Problem with 150 passports issued by Dutch embassies
In the period from April to June 2018, a technical problem was identified in the security features during the production of approximately 5.000 travel documents. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), which is responsible for the production of passports, has informed the public about this.
About 150 of these travel documents were issued by a Dutch embassy. The documents are valid, so you can travel with them, even if the error has been detected in your document.
Check your passport
Using the BZK ID app – which can be downloaded for free on an Android phone – you can check whether your document contains the error (you can read how the app works in the BZK-ID app manual). You can also check this at the Dutch embassies abroad.
Free replacement
Should the document contain an error, it will be replaced free of charge. You can make an appointment for this at a time that suits you at your municipality or embassy.
You can go on vacation
There is no need to postpone a trip or vacation. You can simply go on holiday and check when you return home whether the travel document needs to be replaced. Should the problem arise that, for example, an electronic gate does not open, you can turn to the regular border control. Both the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and the foreign border control authorities have been informed that the error message may occur.
Questions about your travel document?
Did you apply for a travel document in the period from April to June? And do you have any questions about the travel document and the ID app? Then you can call telephone number 0800 – 0201046. The number can be reached from the Netherlands, on working days from 09:00 to 21:00 and on weekends from 09:00 to 17:00 (free via landline, no extra costs via mobile).
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
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That's good, I applied for and received my passport during that period
I don't have an Android phone but an Apple, so I can't download the app,
I live in hua hin and so that information number that can be used in the Netherlands is of no use
Do you still call the embassy for control info …. ?
That is how it says in the article “You can also check this at the Dutch embassies abroad.”
A few years ago, think about 7-8 years, we also had a problem with a series of Belgian passports. It was a factory defect at the time.
The problem then was that transparent page after the personal data.
That clear plastic page is actually connected to a regular paper page for visa use.
However, that connection between the two was not good with that particular series, people said through the media and with a lot of use you ran the risk that they would separate them from each other. You could then remove the plastic page at the front and the paper page at the back.
I also had a passport from that wrong series at the time.
When I heard about this through the media I was in Thailand. I hadn't had a problem with it myself, but I didn't really dare to test whether those pages were firmly attached.
Once back in Belgium I exchanged the passport.
Still curious, and just before exchanging, I pulled that page (without applying extra force) and they indeed quickly let go.
So it was probably just a matter of time before this happened.
It will only happen to you when you are just at immigration and that IO holds your passport in one hand and those unloaded pages from your passport in the other hand …….
Was actually hoping to get a new validity date (5 years then) with the new passport, but I should have known that this was asking too much from the government.
Then received a completely new passport at no cost, but the end date was the same.
When I get a new passport now, I always test on receipt whether that page is firmly attached 😉
And you thought that the Immigration or passport control officer of any country is so unprofessional that they are not aware of certain problems with certain passports, such as the Belgian then and now the Dutch?
I would say: falling apart in that place under those circumstances is absolute proof of the authenticity of that passport…
The mistake with those Belgian passports was first discovered by the passport holders themselves, precisely because the leaves came loose at passport controls.
To put it another way, no one, from any country, could have known about it at the time. Only afterwards were those warnings passed on to countries and services
So be aware of the situation before accusing me of suspecting those people of unprofessional behavior.
And passports that fall apart is certainly not absolute proof of authenticity. What nonsense is that.
Passports are made to be used frequently and will not fall apart under normal use.
Fake passports will look like this, to give the impression that they have already traveled a lot.
What a passport looks like usually depends on the owner and how he handles his passport.
correct :
– unprofessional instead of unprofessional
– “What a passport looks like usually depends on the passport holder and how he handles his passport.”
I have changed "owner" to "passport holder", otherwise there will be comments about that again....
From the government's website:
…you can see from the serial number whether your passport or ID card may have the technical problem. You can find this serial number on the back of your ID card. Or on the hard plastic page with personal data in your passport. The travel documents with an issue date in April, May or June 2018 with a possible technical problem have a serial number ending in 03
Also had to check it for my son, who lives in Thailand. In the passport, this is the ID number which can be found on the front of the hard plastic page, at the very top. So not on the side where the passport photo is, but the side before it.
Thank you for your information about the serial number. Received a new passport in the Netherlands in June, serial number does indeed end on 03, and today I received the letter from the Ministry of the Interior. My partner has an iPhone but I have an Android mobile. So just install the app and scan my passport, I thought. But that kite did not fly. The mobile with Android version must also be equipped with NFC support. If I didn't know much what it was then, the letter from the ministry did not explain it either, they probably assume that the term NFC is generally known. So I googled and then checked whether my phone has NFC. That turns out not to be the case, so next week we will visit the town hall. Well, it's holiday time so maybe the crowds aren't too bad. By the way, NFC means Near Field Communication, which in this case implies that you can make contact with your mobile phone with the chip in the passport.
It might also have been easier if it had been made known where which country had which embassies. Now everyone who has obtained a new copy in that period, anywhere in the world, is wondering if he/she sometimes also has such a misprint.
The government knows exactly that 150 passports with an error have been issued via the embassies. So they also know who received which passport through which embassy because each passport has an identification number. Played within the past 3 months then why not send a letter to the last known address of these 150 passport holders that something is wrong.
Personally, I would have expected the Dutch government to know exactly which citizen received which passport, or at least to be able to check that themselves.
And every immigration office informed?
Even if they know about the problem, you will most likely be taken to an office to see if it is indeed a failed passport, or a forgery.
There you can recover from your flight.
And if you received such a passport from Chiangmai, for example, will the travel costs for applying for a free new passport at the Bangkok Embassy be reimbursed? Yet soon about E 100, - on plane ticket, not to mention hotel costs.
Surely it won't be.
The train is cheaper and you do not necessarily have to stay in a hotel, you can also return the same day and have your passport sent to you.