Who Must Declare Temporary Residence, and What Happens If Nobody Does

This page covers responsibility and consequences. The how-to is on the declaration page.

Who is responsible

Accommodation	Who declares
Hotel, serviced apartment, guesthouse	The accommodation operator, on check-in
Rented house or apartment	The landlord or the person managing the property
Company-provided housing	The company managing the accommodation
Staying with family or friends	The householder

The foreigner does not file it personally — but the foreigner carries the consequences.

Deadline

Immediately on arrival at the accommodation. Online declaration through the Ministry of Public Security portal is the fastest route; otherwise the commune or ward police.

Penalties

Late or missing declarations are fined, and repeated failures affect the accommodation operator. Landlords renting to foreigners without ever declaring are the most common case.

The effect people discover too late

A visa extension or residence card file normally requires proof of declaration. Tenants find out a week before expiry that their landlord never filed one — and the application stalls. Check at the start of a tenancy, not at the end of a visa.

When you move

A new declaration is needed at the new address, and the address on any pending immigration file must match it.