Belgium’s federal interior ministry has awarded a contract worth EUR 7,474,721.76 to IDEMIA Identity and Security France for the renewal and maintenance of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) used by the Office des Etrangers, the country’s immigration authority.
The contract notice was published in the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) on April 7, 2026 under notice number 235576-2026, with a dispatch date of April 2. The contracting authority is SPF Interieur, Belgium’s Federal Public Service Interior. The procurement was conducted through a negotiated procedure with prior publication, described in French as a competitive procedure with negotiation for the renewal and maintenance of the ABIS system for the management of the immigration office.
IDEMIA Identity and Security France was the sole tender received and was awarded the contract. The company is classified as a large enterprise in the award notice. Award criteria were split equally, with price accounting for 50 percent and quality for 50 percent. The contract duration is a maximum of 10 years.
The ABIS system manages biometric data for all foreign nationals processed through Belgium’s immigration infrastructure, including asylum seekers and immigration applicants. The database encompasses fingerprints, facial images, and alphanumeric data. The Office des Etrangers, also known as the Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken in Dutch, handles biometric enrollment and identification across Belgium’s immigration operations.
The procurement falls under CPV code 48000000, covering software packages and information systems. The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement and does not involve EU financing. Subcontracting was noted in the notice, though specifics were not included.
The contract award comes as Belgium has been navigating operational challenges in its broader biometric border infrastructure. The country recently adjusted its biometric data collection operations under the EU Entry/Exit System following difficulties at airports in early April 2026. Belgium is also among the EU member states that have faced delays in implementing the system, which requires biometric capture of third-country nationals at external borders.
Belgium’s ABIS renewal is one of several European biometric identification system procurements completed in recent weeks. Sweden awarded an ABIS contract to a Thales subsidiary in late March 2026. IDEMIA has been active across European biometric identification infrastructure, including an upgrade to INTERPOL’s biometric identification system delivered in late 2024.
Sources: Tenders Electronic Daily
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
