A Lighthouse Reports article revealed in 2023 that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands had been using a profiling system to calculate the risk score of short-stay visa applicants applying to enter the Netherlands and Schengen area. The Ministry’s algorithm, called "Informatie Ondersteund Beslissen (IOB)," profiles visa applicants by attributing them a risk score based on nationality, gender and age. Applicants scored as "high risk" are automatically moved to an “intensive track” that can involve extensive investigation and delay in the procedures.
Media reports highlighted the disproportionate rejection rates faced by applicants flagged as “high risk." The reliance on nationality as a key factor resulted in a disproportionate targeting of applicants from Morocco, Suriname, and Nepal, among others, limiting their ability to visit family members or travel for short stays. Despite critical reports, system has continued to operate. In August 2025, the District Court of the Hague issued an interim judgment in a case brought by a Moroccan woman, ruling that the Ministry’s failure to disclose the use of IOB in her visa rejection undermined her right to an effective remedy and ordering the Ministry to conduct a Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment.