During overnight spot checks on 22–23 January, Federal Police officers at the Saalbrücke border crossing between Salzburg and Freilassing detained a 29-year-old Kosovar wanted on two German arrest warrants for document fraud. The man, travelling on a long-distance coach, now faces an eight-day substitute prison sentence unless he pays outstanding fines totaling €3,600.
Several additional passengers were cited for immigration offences, including overstays and entry without residence titles. All were issued departure orders or handed over to Austrian authorities under the DE–AT readmission accord.
![Freilassing border sweep nets wanted offender and multiple visa violators]()
Travelers concerned about overstays, document validity, or pending work-permit renewals may find it useful to pre-screen their paperwork through VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/germany/), which offers step-by-step guidance on German visa and residence requirements, alerts on approaching expiry dates, and door-to-door courier handling that can reduce the risk of being flagged during surprise border inspections.
The operation forms part of Bavaria’s 24-hour ‘Schleusungs-Bekämpfungs-Tag’, an intensified effort to curb people-smuggling that has run intermittently since October 2025. For cross-border commuters in the Salzburg industrial zone, the stepped-up checks mean potential delays of up to 40 minutes during peak hours. Companies with ‘Grenzgänger’ staff should ensure work-permit cards (Pendlerkarten) are up to date; expired cards can trigger on-the-spot fines even if renewal applications are pending.
Logistics firms moving just-in-time components from Austria into BMW’s plants around Munich have been advised by the Bavarian Industry Association to load schedules with additional buffer until the campaign ends. The Bundespolizeidirektion München says it will evaluate enforcement outcomes at the start of February.
Several additional passengers were cited for immigration offences, including overstays and entry without residence titles. All were issued departure orders or handed over to Austrian authorities under the DE–AT readmission accord.
Travelers concerned about overstays, document validity, or pending work-permit renewals may find it useful to pre-screen their paperwork through VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/germany/), which offers step-by-step guidance on German visa and residence requirements, alerts on approaching expiry dates, and door-to-door courier handling that can reduce the risk of being flagged during surprise border inspections.
The operation forms part of Bavaria’s 24-hour ‘Schleusungs-Bekämpfungs-Tag’, an intensified effort to curb people-smuggling that has run intermittently since October 2025. For cross-border commuters in the Salzburg industrial zone, the stepped-up checks mean potential delays of up to 40 minutes during peak hours. Companies with ‘Grenzgänger’ staff should ensure work-permit cards (Pendlerkarten) are up to date; expired cards can trigger on-the-spot fines even if renewal applications are pending.
Logistics firms moving just-in-time components from Austria into BMW’s plants around Munich have been advised by the Bavarian Industry Association to load schedules with additional buffer until the campaign ends. The Bundespolizeidirektion München says it will evaluate enforcement outcomes at the start of February.
