More travelers refused at Schiphol passport controls
Photo: Royal Netherlands Marechaussee
In 2019, the Marechaussee handled fewer incidents at Schiphol and made fewer arrests than in 2018. However, more people were refused at passport controls last year, according to the Marechaussee.
At Schiphol, the Marechaussee is responsible for border control, surveillance and all police duties. 2.795 persons were refused at passport controls, a striking increase of 20 percent. Travelers are refused if, for example, they have an unclear destination or insufficient money to stay in the Netherlands. In addition, the travel documents may not be correct or passports may be false.
Due to the corona crisis, it is currently also quieter at Schiphol. Since the entry ban of March 19 for travelers from outside the EU, 65 people have been refused entry to the Netherlands.
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is responsible for border police tasks at the Dutch airports Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Eindhoven Airport, Maastricht Aachen Airport and Groningen Eelde Airport. The Marechaussee only carries out border control at the other airports in the Netherlands.
In the Caribbean Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee also carries out border control at the airports: Flamingo Airport (Bonaire), Roosevelt Airport (St. Eustatius) and Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (Saba). This is done in the following way:
- Checking persons, both on entry and exit;
- Refusing persons who do not meet the entry conditions;
- tracing individuals in automated tracking systems and enforcing judgments and sanctions;
- Carrying out gate checks to prevent illegal immigration and abuse of the asylum procedure;
- Carrying out Mobile Security Surveillance on flights within the Schengen area;
- Collecting, analyzing and sharing information with other (security) authorities.
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee collects and uses a great deal of information when carrying out border surveillance and mobile security supervision. If possible, this information is shared with other investigative authorities.
Document expertise at the highest level
The Marechaussee also makes an important contribution to combating and preventing identity fraud. Its Expertise Center for Identity Fraud and Documents (ECID) at Schiphol is the national hub for identity fraud and identity-related documents. The ECID is concerned with research, trends, analysis and cataloging of false or falsified documents. There are four regional Royal Netherlands Marechaussee ID desks in the country. Document experts who specialize at the highest level in travel, identity and residence documents work here. For example, they act as a point of contact for the police for questions about the authenticity of documents.
Source: Royal Netherlands Marechaussee