Background:

Under Finnish immigration legislation, a foreign national residing in Finland who does not possess a national travel document may be issued an alien's passport or a refugee travel document. As part of the issuance process, the applicant's identity is examined, and if it has not been possible to establish their identity, an explicit entry to this effect is made in the travel document. The Finnish Immigration Service launched this query to examine practices in other EMN Member and Observer Countries regarding entries on travel documents issued to foreign nationals, specifically whether identity verification status is indicated on the document and what procedures are used to establish identity.

Respondents:

27 EMN Member and Observer Countries (including BE)  provided a public answer to this ad hoc query.

Findings:

A preliminary analysis of the results of the ad hoc query shows that: 

• The vast majority of responding countries do not indicate on travel documents whether the holder's identity has been verified or not. Most countries (including AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, EE, FR, GE, EL, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, NL, PL, PT, RS, SK, SI, ES, UA) do not enter specific annotations or remarks regarding identity verification status in travel documents issued to third-country nationals. Several countries (such as BE, CY, FR, HU, LV, NL, PT) clarify that travel documents are only issued once identity has already been established beforehand or checked during residence permit procedures, making non-verification notes unnecessary on the travel document itself.
   
• Only a small minority of countries record explicit notes on travel documents when an applicant's identity cannot be verified or relies on self-reported data. FI and SE include specific entries in alien's passports or travel documents if the holder's identity has not been verified or proven (for instance, noting 'It has proved impossible to verify the identity of the holder' in FI or 'ej styrkt' in SE). In DE, authorities may issue passport substitutes with an explicit note stating that personal data relies on information provided by the applicant when serious doubts exist.
   
• National practices and the level of certainty required to establish identity vary, with some countries applying a tiered hierarchy of evidence and others considering the continuous use of a registered identity over time. Primary identity verification across responding countries relies on valid official identity documents from the country of origin, such as national passports. In the absence of primary documentation, countries apply alternative procedures: DE applies a tiered model progressing from secondary photo IDs to digital data extraction, witness testimony, and ultimately applicant statements as a last resort; FI evaluates statements across multiple parameters and considers identity reliably established only after 10 years of exclusive use of a registered identity in the population system; while SE requires identity to be proven ('styrkt') or made probable ('sannolik identitet') based on an overall assessment of individual circumstances.

For further details, please read the compilation of answers attached above.