Ministers Quintin and Van Bossuyt announce targeted checks within Belgium
On 19 June 2025, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin and Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt announced that, starting from summer 2025, federal police, local police, and the Immigration Office will collaborate to conduct targeted checks within Belgium. These measures aim to combat irregular migration and secondary movements towards Belgium. Reactions have emerged regarding the capacity required to implement such checks, their actual effectiveness in reducing irregular migration, and whether they can deliver a real deterrent effect or remain largely symbolic.
The announced controls are based on Article 23 of the Schengen Borders Code, which allows Member States to carry out police checks within their territory, provided they do not have an effect equivalent to border checks. These measures differ from internal border controls, which several EU Member States, including Germany and the Netherlands, have recently reintroduced. According to the Ministers, Belgium is not reinstating systematic border controls but rather targeted checks within the country.
The controls are aimed at people without valid documents, as well as those who have already submitted an application for international protection or obtained protection in another EU Member State. During controls, individuals must present valid identity or residence documents. Those without such documents may receive an order to leave the territory. If applicants have previously applied in or been recognised by another EU country, they may be transferred under the Dublin Regulation.
Checks will be conducted on international buses (such as FlixBus, BlaBlaCar, and Eurolines), trains arriving at Brussels South, selected intra-Schengen flights, and on roads, access routes, and motorway rest areas. The operations will begin in summer 2025 and will be carried out through cooperation between the federal police, local police, and the Immigration Office.
The announcement has sparked numerous reactions, including from police unions, opposition parties and migration experts. The SNPS police union expressed concern that diverting personnel to carry out these checks could affect other police duties. Opposition parties have also voiced criticism: Groen called the measures unrealistic and largely symbolic, while Vlaams Belang considered them too limited and long overdue. Some migration experts have questioned the expected impact of such checks, noting that similar operations in the Netherlands and Germany were considered successful by some policymakers, but others argue that they have not led to structural changes in migration flows. Questions remain about the practical outcomes of the announced checks, in particular whether orders to leave the territory or Dublin transfers will be effectively enforced.
For further information, please read this press release (in Dutch).