Arrival in the Netherlands at Schiphol Airport, another airport or at a port

Last updated: 25/09/2024, 11:28

Do you arrive by plane at Schiphol Airport, another airport or at a port in the Netherlands? And do you not have a valid visa and passport to enter the Netherlands? Then apply for asylum there. You then await your asylum application in a closed reception centre at Schiphol Airport.

You should do this upon arrival at Schiphol Airport or a port

Have you arrived in the Netherlands via Schiphol Airport, another airport or a port? And you are not allowed to enter the Netherlands because you do not have a valid visa and passport? Then report to the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar) at the airport or port. You tell them you want to apply for asylum. You will then be taken to a closed reception centre at Schiphol Airport where you can make your asylum application.

This is how you recognise the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee

As soon as you arrive at an airport or port in the Netherlands, tell the

Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar)

that you want to apply for asylum in the Netherlands. You can recognize the KMar by vests on the back that say 'Koninklijke Marechaussee'. They also often wear a blue beret. And the KMar carries weapons.

Here you will find the Marechaussee at Schiphol Airport

You will also find the KMar at passport controls at Schiphol Airport. Or at departure hall 1. The KMar cannot send you away or send you back to another country and is obliged to help you according to the

Refugee Convention

The Marechaussee take you to a closed reception centre

After you say you want to apply for asylum, the KMar will take you to a closed reception centre at Schiphol. Even if you apply for asylum at the port with the KMar you will be taken to this closed reception centre. This location is called the Schiphol Judicial Complex (JCS). You will stay in this closed reception centre for the duration of your asylum application.

The reception centre at JCS is closed because you have not (yet) received permission to enter the Netherlands. You are not officially on Dutch soil yet. It is not a prison, but it looks like one. You are not allowed to leave JCS by yourself.

In the closed reception centre you make your official asylum application

You officially apply for asylum at the

Judicial Complex Schiphol (JCS)

. If you apply for asylum at Schiphol Airport or at the port, you will get a different procedure than if you arrive in the Netherlands by land. This special procedure is called the Border Procedure. You will stay at this closed reception centre for as long as your procedure takes.