Exercising your rights - SIS II & VIS

Are your personal data stored in the Schengen Information System II (SIS II) or The Visa Information System (VIS)? Then you are entitled to certain rights, such as the rights of access and correction of inaccurate data. On this page you find information on how to exercise those rights.

SIS II

SIS II is an information sharing system for security and border management in Europe. SIS II enables competent national authorities, such as the police and border guards, to enter and consult alerts on persons or objects.

For more information, please see Schengen Information System on the website of the European Commission.

Right of access

Persons whose personal data are collected, held or otherwise processed in SIS II are entitled to rights of access, correction of inaccurate data and deletion of unlawfully stored data.

The Guide for Exercising the Right of Access describes the modalities for exercising those rights. It contains model letters for requesting access and correction or deletion of the data processed in SIS II.

For more information, please read the summary of the guide, which is availabe in many different languages.

Requesting access in the Netherlands

Requests for access may be written – preferably – in Dutch or English, but will be accepted in French, German or Spanish as well. Applicants using another language should take additional time for translation into account.

In the Netherlands requests for access to SIS II information should be submitted by post or e-mail to:

Dutch National Police
Central Unit, Intelligence division (ZTM)
Attention of the Data Protection Officer
PO Box 100
NL – 3970 AC Driebergen
E-mail: jz.le@politie.nl

Handling of the request

On receiving a request for information the Data Protection Officer contacts the person concerned regarding arrangements for dealing with the request.

A copy of the identity document must be provided and – where applicable – a copy of the legal authorisation to represent the applicant.

Requests concerning alerts based on the SIS II Regulation will be forwarded to the authority responsible for this category of alerts, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (Immigratie en Naturalisatiedienst, IND) of the Ministry of Justice and Security.

Requests concerning all other alerts will be dealt with by the competent (police) authorities.

Requesting correction or deletion

Once information has been obtained, a request may be made for the data to be completed, corrected or deleted.

Mediation

In case of a dispute regarding the processing of the request an application for mediation may be sent to:

Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
PO Box 93374
NL – 2509 AJ Den Haag
Tel.: +31-70-888 8500
Fax: +31-88-071 2140

The application should be submitted within 6 weeks of receipt of the information.

Cases in which a request has been refused will be examined free of charge by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).

As an alternative, or if mediation has failed, an application may be submitted to the District Court (administrative section) to consider the case and decide as it finds appropriate.

VIS

The Visa Information System (VIS) is a system for the exchange of visa data between Schengen States. The VIS facilitates the exchange of data between Schengen States on visa applications in order to ease procedures, prevent 'visa shopping' and assist in the fight against fraud.

For more information, please see Visa Information System on the website of the European Commission.

Any person has the right to be informed about data in the VIS related to him or her and of the Member State which transmitted them to the VIS. Any person may also request the correction of inaccurate personal data and the deletion of unlawfully recorded data.

Requesting access

Requesting access can be done by using the Model letter for requesting access. In the Netherlands requests for access should be submitted to:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Consular Affairs and Migration Policy Department (DCM)
PO Box 20061
2500 EB DEN HAAG

A copy of the identity document must be provided and – where applicable – a copy of the legal authorisation to represent the applicant.

Requesting correction or deletion

Once information has been obtained a request may be made for the data to be completed, corrected or deleted. This can be done by using the Model letter for requesting, correction or deletion.

Mediation

In case of a dispute regarding the processing of the request an application for mediation may be sent to:

Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
PO Box 93374
NL – 2509 AJ Den Haag
Tel.: +31-70-888 8500
Fax: +31-88-071 2140