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Service · 01 of 06
Express 24h available
Swiss-signed opinion

Find out if your
route is clean —
before you fly.

A structured legal check of your identity and itinerary across every database that actually matters at a European border. Not a screenshot. Not a public search. A written opinion signed by a Swiss-admitted lawyer, and a direction you can act on.

From
€1,690
Express
24h
Full opinion
5days
Start a pre-travel check What we actually check
◉ Swiss professional secrecy ◉ Fixed fee ◉ Signed by a named lawyer
Valken Legal AG
Basel · CH · +41 444 990 554
PRE-TRAVEL
Travel Risk Assessment
Route & Identity Clearance Report
— Itinerary reviewed
IST
Istanbul
FRA
Frankfurt
ZRH
Zürich
Exit
CLEAR
EU Entry
CLEAR
Connection
OK
Final
CLEAR
— Cross-database review
Interpol Notices & Diffusions NO MATCH
Schengen SIS II NO MATCH
EU / UN / OFAC / SECO NO MATCH
National watchlists (3) NO MATCH
Adverse media (WC v7.4) NO MATCH
FINDING · ROUTE CLEARED
Based on the inquiries above, no alert or flag is currently recorded against the Client's identifiers in any of the systems queried on the route Istanbul → Frankfurt → Zürich.
Dr. A. Brunner, LL.M.
Attorney · Geneva Bar
VALKEN LEGAL · BASEL · CLEARED · 2026 · ROUTE CLEARED VK·2026·TRV
valken.ch/v/VK-3102-T
01 / 04
REPORT STATUS
Route cleared
Signed · 14·V·2026
Why a pre-travel check

The reason most border problems happen isn't bad luck.

It's that the traveller never had the chance to know what was in the system before they got to the queue. By then, the useful options are already gone.

— 01

The alerts that stop you are the ones you can't see

The public Interpol database is the tip of the iceberg. Diffusions, Schengen SIS II alerts and national watchlists are — by design — invisible from outside. A Google search excludes them. A proper legal inquiry reaches them.

— 02

The route matters, not just the destination

Frankfurt, Istanbul, Dubai, London — each border runs a different stack of systems against you. Some transits are essentially sanctuaries; others are decision points where an old matter surfaces. The difference is rarely obvious from a boarding pass.

— 03

Resolving a matter is far easier before the flight

Every meaningful option — a CCF challenge, safe-passage assurances, a rerouted itinerary, a coordinated consular contact — needs time that a border queue does not afford you. 5 business days before. Not five hours.

The scope

The databases we actually reach into.

A pre-travel check is only as valuable as the layers it looks at. Here is exactly what we query — including the ones that are not searchable by any member of the public, at any price.

01

Interpol public Red Notices

The portion of notices that the issuing state has consented to publish. Searchable by anyone — but this is the smallest layer.

PUBLIC
02

Interpol non-public Notices & Diffusions

Red Notices kept private, plus the faster diffusion mechanism that bypasses publication entirely. Powerful at borders. Invisible from outside.

HIDDEN
03

Schengen Information System (SIS II)

The EU's own wanted-persons system. Queried at every Schengen external border and routinely consulted by internal police. Independent of Interpol.

HIDDEN
04

Sanctions lists — UN · EU · OFAC · SECO · UK HMT

All five major consolidated sanctions regimes, including phonetic and variant-spelling matching. We check the actual list, not a stale mirror.

PUBLIC
05

National police & immigration databases

Country-specific records in the jurisdictions on your route — immigration flags, tax-authority notices, national security registers. Reached only through targeted legal inquiry.

PARTIAL
06

Commercial compliance engines

World-Check, Dow Jones Risk Center, LexisNexis and equivalents — the same data that drives bank freezes and airline denials. We run your profile on them directly.

RESTRICTED
07

Adverse media & PEP records

Press articles, databases and public records historically associated with your name — the layer most clients don't know exists until it triggers a flag.

PARTIAL
Why it has to be a lawyer. The layers marked hidden and restricted cannot be legitimately reached by a private person, a consultant, or a data service. They require legal standing, a formal channel, and — in most cases — a Swiss-licensed practitioner to make the inquiry carry weight. That is the service. Not a scraped result, but access to the parts that actually matter.
How it works

Four steps. Five business days.

A signed written legal opinion at the end. Here is exactly what happens between the moment you reach out and the moment that document reaches your inbox.

1
DAY 0

Intake & identity

A short encrypted conversation with a partner. We collect the identifiers we need to run a clean search and the route or situation you are worried about. Engagement letter signed.

2
WITHIN 24H

Express first assessment

Our own layered search across the systems we have direct access to. In most cases, this is already enough to give you a clear direction and decide whether to travel.

3
DAY 2 – 4

Formal inquiries

Where indicated, we submit targeted legal inquiries to Interpol CCF, SECO, relevant national authorities and commercial databases — on our letterhead, under our bar number.

4
DAY 5

Signed legal opinion

A written memo signed by a Geneva-admitted lawyer: what we found, what we did not, the risk level per route point, and a clear recommendation you can act on.

What you receive

Not a screenshot. A legal opinion.

The deliverable is a document you can act on — in writing, with a named lawyer's signature, under Swiss professional responsibility.

Written memorandum — 4 to 8 pages

Structured like a formal legal opinion: scope, methodology, findings per database, route-level risk analysis, recommendation.

Signed by a Swiss-admitted lawyer

Named, bar-registered, personally responsible. The document can be presented to a border, a bank, an airline or another lawyer.

Clear route-level recommendation

"Travel as planned." "Reroute via X." "Resolve Y first." No hedged paragraphs — a direction, with the reasoning behind it.

A 30-minute debrief call

We walk you through the report in plain language. You ask whatever you want. Nothing in the document is left as jargon.

CONFIDENTIAL · ATTORNEY-CLIENT

Pre-Travel Legal Opinion — Route Assessment

File reference
VK-3102-T / 2026
Date of issue
14 May 2026
Prepared by
Dr. A. Brunner, LL.M.
Bar
Geneva · CH

I. Upon instruction of the Client, and pursuant to the scope of the present mandate, we have conducted a structured review of the databases and systems identified in Annex A in relation to the proposed itinerary…

II. Based on the findings set out in Sections 3 and 4 hereof, and subject to the limitations expressly stated, we conclude that…

Who this is for

This is not a check everyone needs.

If nothing in your past could plausibly generate a cross-border flag, you probably don't need this service — and we will tell you so. But if any of the situations below feels familiar, a pre-travel check is almost certainly the cheapest part of your trip.

An old matter abroad

A proceeding, charge, or dispute in another country — even one you believe is long closed or that you never received formal confirmation of.

A visa refusal or border incident

A refusal citing "security" or "other grounds", a longer-than-usual secondary inspection, or unusual questions at a previous border.

A warning from someone close

A letter, a call, or a message from a relative or former advisor mentioning that your name came up in an investigation back home.

A business partner in legal trouble

A co-founder, shareholder or counterparty whose legal problems might have pulled your name into the file — rightly or wrongly.

A profile from a sensitive jurisdiction

Nationality, residence or business ties to a state with a known history of misusing Interpol, sanctions regimes or political prosecutions.

An important trip and a quiet worry

A family event, a business meeting, a court date — and the unshakeable feeling that something might surface at a border. That is reason enough.

The honest comparison

Why a €20 "Interpol check" isn't the same thing.

There are cheaper things sold under similar names. There is nothing dishonest about selling them — but you should know exactly what you are buying.

What you get DIY Google search "Instant Interpol check" site Valken Pre-Travel Check
Public Interpol Red Notices Yes Yes Yes
Non-public notices & diffusions No access No access Via CCF inquiry
Schengen SIS II coverage No No Assessed
Sanctions lists (EU · OFAC · SECO · UN · UK) Partial / manual Limited All five, phonetic
National watchlists on your route No No Targeted inquiry
Route-level legal analysis None None Point-by-point
Signed by a named lawyer N/A No Geneva Bar
Swiss professional secrecy None None From message 01
Legal standing before authorities None None Yes
For nine months I had been cancelling trips, telling myself I would "deal with it later". The pre-travel check took five days and one conversation. The report was calm, the finding was clear, and I flew to Milan the following week without a second thought. I wish I had done it a year earlier.
M·K
Private client · M.K.
Entrepreneur · UAE · Cleared 04 / 2026
Frequently asked

Questions clients usually ask first.

How is this different from your Interpol-Only Check?

The Interpol-Only Check is narrower and cheaper — it focuses exclusively on the Interpol Notices and Diffusions database. The Pre-Travel Check is broader: it covers Interpol, Schengen SIS II, all major sanctions regimes, relevant national watchlists and commercial compliance engines, and applies them to a specific route you intend to take. If Interpol is your single concern, start there. If the worry is "will something happen when I land", this is the right service.

Can you guarantee I won't be stopped?

No honest lawyer can guarantee a border outcome. What we guarantee is that the check will be performed across every layer within our legal reach, that the findings will be stated in writing under a named lawyer's responsibility, and that the recommendation — whether it is "travel as planned" or "do not board" — will reflect those findings. In practice, the overwhelming majority of clients travel uneventfully after a pre-travel check.

Why 24h express and then 5 days for the full opinion?

In 24 hours we can already give you a direction based on our own searches — that alone is enough to decide whether to board, to reroute, or to wait. The full 5-day opinion includes formal inquiries to official bodies (Interpol CCF, SECO, national authorities). Those institutions reply on their own schedule. We work as fast as a Swiss firm can; we do not fake a result that has not come back yet.

Do I have to come to Geneva?

Not at all. The entire process is conducted remotely through encrypted channels. Clients from 38 countries have used the service without ever setting foot in Switzerland. If you prefer an in-person meeting, our Geneva office is always open by appointment.

What information do you actually need from me?

Full legal name and any variant spellings, date and place of birth, nationality, a passport copy, a list of countries with any historical connection to you, the proposed itinerary, and — if relevant — a short description of what you are worried about. Everything you share is protected by Swiss professional secrecy from the moment you send it.

Will filing a CCF request flag me to the issuing state?

A CCF request is a formal filing and creates a record. In most cases this is not a concern — but for sensitive or politically charged matters, filing can be counterproductive if done without strategy. This is precisely why the pre-travel check is performed by counsel: we decide which inquiries to make, in what order, and we only file when doing so clearly serves you.

My flight is in 48 hours. Is it too late?

Not necessarily. Our 24-hour express first assessment is specifically designed for short runways. It won't include formal external inquiries, but it will give you a defensible direction based on the layers we access directly. For anything tighter than 24 hours, the 72-hour travel guide and our Urgent Response service apply.

What if, after the check, you find something?

The report will state exactly what we found, what it realistically means at the border, and what the options are — challenge at source, reroute, postpone, or proceed with specific safeguards. If you decide to move forward on any of those options, the pre-travel check fee is credited against the next engagement. The point of the check is to give you a decision, not to create another one.

Read before you decide

Related Valken briefings.

If you want to understand the reasoning behind this service before you engage us, these plain-language guides are a good place to start.

Interpol12 Mar · 7 min

Can I Be Stopped at the Airport Because of Interpol?

What Red Notices, diffusions and border alerts actually do — and why a clean Google search proves almost nothing.

READ ARTICLE →
Databases14 Feb · 8 min

Is an Interpol Red Notice Public? Why You May Not Find Yourself Online

The layers above and below the waterline — and why most border-relevant alerts are invisible by design.

READ ARTICLE →
Border Risk02 Feb · 7 min

Can You Transit Through Europe If You Have an Old Case Abroad?

Three kinds of "transit", only one of them truly airside — and why the difference matters on your itinerary.

READ ARTICLE →
Stop wondering · find out

The cheapest part of any important trip.

Most clients walk away with a written answer that says "you're fine". A minority walk away with a clear legal picture of a real issue and a plan to address it. The one result nobody walks away with is the worry they came in with.

Start a pre-travel check Talk first
Reply within 4 hours Fixed fee from €1,690 Swiss professional secrecy Signed by a named lawyer