to an update to the card system, there will be limitations to have your picture taken for a new card during the week of 14 to 18 June and no residence permit cards will be issued during that time.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you need a residence permit card for travel soon.

The residence permit team is now busy processing applications for residence permits for students for the next school year.

How long will it take to process your application?

The Directorate tries to process all applications before the beginning of the semester but we can only guarantee for the timely processing of applications submitted with all required supporting documents before June 1st.

Please note that the Directorate of Immigration does not accept applications electronically. Applications must be mailed to our postal address or delivered to a drop box in the Directorate’s lobby (from 8 to 16 on week-days).

You can check which applications are already being processed on our web's processing time page. If you submitted your application later than the date displayed, your application is not being processed yet.

Contacting the Directorate per E-Mail or telephone to check the status of your application will not accelerate the processing of your application. We will contact you if documents are missing and when the permit has been granted. 

What can you do to accelerate the processing of your application?

• Make sure you submit all the necessary supporting documents with your application, a list of the required supporting documents is available here. 

• Make sure the supporting documents you submit meet the Directorate’s documentation requirements. 

In particular, make sure the criminal record certificate you submit was issued by the highest authority competent to issue such certificates in the respective country. The certificate must state that the information in the certificate stems from national databases, not only databases in certain areas (for example, in certain regions or states of a country). For students from the US this means that an FBI criminal record certificate is required, students from Canada must submit an RCMP certificate and students from Thailand must submit a certificate issued by the Royal Thai Police.

• Make sure your means of support is satisfactory and that you submit sufficient documentation on your secure means of support. 

The Directorate of Immigration reminds that issuance of residence permit cards has been limited due to low stock levels. We hope to have received new cards no later than June.

Residence permit cards are only issued to individuals who can proof that they need them for travelling abroad. Valid travel records, e.g. airline tickets, must be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Instead of residence permit cards, applicants receive a letter of confirmation from the Directorate, confirming the issuance of a residence permit, including information on the permit’s validity and the applicant’s right to work.

The Directorate of Immigration sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience that this may cause.