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Privacy statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles your personal data with the utmost care. Personal data is information that can be traced to an individual, such as names, postal addresses and email addresses. Personal data is protected under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Processing of personal data

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs processes personal data in order to carry out its public tasks.

Data sharing

These tasks may require the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to share information, including your personal data, with other organisations. It does so on the basis of the principles set out in the GDPR. For instance, the Ministry may need to share information with other government agencies for the purposes of consular processes, examining travel document irregularities, or in the context of a criminal investigation.

Information about data processing

In principle, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform you if it intends to process your data.

Protecting personal data

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will ensure that your personal data is appropriately protected.

Retention period

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will retain your personal data no longer than is necessary for the purpose concerned or is required under the Public Records Act.

Your privacy rights

You can submit a request in any of the following situations:

  • if you wish to know what personal data we have processed;
  • if you want to have your personal data rectified;
  • if you want to have personal data erased;
  • if you wish to restrict the processing of your personal data;
  • if you want to object to the processing of your personal data.

You can email your request to avg-verzoeken@minbuza.nl or send a letter to:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Legal Affairs Department (DJZ)
P.O. Box 20061
2500 EB The Hague
The Netherlands

Contacting the data protection officer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a data protection officer who monitors internal compliance with privacy legislation.

You can email the data protection officer at vci@minbuza.nl or send a letter to:

Data Protection Officer
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Security, Crisis Management and Integrity Group (VCI)
P.O. Box 20061
2500 EB The Hague
The Netherlands