Source: Selma van der Bijl
Article

You must register in Ter Apel or at Schiphol if you wish to apply for asylum in the Netherlands

Last updated: 13/07/2026, 13:23

If you arrive in the Netherlands by land as a refugee, you must register at the application centre in Ter Apel. If you arrive in the Netherlands by plane or by ship, you must apply for asylum at Schiphol Airport.

Is your asylum application being processed under the AMbV (Asylum and Migration Management Regulation) procedure?

Are you applying for asylum after 12 June 2026? If so, the new rules under the Asylum and Migration Pact will apply. These rules are stricter for asylum seekers. After 12 June, you will only be able to apply for asylum once in Europe, and you must do so in the country where you first entered Europe. If you do travel on to another country, that country will send you back to the country where you first arrived in Europe.

Before the

processes your asylum application, the IND will investigate at the
in Ter Apel or the
at the AC at Schiphol whether another country might be responsible for this. The IND and KMar do this by checking whether your name or fingerprints are recorded in the computer systems
or
. In these systems, they can see, for example:

  • Whether you have family members who are allowed to live in another European country or who have applied for asylum

  • Whether you have previously applied for asylum in another European country

  • Whether you entered Europe illegally via another country

  • Whether another European country has granted you a visa

  • Whether you studied in another European country and obtained a diploma there.

Your name, personal details, travel itinerary or fingerprints are stored in one of these systems if:

  • You are registered and have provided your fingerprints in another European country.

  • You previously sought asylum in another country, where you had to give your fingerprints.

  • You applied for or obtained a visa in another European country.

The country listed under your name in these systems is responsible for processing your asylum application. This is an agreement between European countries, set out in the

.

Under the AMbV procedure, you may be invited to an interview with the IND

Have your details been found in EURODAC or EU-VIS? Or does the IND believe, for another reason, that another country should decide on your asylum application? If so, your asylum application will be processed under the AMBV procedure. The aim of this procedure is to ensure that you travel to the European country responsible for processing your asylum application. Therefore, this procedure does not examine the reasons why you fled.

will explain the procedure to you and outline the next steps. They will tell you what your rights and obligations are and that you are entitled to a free lawyer. The IND counsellors are not involved in your asylum application. They will simply explain the procedure to you.

The

will arrange a lawyer for you. This is usually free of charge. This happens as soon as it is clear that you are following the AMbV procedure. The lawyer will assist you throughout the procedure and help you prepare for your interview with the IND.

You will not be granted an interview with the IND if it is clear that you have already applied for asylum in another European country. The IND will then ask that other European country to process your asylum application.

In the Netherlands, under the AMbV procedure, you will only be granted an interview with an IND official in these two cases:

  • If it is not clear which other European country should examine your asylum application.

  • Or if you are an

    . If you are an AMV, you will always be interviewed by the IND.

If you are not granted an interview with the IND, the IND will inform you and your lawyer of this. If you disagree with this decision and believe that the Netherlands should process your asylum application, you can inform the IND of this in a letter. If the IND still considers that another European country should process your asylum application, it will ask that country to do so.


Did this information help you?