Overeenkomst tussen de Benelux-Staten (het Koninkrijk België, het Groothertogdom Luxemburg en het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) en de Kirgizische Republiek betreffende de terug- en overname van onregelmatig binnengekomen en/ of verblijvende personen (terug- en overnameovereenkomst)

For the purpose of this Agreement:
1. “Territory” shall mean: – for the Benelux States: the combined territory in Europe of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
– for the Kyrgyz Republic: the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic;
– for the Benelux States: the combined territory in Europe of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
– for the Kyrgyz Republic: the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic;
2. “Person having entered and/or residing without authorisation” shall mean any person who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions in force for entry or residence;
3. “Readmission” shall mean the return by the competent authority of the Requesting Party and admission by the competent authority of the Requested Party of an own national of the Requested Party, respectively of a third-State national or of a stateless person, who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions for entry into or residence on the territory of the Requesting Party, under the conditions provided for in this Agreement;
4. “Own national” shall mean any person who holds the nationality of one of the Benelux States or of the Kyrgyz Republic;
5. “Third State” shall mean any State which is neither a Benelux State nor the Kyrgyz Republic;
6. “Third-State national” shall mean any person who holds a nationality other than that of one of the Benelux States or of the Kyrgyz Republic;
7. “Stateless person” shall mean any person who has no nationality as defined by the Convention of 28 September 1954 relating to the Status of Stateless Persons;
8. “Requesting Party” shall mean the Party on whose territory a person having entered and/or residing without authorisation is present and which requests the readmission of this person or his transit, under the conditions provided for in this Agreement;
9. “Requested Party” shall mean the Party which is asked to readmit a person having entered and/or residing without authorisation on the territory of the Requesting Party or to allow his transit over its territory, under the conditions provided for in this Agreement;
10. “Diplomatic or consular representation of the Requested Party” shall mean the diplomatic or consular representation of the Requested Party accredited to the Requesting Party;
11. “Residence permit” shall mean an official permit of any type issued by one of the Parties entitling a person to reside on its territory. This shall not include temporary permission to remain in connection with the processing of an asylum application or an application for a residence permit.

1. Each Party shall readmit, upon application by the other Party and without further formalities other than those provided for in this Agreement, any person to its territory who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions for entry into or residence on the territory of the Requesting Party provided that it is proved, or may be validly assumed on the basis of prima facie evidence furnished, that the person has the nationality of the Requested Party.
2. The readmission obligation in paragraph 1 also applies in the case of a person who, after entering the territory of the Requesting Party, has forfeited or renounced the nationality of the Requested Party, unless the person concerned has at least been admitted to the procedure of naturalisation by the Requesting Party.
3. Each Party shall also readmit:
1. minor children of the persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, regardless of their place of birth or nationality, unless they have an independent right of residence on the territory of the Requesting Party. Parties shall take into account the best interests of the minor child before applying for the readmission.
2. spouses, holding another nationality, of the persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of the present Article, provided that they have the right to enter and permanently reside or receive the right to enter and/or permanently reside in the territory of the Requested Party, unless they have an independent right of residence on the territory of the Requesting Party.
4. Upon application by the Requesting Party, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 7(5), the Requested Party shall immediately issue the travel documents required for the return of the persons to be readmitted.

1. Each Party shall readmit, upon application by the other Party and without further formalities other than those provided for in this Agreement, any third-State national or stateless person to its territory who does not, or no longer, fulfil the conditions for entry into or residence on the territory of the Requesting Party provided that it is proved, or may be validly assumed on the basis of prima facie evidence furnished, that this person:
1. holds a valid residence permit issued by the Requested Party; or
2. holds a valid visa, other than a transit visa, issued by the Requested Party.

1. A readmission application on the basis of Article 2 of the present Agreement or Article 3 shall be submitted in writing to the competent authority of the Requested Party.
2. Each readmission application shall contain the following information:
1. the particulars of the person concerned (surname, given names, any previous names, nicknames and pseudonyms, aliases, sex, date of birth and, if possible, place of birth and last place of residence on the territory of the Requested Party);
2. copies of the means of evidence as referred to in Article 5 or 6.
3. No readmission application is required in cases where the person to be readmitted is in possession of any valid document giving the right to cross the state border, and if it concerns a third-State national or stateless person, is also in possession of a valid visa or a valid residence permit of the Requested Party.
4. In case of readmission applications on the basis of Article 3 of this Agreement, the Requesting Party will submit a readmission application to the person’s country of origin while submitting the application to the Requested Party.

1. Proof of nationality pursuant to Article 2 of the present Agreement can be furnished through the documents listed in the Implementing Protocol to this Agreement. If such documents are presented, the Parties shall recognise the nationality without further formalities.
2. Prima facie evidence of nationality pursuant to Article 2 of the present Agreement can be furnished through the documents or elements listed in the Implementing Protocol to this Agreement. If such documents or elements are presented, the Parties shall deem the nationality to be established, unless the Requested Party can prove otherwise.
3. If none of the documents or elements mentioned in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article can be presented, but the Requesting Party believes that a presumption exists with regard to the nationality of the person to be readmitted, the competent authorities of the Requested Party shall take the necessary measures to establish the nationality of the person concerned. If it is deemed necessary by the Requesting Party, an interview with the person concerned shall be conducted in order to establish, inter alia on the basis of the language in which the person communicates, whether the person is one of its own nationals.
4. The interview mentioned in paragraph 3 of this Article shall be performed by the diplomatic or consular representation of the Requested Party, or a delegation of the Requested Party invited by the Requesting Party, or by any other expert appointed by mutual agreement.

1. Proof of the conditions for the readmission of third-State nationals or stateless persons laid down in Article 3 of this Agreement can be furnished through the means of evidence as mentioned in the Implementing Protocol to this Agreement. These means of evidence shall be recognised by the Parties without further formalities.
2. Prima facie evidence of the conditions for the readmission of third-State nationals or stateless persons laid down in Article 3 of this Agreement can be furnished through the means of evidence mentioned in the Implementing Protocol to this Agreement. Where such prima facie evidence is presented, the Parties shall deem the conditions to be established, unless the Requested Party can prove otherwise.

1. The readmission application for a Party’s own national can be submitted at any time by the competent authority of the Requesting Party, if it has been established that the person concerned does not fulfil, or no longer fulfils, the conditions for entry into or residence on the territory of the Requesting Party.
2. The readmission application for a third-State national or a stateless person shall be submitted by the competent authority of the Requesting Party within a maximum of one (1) year after the Requesting Party has gained knowledge that this person does not fulfil, or no longer fulfils, the conditions for entry into or residence on the territory of the Requesting Party. Where there are legal or factual obstacles to the application being submitted in time, the time limit shall be extended upon request, but only until the obstacles have ceased to exist.
3. A readmission application shall be replied to immediately, and in any event no later than within thirty (30) days, and every refusal shall be substantiated. This time limit begins to run from the date of receipt of the readmission application. If there is no reply within this time limit, the transfer shall be deemed to have been agreed to.
4. After agreement to the readmission, or after expiry of the time limit, the Requesting Party shall transfer the person whose readmission has been agreed to immediately, and in any case no later than within six (6) months. Upon request, this time limit may be extended by the time taken to deal with legal or practical obstacles. The Requested Party shall readmit the person whose readmission has been agreed to without further formalities.
5. At the request of the Requesting Party, the Requested Party shall provide immediately, and in any case no later than within five (5) working days, the travel document required for the return of the person to be readmitted, bearing his name and with a period of validity of at least one (1) month. If the Requested Party cannot provide the requested travel document within five (5) working days after the date of agreement to the readmission, the Requested Party shall be deemed to accept the use of a travel document provided by the Requesting Party. If, for legal or factual reasons, the person concerned cannot be transferred within the period of validity of the travel document that was initially issued, the Requested Party shall, within two (2) working days, issue a new travel document or extend the initial one with a period of validity of the same duration.

1. Before transferring a person, the competent authorities of the Requesting Party shall notify in writing the competent authorities of the Requested Party regarding the date and the modalities of the transfer, the designated border crossing point, the possible use of escorts and other relevant information concerning the transfer.
2. The notification concerning the transfer will, where applicable, also contain the following information:
1. data concerning the health of the person, provided that the person concerned has explicitly agreed to this;
2. assistance which the transferee may require;
3. all other protection or security measures which may be necessary for this transfer.
3. Transfers generally take place by air, but may also be carried out by land or sea. Transfer by air may take place by using both scheduled and government flights.
4. Transfers of third-State nationals or stateless persons will not take place in case the validity of the visa or residence permit has expired on the date of the transfer.

1. The Requesting Party shall take back any person readmitted by the Requested Party if within a period of three (3) months after the transfer, it is established that the requirements laid down in Articles 2 and 3 of this Agreement are not met.
2. In the cases mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, the procedural provisions of this Readmission Agreement shall apply mutatis mutandis and all available information relating to the actual identity and nationality of the person to be taken back shall be provided.

1. The Parties shall allow the transit of third-State nationals through their territory if another Party so requests, if the onward journey in possible other States of transit and the readmission by the State of destination is assured.
2. The Parties shall do whatever is necessary to restrict the transit of third-State nationals to cases where such persons cannot be transferred to the State of destination directly.
3. Transit can be refused by the Parties:
1. if the third-State national runs the real risk of being subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or the death penalty or of persecution because of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political conviction in the State of destination or another State of transit;
2. if the third-State national shall be prosecuted under the criminal law or subject to the enforcement of criminal sanctions on the territory of the Requested Party.
4. The Parties may revoke any authorisation issued if circumstances referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article subsequently arise, interfering with the transit operation, or if the onward journey in possible States of transit or the readmission by the State of destination is no longer assured. In these cases, the Requesting Party shall take the person concerned back to its territory without delay.

1. An application for transit operations shall be submitted to the competent authorities in writing and shall contain the following information:
1. type of transit (by air, land or sea), possible other States of transit and the State of destination;
2. the particulars of the person concerned (surname, given names, date of birth and – if available – place of birth, nationality, type and number of travel document);
3. envisaged border crossing point, time of transit and possible use of escorts;
4. a declaration that in the view of the Requesting Party the conditions pursuant to Article 10(1) and (2) of this Agreement are met, and that no reasons for a refusal pursuant to Article 10(3) of the present Agreement are known of.
2. The competent authority of the Requested Party shall immediately inform the competent authority of the Requesting Party in writing of the admission, confirming the border crossing point and the envisaged time of admission, or inform it of the admission refusal and of the reasons for such refusal.
3. If the transit operation takes place by air, the necessary amenities shall be provided to the person in transit and possible escorts with a view to accessing the national or international zone of the airport of the Requested Party.
4. The competent authorities of the Requested Party shall, subject to mutual consultations, assist in the transit operations, in particular through the surveillance of the person in transit and the provision of suitable amenities for that purpose.

Without prejudice to the right of the competent authorities to recover the costs associated with the readmission from the person to be readmitted or from third parties, all costs incurred in connection with readmission and transit operations or return of persons admitted by mistake pursuant to this Agreement to the border of the State of final destination, shall be borne by the Requesting Party.

The communication of personal data shall only take place if such communication is necessary for the implementation of this Agreement. The processing, the treatment and the use of personal data by the competent authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic in a particular case shall be subject to the national laws of the Kyrgyz Republic and, where the data is treated and used by a competent authority of a Benelux State, to the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC of 24 October 1995 (General Data Protection Regulation) and of the national legislation of the respective Benelux States adopted pursuant to this Regulation. Additionally, the following principles shall apply:
1. Personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (“lawfulness, fairness and transparency”);
2. Personal data shall be collected for the specified, explicit and legitimate purpose of implementing this Agreement and not further processed by the communicating authority nor by the receiving authority in a way incompatible with that purpose; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (“purpose limitation”);
3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (“data minimization”) and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they are collected and/or further processed; in particular, personal data communicated may concern only the following: 1. the particulars of the person to be readmitted (surname, given name, any previous names, nicknames or pseudonyms, date and place of birth, sex, current and previous nationality);
2. identity card or passport (serial number, period of validity, date of issue, issuing authority and place of issue);
3. stop-overs and itineraries;
4. other information needed to identify the person to be readmitted or to examine the readmission requirements pursuant to this Agreement;
1. the particulars of the person to be readmitted (surname, given name, any previous names, nicknames or pseudonyms, date and place of birth, sex, current and previous nationality);
2. identity card or passport (serial number, period of validity, date of issue, issuing authority and place of issue);
3. stop-overs and itineraries;
4. other information needed to identify the person to be readmitted or to examine the readmission requirements pursuant to this Agreement;
4. Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up-to-date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (“accuracy”);
5. Personal data shall be kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes and subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organizational measures in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (“storage limitation”);
6. Both the communicating and the receiving authority shall take every adequate step to ensure as appropriate the rectification, erasure or blocking of personal data where the processing does not comply with the provisions of this Article, in particular because those data are not adequate, relevant, accurate or they are excessive in relation to the purpose of processing. This includes the notification of any rectification, erasure or blocking to the other Party;
7. Upon request, the receiving authority shall inform the communicating authority of the use of the communicated data and of the results obtained therefrom;
8. Personal data may only be communicated to the competent authorities. Further communication to other bodies requires the prior consent of the communicating authority;
9. The communicating and the receiving authorities are obliged to make a written record of the communication and receipt of personal data;
10. Personal data shall be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organizational measures (“integrity and confidentiality”).

This Agreement shall be without prejudice to the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Parties arising from international legal norms.

1. The Parties shall provide one another with mutual assistance in the application and interpretation of this Agreement. To this end, they shall set up a Committee of Experts which will, in particular, have the following tasks:
1. to monitor the application of this Agreement;
2. to make proposals to resolve issues relating to the application of this Agreement;
3. to propose amendments and supplements to this Agreement;
4. to elaborate and recommend appropriate measures to combat illegal immigration.
2. The Parties reserve the right to approve or to reject the measures proposed by the Committee of Experts.
3. The Committee shall be composed of one representative for the Kingdom of Belgium, one representative for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, one representative for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and three (3) representatives for the Kyrgyz Republic. The Parties shall designate therein the chairperson and the deputy chairperson. Deputy members shall be appointed. If necessary, other experts may be involved in the Committee´s activities.
4. The Committee shall meet at the request of one of the Parties.

Issues on the implementation of the present Agreement, as well as disputes between the Parties concerning the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the present Agreement shall be solved in a mutual consent between the Parties through consultations.

This Agreement may be amended and supplemented by mutual consent of the Parties. Amendments and supplements which shall form an integral part of this Agreement shall be drawn up in the form of separate protocols and enter into force in accordance with the national law of the Parties.

All necessary practical provisions for the implementation of this Agreement shall be laid down in the Implementing Protocol. The Implementing Protocol shall regulate inter alia:
1. the designation of the competent authorities of the Parties;
2. the designation of border crossing points;
3. the establishment of the means of evidence;
4. the conditions under which and the manner in which persons to be readmitted or in transit are escorted.
The Implementing Protocol forms an integral part of this Agreement.

With regard to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the application of this Agreement can be extended to parts of the Kingdom which are situated outside Europe through a notification to the General Secretariat of the Benelux Union, which shall inform the other Parties thereof.

The General Secretariat of the Benelux Union shall be the depositary of this Agreement. The depositary shall provide a certified true copy to all Signatory States.

1. This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of receipt by the depositary of the last notification by the Signatory State that the internal formalities required for entry into force have been observed.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, should the last notification be deposited before the entry into force of the Agreement between the Benelux States and the Kyrgyz Republic on the exemption from visa requirements for holders of valid diplomatic and service/official passports, this Agreement shall not enter into force until the date of the entry into force of the aforementioned Agreement.
3. With regard to any other Benelux Signatory State, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of receipt by the depositary of the notification to the effect that the internal formalities required for entry into force have been observed.
4. The depositary shall inform each of the Signatory States of the notifications referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and of the dates of the entry into force of this Agreement vis-à-vis the Parties.

1. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period.
2. Each Party may suspend this Agreement, after notification to the depositary, which shall inform the other Party thereof, for serious reasons, including relating to the protection of state security, public order, or public health. With regard to the withdrawal of such a measure, the Parties shall immediately inform one another through diplomatic channels.
3. The suspension of this Agreement shall take effect on the first day of the first month following the month in which the notification referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article is received by the depositary.
4. Each Party may for serious reasons, denounce this Agreement, after communication to the depositary, which shall inform the other Party thereof.
5. The agreement shall cease to apply on the first day of the sixth month following the month in which the notification referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article is received by the depositary.