As of midnight on 30 September 2026 the Netherlands has allowed the temporary internal-border controls it re-introduced in June to lapse, according to the European Commission’s latest Schengen dashboard. The checks, carried out by the Koninklijke Marechaussee at major road crossings and Schiphol’s intra-Schengen gates, were justified by The Hague as a response to mounting asylum numbers and capacity shortages in reception centres. Dutch authorities confirmed to local media that no formal extension request has been filed with Brussels, meaning routine police stops will revert to the pre-June risk-profiling model. Carriers therefore no longer need to warn passengers about possible ID inspections on Amsterdam–Berlin and Amsterdam–Cologne rail and coach services. For German businesses the expiry is welcome news: logistics operators running just-in-time components between North Rhine-Westphalia and the Randstad had reported delays of up to one hour at peak times. Nevertheless, mobility managers should stay alert; The Hague left open the option of reinstating controls under Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code should “migration pressure” rise again during the winter. The episode underscores the growing trend toward repeated, short-term suspensions of Schengen free movement. With Germany itself maintaining broad land-border checks until March 2027, companies with cross-border workforce or cargo flows are advised to monitor EU notification portals and subscribe to real-time traffic alerts.
