I amsterdam - Identification Law

Depending on your situation and nationality, this may include a valid passport, a valid Dutch or European ID card, a driver’s license or a residence permit. Here are some examples of valid identity as based on specific situations:

• Dual Nationality (Dutch + another nationality): A valid Dutch passport, driver’s license or identity card.
• Nationals from outside of the European Union (EU) or Eurozone (EER): A valid residence permit or passport.
• European Union (EU) or Eurozone (EER)citizens : A passport or EU/EER residence permit. For residents falling under this category, identity law states that  all immigrants must be able to show immigration documents.

Who can ask to see your ID?
The police, immigration and customs officials, tax officials, forest rangers, labour and environmental inspectors have the authority to ask to see your identification documents.

Impostors
While Amsterdam is a wonderful city, just like any other major city, it can have problems with crime. Fake police officers are one type of crime that takes place in the city. These fake policemen are usually men of Eastern European origin who pretend to be police officers. This is how they operate:

• Someone, usually of Eastern European origin, approaches a tourist or group of tourists - most commonly Asian tourists. He makes sure that they are indeed tourists. A little later, the “fake police officers” make a move. They usually operate in groups of two or three, wearing civilian clothing. The fake police officers speak to their victim in English and say that they are police officers. They show a FAKE police identity card and tell the victim some tale such as warning that a great many counterfeit bank notes and fake credit cards are in circulation.
• Sometimes they supposedly look for drugs in the tourists’ clothes.
• They ask the tourists to hand over their money and credit cards for a check. Sometimes, they also ask for the PIN (personal identification number) code that will give them access to the credit or debit card.
• After this ‘check’, they return everything. Or so it seems. A little while later it becomes clear that some of the money and/or credit cards have been stolen.

Fake police officers always operate in civilian clothing. Real police officers working in civilian clothing will only very rarely carry out this type of check. Ask for proof of identity (check the photograph). Some fake police officers use shiny police badges as proof of identity. However, the real police in the Netherlands never use badges. Never hand over money, credit cards or PIN codes. Don’t let them intimidate you. Call 0900-8844 to contact the nearest police station. Tell them where you are and remember what the fake police officers looked like. Always file a report with the police!

A leaflet has been provided for more information on this topic, in several languages. Download it here.