Why are German border checks alternately performed by border police and customs?
When entering Germany by bus from Switzerland, border checks are occasionally performed.
However, the checks are not always performed by the border police (Bundespolizei, officially responsible for passport/visa checks), but sometimes by customs (Zoll, officially responsible for checking goods), although they rarely ask passengers about goods, instead only checking passports, visas and entry stamps.
To be exact, I've had the following experiences:
At the Weil am Rhein crossing: 4 crossings, 3 checks by customs, 1 check by border police.
At the Rheinfelden-Autobahn crossing: 4 crossings, 1 check by customs, 1 check by border police (followed by an actual customs check by customs)
At the Kreuzlingen-Autobahn crossing: 8 crossings, 2 checks by border police at the Konstanz Döbeleplatz bus station 1 km away
How come passport/visa checks are often performed by customs, rather than the border police? Are they even authorised to check visas/stamps and determine people's legal presence in the Schengen Area?
Best Answer
Half a century ago, Germany was right on the Iron Curtain. Now it is in the middle of the EU.
- There was the Bundesgrenzschutz, the Federal Border Guards, who protected the borders. In wartime they would have come under military command, except for the female officers. They also had the premier German counter-terrror team of the time, the GSG-9.
- When the Iron Curtain came down, it was transformed into the Bundespolizei. In addition to border protection, it polices the rail system and provides reinforcements to state police forces. The name and the focus changed from border control to manpower-intensive general police tasks.
- Then there was/is the Bundeszollverwaltung, the Federal Customs Administration, to collect customs at the border and do some other law enforcement tasks regarding taxes and money.
- They still do customs e.g. in the big seaports, but they are much more visible in their other roles, e.g. enforcing labor laws.
So, slightly different focus (as dunni said in his answer), but mostly a historical relic to have both at the border.
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Answer 2
One task of the Zoll is the Grenzaufsicht (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenzaufsicht). An english translation could probably be "border inspection", contrary to border protection, which is a task of the Bundespolizei. However Grenzaufsicht also includes detection and prevention of illegal movements over the borders, so they are authorised to check documents of people crossing the borders.
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