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Schengen (European Union)
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INFORMATION ON COMMUNITY LAW
TopINTRODUCTION
Schengen measures provide for the abolition of controls at the internal borders of the Schengen Member States, establish common rules on checks at the external frontiers, provide for a common visa policy and introduce accompanying measures which enable the lifting of the internal border checks (in particular in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters). These rules have thus direct implications for citizens in the area of free movement of people:
- Removal of border controls at common internal borders;
- Common set of rules applying to people crossing the external frontiers of the Member States being part of the Schengen area;
- Separation at air terminals and, where possible, at seaports of people travelling within the Schengen area from those arriving from countries outside the Schengen area;
- Harmonisation of the rules regarding conditions of entry and visas for short stays.
The most noticeable impact of Schengen on individuals is that they no longer have to show their passports when crossing borders between Schengen Member States. But this does not mean that travelling within the Schengen area is the same as travelling within a single Member State in relation to the detention of a travel or identity document. The law of each Member State applies in order to determine whether a person needs to carry such a document.
TopTO WHICH COUNTRIES DO SCHENGEN RULES APPLY?
Today, twenty-two EU countries (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden), plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland fully apply the provisions of the Schengen acquis.
Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania are not yet fully-fledged members of the Schengen area, since the border controls between them and the Schengen area are maintained until the EU Council decides that the conditions for abolishing internal border controls have been met. However, since the date of accession they do apply parts of the Schengen acquis, in particular in the area of police and judicial cooperation and of external border control.
The United Kingdom and Ireland have chosen to maintain border controls with other EU countries and are therefore outside the Schengen area (although they have been authorised to apply some of the provisions on police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters).
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MAIN IMPLICATIONS FOR EU CITIZENS
As a citizen of a Member state of the European Union, you have the right to enter any other EU country without having to comply with special formalities. All you need is a valid passport or identity card. Your right to travel may be restricted only on grounds of public policy, public security or public health. Accordingly, your right to travel does not depend on your circumstances, whether you are travelling for professional or private reasons, you have the right to travel anywhere in the European Union.
If you are an EU citizen, you will no longer have to show your passport when crossing borders between Schengen Member States. However, the Schengen Member States have retained the right, on the basis of their national legislation, to carry out identity checks throughout their territory as part of police duties. The national legislation defines whether you should carry an identity card or a valid passport.
TopMAIN IMPLICATIONS FOR NON EU CITIZENS
As a citizen of a third country you may enter and travel within the territory of the countries applying in full the Schengen provisions for a period of up to three months, provided you fulfill the following entry conditions:- the possession of a valid travel document,
- the possession of a short stay visa if required;
- being able to demonstrate the purpose of the journey;
- the possession of sufficient means of subsistence for the period of stay and for the return
- not being listed in the Schengen information system for the purpose of refusing entry and
- not being considered to be a threat to public policy or national security for all Schengen countries.
In 2001 the Council of the European Union adopted a regulation listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of short stay visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.
This means that all Schengen countries issue visas under the same conditions, taking account of each other’s interests. A Schengen visa issued by one Schengen country is therefore also valid for the others, which benefits third country nationals wishing to visit more than one Schengen country. In exceptional cases, visitors who do not meet the common entry conditions are issued with a visa valid only for the Schengen country that has issued it. Such cases arise for humanitarian reasons or reasons relating to national interest or compliance with international obligations.
Non-EU nationals legally residing in the territory of an EU country have the right to travel (up to three months) within the European Union.
On the basis of the Schengen acquis, a valid residence permit from a Schengen country, together with a travel document, can substitute for a visa. Thus, a third-country national presenting his/her passport and a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen country is allowed to enter another Schengen country for a short stay without needing a visa. This equivalence does not apply to residence permits issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland, since they do not apply the Schengen acquis.
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THE SCHENGEN VISA FOR NON EU CITIZENS
With a Schengen visa, you may enter one country and travel freely throughout the Schengen zone; Internal border controls have disappeared.
TopWHERE TO APPLY FOR THE VISA?
If you intend to visit only one Schengen Member State, you must apply at the Embassy or Consulate of this Member State. If you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your main destination. If you intend to visit several Schengen countries but do not have a main destination, you should apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your first point of entry.
TopWANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE SCHENGEN AREA?
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONThe Schengen Agreement, named after the town in Luxembourg where the first agreements were signed, is the basic act on the gradual abolition of checks at the common borders. It was signed in 1985 between five EU countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). The Schengen Convention, signed in 1990, is the implementing act of the 1985 Agreement, providing for the abolition of controls at the internal borders of the signatory countries, establishing common rules on checks at the external frontiers and introducing the accompanying measures which enable the lifting of the internal border checks. The Schengen Convention came into force in 1995 and has been integrated into the framework of the European Union by the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in May 1999.
WHAT IS THE SCHENGEN ACQUIS?
A protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated the entire intergovernmental Schengen legislation (acquis), including the Schengen Agreement and the Schengen Convention, into the European Union’s legal and institutional framework. Since then, the Schengen legislation has been part of the EU acquis and has been further developed. For example, some articles of the Schengen Convention have been replaced by new EU legislation (e.g. the Schengen Borders Code).
Key rules adopted within the Schengen framework include:
- removal of checks on persons at the internal borders;
- a common set of rules applying to people crossing the external borders of the EU countries;
- harmonisation of the conditions of entry and of the rules on visas for short stays;
- enhanced police cooperation (including rights of cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit);
- stronger judicial cooperation through a faster extradition system and transfer of enforcement of criminal judgments;
- establishment and development of the Schengen Information System (SIS).
SAFEGUARD CLAUSE
In the event of a serious threat to public policy or public security, a safeguard clause authorizes any country to temporarily reinstate controls at its frontiers within the European Community.
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