VOG requirement for employees working with travel documents
The Cabinet wants all employees of municipalities and of public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba who work with passports and identity cards to have a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG). The Council of Ministers has therefore decided to put the amendment to the Passport Decree into consultation. The measure should help prevent travel document fraud and is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
In the past, criminals have been found to succeed in obtaining Dutch passports from various municipalities. Corrupt employees, in exchange for money, delivered passports to order. With such a passport, a criminal can, for example, cross the border and continue criminal activities beyond the reach of the police and judiciary. This damages confidence in the Dutch travel document and creates unsafe situations.
“There is no place for fraud and corruption within the government,” said State Secretary Eddie van Marum. "Citizens must be able to trust that a passport or identity card is issued safely and carefully. By regularly screening employees who do this work, we reduce the risk of abuse and increase the safety of our employees and society."
Duty of care for biennial VOG check
A VOG is an official certificate that a citizen can apply for. It shows that the applicant has not committed any criminal offenses that pose a risk to the job. The VOG obligation will apply to employees with permanent or temporary employment, including hired staff, who are involved in applying for and issuing travel documents. Municipalities and public bodies will have a duty of care to have every employee screened again upon commencement of employment and every two years thereafter. The biennial review will also reveal any problems during employment.
No additional costs for citizens, municipalities and public entities
The annual costs for the VOG obligation will be compensated through the fees system: the national part of the fees will be reduced, so that applicants for a travel document, municipalities and public bodies will not pay more.
Consultation
The proposed amendment will go into consultation on Tuesday, December 16 https://www.internetconsultatie.nl/verplichtevogreisdocumenten until 23 February. Anyone can then comment on the proposal. After that, the proposal will go into further process. The amendment is expected to take effect January 1, 2027. Municipalities and public entities will then have 1 year to comply with the new requirement.