Overview
- The Marechaussee switched from temporary frontline border controls to a revised Mobiel Toezicht Veiligheid (MTV) regime that came into effect on 1 October 2026, replacing the measures that began in December 2024.
- Under the new rules officers may operate up to 20 kilometres inland, the monthly cap on roadside checks rises to 120 hours per road and the previous six-hour daily limit is removed, and train and flight checks are widened with percentage-based selection limits.
- Authorities say the change keeps personnel levels unchanged and makes checks information- and risk-driven so controls are less predictable for people-smuggling networks.
- Legal limits remain to reduce disruption: only part of incoming traffic will be stopped, at most 25 percent of trains on a selected route may be checked, and officials stress ordinary cross-border travel should face minimal hindrance.
- National figures from the temporary phase show about 160,000 people and 40,000 vehicles were checked and roughly 600 people were refused entry, the Algemene Rekenkamer found the extra checks did not cut overall migration, and Germany has kept its temporary controls in place at least until March 2027, creating an uneven cross-border approach to enforcement.