Form guides

Plain-language guides to popular forms, in 24 languages: what the form is, who fills it in, and what every field means.

• W-8BEN

  How to fill in Form W-8BEN

  Form W-8BEN is the form an individual who is not a U.S. person gives to a U.S. payer to certify their foreign status and, if they qualify, claim a reduced tax-treaty rate. You give it to whoever pays you, never to the IRS.

  Issued by: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Read the guide
• W-9

  How to fill in Form W-9

  Form W-9 is the form you give to a U.S. business or platform that pays you, so it has your correct name and tax number for its year-end tax reports. Only U.S. persons use it, and you give it to the payer, never to the IRS.

  Issued by: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Read the guide
• W-4

  How to fill in Form W-4

  Form W-4 is the form you give your employer so it withholds the right amount of federal income tax from each paycheck. Every employee in the U.S. fills it in when starting a job, and gives it to the employer, not to the IRS.

  Issued by: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Read the guide
• I-9

  How to fill in Form I-9

  Form I-9, “Employment Eligibility Verification”, is the form every new U.S. employee completes with their employer to show who they are and that they may work in the United States. You fill in Section 1 yourself, then show your employer original documents, and the employer completes Section 2.

  Issued by: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)Read the guide
• Schengen visa

  How to fill in the Schengen visa application form

  The Schengen visa application form is the single EU form you complete to apply for a short-stay visa, meaning a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Every traveller who needs a visa fills in and signs their own form and gives it to the consulate, or to the service provider the consulate uses, of the country they are visiting.

  Issued by: European Commission / Schengen StatesRead the guide
• IMM 5257

  How to fill in IMM 5257 (Canada visitor visa application)

  IMM 5257, “Application for Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa)”, is the form from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that asks who you are, what your passport says, why and for how long you want to visit Canada, and a set of background questions. Each person who applies for a visitor visa fills in one, and it is completed on a computer with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

  Issued by: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)Read the guide
• DS-160

  How to fill in the DS-160 (U.S. visa application)

  The DS-160 is the online application for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa, such as a visitor, student or work visa. Everyone who applies for one fills it in, one form per person, before the visa interview.

  Issued by: U.S. Department of StateRead the guide
• Anmeldung

  How to fill in the German Anmeldung

  The Anmeldung is the form (Meldeschein) you hand in at your local registration office (Meldebehörde) to register the flat you have moved into. You must register within two weeks of moving in, with your passport or ID and a confirmation from your landlord.

  Issued by: MeldebehördeRead the guide
• Form 8843

  How to fill in Form 8843

  Form 8843 is the statement that students, teachers, researchers and trainees on F, J, M or Q visas, and their spouses and children, file with the IRS to explain why their days in the United States do not count toward U.S. tax residence. Each person files their own form for each year they were in the United States, even with no income, either attached to Form 1040-NR or mailed on its own.

  Issued by: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)Read the guide
• I-765

  How to fill in Form I-765

  Form I-765, “Application for Employment Authorization”, is the form you file with USCIS to ask for permission to work in the United States or for a work permit card (EAD). You fill it in yourself, while you are in the United States, under the one eligibility category that fits your situation.

  Issued by: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)Read the guide
• SS-5

  How to fill in Form SS-5

  Form SS-5, “Application for a Social Security Card”, is the form for asking the U.S. Social Security Administration for a first Social Security number, a replacement card, or a change to your record such as a new name. U.S. citizens and noncitizens with permission to work from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fill it in and bring it with original documents to a Social Security office.

  Issued by: Social Security Administration (SSA)Read the guide
• DS-11

  How to fill in Form DS-11 (Application for a U.S. Passport)

  Form DS-11 is the U.S. State Department’s application for a passport book or card made in person. You use it for your first passport, for a child under 16, and whenever you cannot renew by mail with Form DS-82.

  Issued by: U.S. Department of StateRead the guide
• IMM 1294

  How to fill in IMM 1294 (Canada study permit application)

  IMM 1294, “Application for Study Permit Made Outside of Canada”, is the form from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that asks who you are, what your passport says, where and what you will study, how you will pay for it, and a set of background questions. Each person applying for a study permit from outside Canada fills in one: most upload it in their IRCC secure account, and only a few people may still send it on paper.

  Issued by: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)Read the guide
• UK visitor visa

  How to fill in the UK visitor visa application

  The UK Standard Visitor visa application is the online GOV.UK form for people who need a visa to visit the UK for tourism, family, business or a short course. Each traveller fills in their own application before travelling, then gives fingerprints and a photo at a visa application centre.

  Issued by: UK Visas and Immigration (Home Office)Read the guide
• EX-15

  How to fill in the Spanish EX-15 (NIE application)

  The EX-15 is the official form to apply for a Spanish foreigner identity number (NIE), or for a certificate of resident or non-resident. You fill it in if you are not Spanish and need the number for an economic, professional or social reason, such as buying property, opening a bank account or signing a contract.

  Issued by: Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y MigracionesRead the guide
• BRP

  How to fill in the Dutch BRP registration form

  The first registration (eerste inschrijving) puts you in the Personal Records Database (BRP) of the Dutch municipality where you live, and gives you a citizen service number (BSN). You register in person within 5 days of arriving if you expect to live in the Netherlands for more than 4 months.

  Issued by: Gemeente (Burgerzaken)Read the guide
• Cerfa 15763

  How to fill in the S1106 health insurance form (Cerfa 15763)

  Cerfa 15763*02, known as the S1106, is the form you send to French public health insurance (Assurance Maladie) to open your right to have your healthcare costs covered when you are not yet attached to a French social security scheme. You fill it in when you start working in France or, if you do not work, once you live in France in a stable and regular way, usually after 3 months.

  Issued by: Assurance MaladieRead the guide