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Open a Bank Account in Belgium and Invoke the Basic Banking Service
Document Checklist
paspoort / passeport / Reisepass
Valid passport or EU/EEA national identity card
Where to get: Issued by the home-country passport or ID-card authority
Required: Original document, unexpired. Passport for third-country nationals; national ID card or passport for EU/EEA nationals.
KBC Brussels accepts a valid identity document at signup and confirms that newcomers who do not yet have Belgian citizenship or a permanent address can still apply online for a current account.
verblijfsvergunning / titre de séjour
Belgian residence permit if already issued
Where to get: Issued by the commune of residence after registration with the Immigration Office (Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken / Office des Étrangers)
Required: Electronic A card or B card for third-country nationals; Annex 8 (registration certificate) or Annex 19 for EU/EEA nationals. The account can be opened before the permit is issued and updated later.
KBC Brussels states applicants must bring along their identity card and residence permit when collecting the debit card in branch on arrival in Belgium.
Proof of address
Where to get: Recent utility bill, lease agreement, or an official letter dated within the last three months
Required: Some banks accept a foreign address for remote opening; others require a Belgian residential address
Asylum seekers and refugees may not be refused the basic banking service on the ground of a temporary address.
rijksregisternummer / numéro de registre national
Belgian national-register number once issued
Where to get: Assigned by the commune of residence on registration in the population register
Required: Not required to open the account; supplied to the bank once the commune assigns it. Used for tax reporting and for the Centraal Aanspreekpunt / Point de Contact Central register maintained by the National Bank of Belgium.
Banks open the account before the national-register number is issued for newcomers and update the file once it is received.
enclosure 26 / 25 / 15, oranje kaart, carte orange
Asylum-application or registration proof (statutory route)
Where to get: Issued by the asylum authority or commune of residence
Required: Acceptable identity proof for the basic banking service when a standard residence permit is not yet held. Febelfin lists enclosure 26, enclosure 25, enclosure 15, the carte orange / oranje kaart registration certificate, a provisional residence certificate, and (in exceptional cases) a foreign passport.
Banks must not refuse the basic banking service on the ground of temporary address for asylum seekers or recognised refugees.
Belgian mobile number and email
Where to get: Personal email account; Belgian SIM from Proximus, Orange, Telenet/BASE, or another local provider once on the ground
Required: Required for app-based identity verification (itsme), one-time-password delivery, and bank notifications
KBC and KBC Brussels accept identity verification by the itsme app, by eID card reader, or by manual entry plus a scanned ID copy.
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