Frontex won’t register my request unless I send them a copy of my ID. What should I do?

Frontex proves to be an agency whose administrative practice is hampering a successful implementation of the right to documents. As the requirement to provide a proof of identification is not an obligation set out by the law, it has been challenged through complaints. However, Frontex sticks to this practice.

In practice, when you lodge an FOI request to Frontex, you will receive responses from the Frontex Transparency Office which handles the access of documents requests of the agency. They let you know that prior to processing your request, Frontex wants to verify your identity to confirm whether you are eligible to apply for access to its documents. That means that you have to send a proof of identification, for instance a copy of your ID.

For now, unfortunately, we are not able to avoid adhering to these rules. You can either ask someone else to file a request for you or you can provide Frontex with an ID document. The identification document needs to show the issuing country and your name. We advise you to redact all the other information visible on the document before forwarding it to their office.

We strongly oppose these irritating and intimidating techniques that Frontex uses in the context of freedom of information requests. We still encourage you to be persistent and submit FOI requests via our platform and if questions arise during the process we are happy to offer our help.