The border procedure: seeking asylum when you arrive at an airport or port

Did you arrive in the Netherlands by plane or ship? And do you not have a visa to enter the Netherlands? Then you apply for asylum through the border procedure. It is called this because you are not officially in the Netherlands yet. Read here how this asylum procedure works.
A Royal Netherlands Marechaussee officer walks among the people at Schiphol Airport.
Source: Shutterstock, Dutchmen Photography
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You report to the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee

Last updated: 28/10/2024, 10:01

Have you arrived in the Netherlands at Schiphol Airport, another airport or at a port? And do you want to apply for asylum in the Netherlands, but are not allowed to enter the Netherlands? Then report to the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar) and tell them you want to apply for asylum in the Netherlands.

You sign your asylum application

After you have reported to the

Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar)
, they will register your asylum application. They will ask the following information from you:

  • Your name, date of birth and nationality

  • KMar takes pictures of you and takes fingerprints from you.

  • KMar searches your clothes and luggage and may confiscate your phone or other items to search. You will get proof on paper if KMar seizes documents or belongings from you. Make sure you keep this paper. You can retrieve these things later with the paper.

  • KMar asks questions about your travel itinerary. Whether you have previously applied for asylum in the Netherlands or another European country. And whether you have family members in the Netherlands.

After the KMar collects all this information from you, you sign your asylum application. This is called the M35H form. Now you have officially applied for asylum in the Netherlands.

You get a special asylum procedure because you apply for asylum at the border of the Netherlands

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)
will now assess your asylum application. They do this in the "grensprocedure" (border procedure). This is the name of the asylum procedure at the border if you come to the Netherlands by plane or by sea. This is a different procedure than if you arrive in the Netherlands by land. If you arrive in the Netherlands by land, you will be given a normal procedure. This is then called the "Algemene Asielprocedure" (general asylum procedure).

Are you younger than 18 and coming to the Netherlands on your own? Then you will not enter the border procedure. You will also usually not enter this asylum procedure at Schiphol if you came to the Netherlands with your family with children under 18. And you will not enter the border procedure if the IND thinks you are too vulnerable to handle your asylum application in the border procedure. This could be if you have mental problems or have been the victim of (sexual) violence. You will receive the general asylum procedure in these cases and will be taken to the application centre in Ter Apel.

These are the differences between the border procedure and the general asylum procedure

There are two major differences between the Border Procedure and the General Asylum Procedure.

  1. During the border procedure, you stay in a closed reception centre. After your registration with the KMar, you go to a closed reception location. This is near Schiphol Airport. This location is called the

    Schiphol Judicial Complex (JCS).
    You will stay in this closed reception centre for as long as the border procedure lasts. You are not allowed to leave the JCS by yourself. The reception centre at the JCS is closed because you have not yet received permission to enter the Netherlands.

  2. The Border Procedure usually takes less time than the General Asylum Procedure.

    For the Border Procedure, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) must decide within 28 days. The General Asylum Procedure can take months before you have an initial interview with the IND. The Border Procedure process is usually quicker than the General Asylum Procedure. But if the IND does not make a decision in the Border Procedure within 28 days, you will be moved to an asylum seekers' centre. Your asylum application will then be further processed under the General Asylum Procedure, where a longer decision period applies.


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