Covid-19: Over 300 people refused entry to Netherlands

In the first seven months of this year, the Koninklijke Marechaussee refused nearly a thousand people entry to the Netherlands. 302 of them were turned away due to coronavirus related travel restrictions, De Telegraaf reported based on figures from the Marechaussee.

"We have our hands full with the refusals and investigations at the borer because of the Covid-19 rules," spokesperson Stan Verberkt of the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that forms part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border security, said to the newspaper. "In addition, we are flooded with questions from travelers who no longer know what is and what is not allowed." According to him, the largest group of those turned away due to the pandemic were Americans.

The Marechaussee's workload increased even more this week, because Dutch people in a long distance relationship can now have their partner visit them again. "But only when proofs, statements and guarantees are presented to us on arrival and can be checked," Verberkt said. "We just remain alert to abuses, because travelers often try to outsmart us. But if the documents are not in order, we must inexorably send people back."