The Security Screening Unit (Unit Veiligheidsonderzoeken, UVO) wants to know if the person under consideration for or in a position involving confidentiality has stayed in a foreign country for a period of time. This may have an impact on the duration and result of the security screening.

All stays of over a month are included in the investigation, but the UVO can also look at shorter periods if there is reason to do so. This always happens if it concerns a stay in:

  • countries which are part of the areas of interest of the General Intelligence and Security Service (Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst, AIVD) and the NLD Defence Intelligence and Security Service (Militaire Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst, MIVD);
  • countries or areas involved in ongoing armed conflict;
  • countries which officials in a position involving confidentiality at the Ministry of Defence are not allowed to visit;
  • countries which employees at the AIVD and MIVD are not allowed to visit.

International cooperation

If it is possible and required for a security screening, the UVO will make an enquiry in the country in question whether there is any negative information on the person under consideration for or in a position involving confidentiality. In the form Statement Personal Details (Opgave Persoonlijke Gegevens, OPG) the person under consideration for or in a position involving confidentiality agrees to the UVO making enquiries in other countries.

If no enquiries can be made in the country, the UVO makes every effort to still gather sufficient information on the stay abroad. Sometimes this requires additional information from the person under consideration for or in a position involving confidentiality. 

This additional information can be gathered in various ways. For example, the UVO can enter into a conversation with the person under consideration for or in a position involving confidentiality or their partner. The UVO can also ask the person under consideration for or in a position involving confidentiality to submit more information. Think, for example, of:

  • an official overview of (the lack of) legal antecedents from the country in question, also called a ‘non-criminal record’;
  • an employer's statement;
  • purchase agreement or rental agreement;
  • copies of degrees or transcripts of any education obtained abroad.

Which information the UVO requires depends on the screening . If the above information is already available, we advise attaching this. If this information is not available, we advise to wait until it is requested. This way, the UVO can form as complete a picture as possible about the stay abroad. The additional information is verified by the UVO and included in the definitive decision. 

The UVO cannot make a positive decision if, despite the enquiry abroad and the additional information, there is still not enough information to make a well-founded decision. This means that the certificate of no objection (Verklaring van geen bezwaar, VGB) or clearance will be refused or withdrawn.