Belgian authorities are quietly expanding the digital net that screens everyone who crosses the country’s borders by air, sea, road or rail. The National Travel Targeting Centre (NTTC) – the joint police, customs and intelligence hub that operates the Belgian Passenger Information Unit (BelPIU) – has just released its 2025 activity report. According to the data, officers analysed 39.6 million individual travel movements last year, a 9% jump on 2024 after international bus operators were added to the mandate in mid-2025.
![Belgium’s Passenger-Data Watchdog Flags 80 Arrests, Signals Wider Screening of Bus & Rail Travel]()
VisaHQ’s compliance specialists can assist companies and individual travelers in keeping pace with Belgium’s evolving border controls. Through our Belgium-dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) we provide up-to-date guidance on PNR requirements, ETIAS registration, and ancillary visa or work-permit paperwork, helping mobility teams pre-clear documentation and avoid last-minute screening delays.
Those risk-based checks triggered 4,087 alerts that were pushed to frontline services. In 313 cases the alert resulted in an arrest, on-the-spot interrogation or detention; 80 people were ultimately taken into custody. More than half of the arrests (42) related to drug trafficking, followed by organised crime (17), parental abduction (8), homicide or serious assault (6), human-trafficking offences (4), terrorism (2) and violent extremism (1). Customs inspections based on BelPIU hits seized 2.1 tonnes of narcotics – mainly qat and cannabis – along with thousands of illicit cigarettes and €172,000 in undeclared gold hidden in passengers’ shoes. BelPIU was originally created in 2018 to process airlines’ Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, but the scope has steadily widened in line with the EU PNR Directive and bilateral security agreements. The 2025 figures are the first to include international coach travel; rail passenger data are expected to be phased in once the planned high-speed link between Brussels and Amsterdam comes online in late 2026. Officials say the centre has become a “model” for other EU states and is now exchanging hits with 16 partners in real time. For companies running expatriate programmes or frequent-flyer schemes, the report is a reminder that Belgian border agencies have near-instant visibility of itinerary changes, seat selections and even payment details. Travellers flagged by a foreign security service can be intercepted at Brussels Airport or during a cross-border bus inspection – an increasingly common reality for assignees entering via low-cost ground transportation. Employers should make sure that employee data in booking systems are accurate and that staff understand how even minor offences can trigger secondary screening or detention. From a privacy perspective, civil-society groups are already questioning the proportionality of bulk data retention, especially as the planned EU Entry/Exit System (EES) and ETIAS authorisation layer will generate yet more biometric records from 10 April 2026. HR mobility managers need to track these developments, update travel-risk policies and brief travellers on their rights and obligations at the border.
VisaHQ’s compliance specialists can assist companies and individual travelers in keeping pace with Belgium’s evolving border controls. Through our Belgium-dedicated portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) we provide up-to-date guidance on PNR requirements, ETIAS registration, and ancillary visa or work-permit paperwork, helping mobility teams pre-clear documentation and avoid last-minute screening delays.
Those risk-based checks triggered 4,087 alerts that were pushed to frontline services. In 313 cases the alert resulted in an arrest, on-the-spot interrogation or detention; 80 people were ultimately taken into custody. More than half of the arrests (42) related to drug trafficking, followed by organised crime (17), parental abduction (8), homicide or serious assault (6), human-trafficking offences (4), terrorism (2) and violent extremism (1). Customs inspections based on BelPIU hits seized 2.1 tonnes of narcotics – mainly qat and cannabis – along with thousands of illicit cigarettes and €172,000 in undeclared gold hidden in passengers’ shoes. BelPIU was originally created in 2018 to process airlines’ Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, but the scope has steadily widened in line with the EU PNR Directive and bilateral security agreements. The 2025 figures are the first to include international coach travel; rail passenger data are expected to be phased in once the planned high-speed link between Brussels and Amsterdam comes online in late 2026. Officials say the centre has become a “model” for other EU states and is now exchanging hits with 16 partners in real time. For companies running expatriate programmes or frequent-flyer schemes, the report is a reminder that Belgian border agencies have near-instant visibility of itinerary changes, seat selections and even payment details. Travellers flagged by a foreign security service can be intercepted at Brussels Airport or during a cross-border bus inspection – an increasingly common reality for assignees entering via low-cost ground transportation. Employers should make sure that employee data in booking systems are accurate and that staff understand how even minor offences can trigger secondary screening or detention. From a privacy perspective, civil-society groups are already questioning the proportionality of bulk data retention, especially as the planned EU Entry/Exit System (EES) and ETIAS authorisation layer will generate yet more biometric records from 10 April 2026. HR mobility managers need to track these developments, update travel-risk policies and brief travellers on their rights and obligations at the border.
