Border checks were brought back in December 2024 and had been due to expire next month. However, Van Weel said in a briefing to MPs the controls are in line with Schengen regulations which allow such measures in cases of a “serious threat to public order or internal security” and will therefore, continue.

Over the past nine months, 470 people have been refused entry at the Dutch border while 123,320 people have had their papers checked, according to the official notification sent by the Netherlands to Brussels.

That “success rate” is only up marginally on the period before “tougher” checks were introduced.

In the same period, 230 people were arrested during internal border controls in connection with document fraud and human trafficking, traffic offences and drugs related crimes, Van Weel told Brussels.

“The overall situation continues to cause serious problems regarding irregular migration, migrant smuggling, asylum and basic services such as reception and housing, and in relation to public safety in this regard,” the document states.

Despite a sharp fall in asylum applications — down 38% in the first eight months of 2025 compared with last year — pressure on the asylum reception system remains high, Van Weel said.

In addition, local councils are still hosting almost 90,000 Ukrainian refugees, leaving little spare capacity. “The ongoing pressure on accommodation could lead to a heightened threat to public order,” Van Weel wrote in his briefing to MPs.

The Netherlands is one of 10 EU member states currently carrying out temporary internal border checks.

The Dutch government argues that the combination of irregular migration, people smuggling and the limited effectiveness of the EU’s Dublin system — which determines which country handles asylum claims — continues to warrant extra vigilance.

Van Weel said the border checks would remain in place “at least until the European Migration Pact is implemented”, after which the EU aims to have more effective procedures at its external borders.

“Ultimately, that should make these internal controls a thing of the past,” he told MPs.