Internal border controls not achieving policy goals more quickly
Fewer arrests
In October 2024 the Schoof government decided to reintroduce internal border controls on a temporary basis in order to combat irregular migration and cross-border crime. The ambition is to relieve pressure on the migration system – including pressure on reception capacity and local accommodation. Initial results indicate that the ambition is not being achieved more quickly than by the previous Mobile Security Monitoring (MSM) controls. More undocumented people have been refused entry to the Netherlands at the border but the number of arrests for cross-border crime is lower than under the MSM regime.
More refusals at the border, fewer arrests
Even before the reintroduction of internal border controls, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar) was carrying out border controls in the form of Mobile Security Monitoring. MSM took place 20 kilometres from the border for a limited period of time. Internal border controls take place at the border and in theory for up to 24 hours a day.
The Netherlands Court of Audit has found that internal border controls are resulting in more people being refused entry than MSM controls did. The people refused do not have valid documentation (proof of identity or visa) and/or cannot explain the purpose of their visit. Internal border controls can therefore be more effective at combatting irregular migration than MSM.
The number of arrests for all manner of offences has fallen, including for people smuggling and document fraud. Only the number of people stopped for traffic offences has increased.
Results: refusals higher, the rest lower
| MSM | Internal border controls | |
|---|---|---|
| More people refused entry | 170 | 320 |
| Fewer arrests | 285 | 216 |
| Fewer asylum seekers found | 160 | 70 |
| No secondary migrants found | 6 | 0 |
Internal border controls found fewer asylum seekers and secondary migrants. The numbers have always been low but have halved since the reintroduction of internal border controls. A total of 44,000 asylum applications were made in the Netherlands in 2024. 400 people (0.9%) were admitted to the asylum system following an MSM or internal border control.
Fewer than 1% of asylum seekers admitted following border control
| direct to Central Agency for Reception of Asylum Seekers or Immigration and Nationalisation | following border control or MSM | |
|---|---|---|
| asylum seekers | 43600 | 400 |
Internal border control not an instrument against asylum applications
Internal border control is not an instrument against asylum seekers; people who apply for asylum at an internal border are no longer irregular migrants. The KMar refers them to, for example, a reception centre such as Ter Appel. From that moment on, applicants are regular migrants.
No significant effect on other KMar tasks
According to the Minister of Asylum and Migration, the reintroduction of internal border controls does not have a ‘significant effect’ on the KMar’s other tasks. Based on its investigation, the Court of Audit has no reason to doubt this. However, the Kmar has been suffering from staff shortages for some time. In May 2025, it had 1,050 open vacancies. KMar currently has a staff of more than 7,500 FTEs plus 400 FTE reservists and about 890 cadets. The KMar says there are staff shortages in all kinds of its tasks. Total expenditure on the KMar in 2024 amounted to €720 million. The KMar was unable to say how much was spent on internal border controls.