Top 10 FAQs About The Schengen Area
Top 10 FAQs about the Schengen Area is difficult if you take into consideration its importance. Many of our clients applying for a Student Visa or a Non-resident Visa ask us about the Schengen Area.
Certainly there are many things about the Schengen Area and its repercussions, but basically, it is one of the most important cornerstones of the EU.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
Top 10 FAQs about Schengen Area table of Contents
- What is the Schengen area?
- How was this initiative born?
- Which countries are part of the Schengen area?
- Which EU countries are studying to be part of the Schengen territory?
- Which has chosen to stay out of the agreement?
- When did Spain join Schengen?
- What does Schengen commit to?
- What documentation is required to circulate in the Schengen territory?
- How long is it possible to stay with a Schengen visa? And without him?
- What is required to become part of the Schengen area?
Top 10 FAQs About The Schengen Area
What is the Schengen area?
Schengenland is the denomination given to the territory formed by the European States that have undertaken to eliminate security controls at their borders and to guarantee a free movement regime for all citizens of the signatory countries. Europeans make every year 1. 250 million trips within the Schengen area.
How was this initiative born?
Schengen is the name of a small town in Luxembourg where the country’s border meets those of France and Germany. There, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands signed the Agreement in June 1985, which stipulated the gradual abolition of controls at the common borders. Five years later these same countries signed the Schengen Implementation Convention, which established the final abolition of controls at the internal borders, reinforced the controls at the external borders, defined the procedures for issuing Schengen visas, established the Schengen Information System (SIS), intensified police cooperation at the internal borders and improved the fight against drug trafficking.
“Removing borders, ensuring security and building trust took many years of effort after two devastating world wars,” recalls Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship. In his opinion, “the creation of the Schengen area is one of the biggest successes of the EU and is irreversible.”
Which countries are part of the Schengen area?
Currently 26 countries (of which 22 are the EU Member States) are part of the Schengen territory, where more than 400 million citizens reside: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which are not members of the EU but reached an agreement to be part of the Schengen area.
Denmark has a clause by which it can decide whether or not to adopt the new legal measures decided for the Schengen territory.
Which EU countries are studying to be part of the Schengen Area?
The full participation of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania is expected to be achieved in the coming years. They still do not meet the established security requirements, although other parts of the agreement do apply. Croatia will be integrated shortly.
Which countries has chosen to stay out of the agreement?
Two members of the Union, Ireland, and the United Kingdom have preferred to remain outside of Schengen, although they participate in police and judicial cooperation and in the fight against drug trafficking.
When did Spain join Schengen?
Spain joined in 1991, as did Portugal. In March 1995 the Schengen Agreement application agreement entered into force and border controls between Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, and Portugal were abolished. In 1999, Schengen was integrated into the institutional and legal framework of the European Union.
What does Schengen Area commit to?
- The abolition of controls of people at the internal borders, in particular, the removal of obstacles and restrictions on movement at the border crossings of the road at the internal borders.
- The introduction and application of the Schengen regime at airports and airfields.
- The realization of controls at the external borders and measures aimed at improving the security of said borders.
- The common visa policy.
- The fight against illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
- The responsibility for asylum.
- The execution of requests for international judicial assistance.
What documentation is required to circulate in the Schengen Area?
Nationals of EU states that are not members of the Schengen area are generally subjected to a minimum of checks to verify their identity through their passport or identity document.
To enter the Schengen area, third-country nationals must present a valid travel document (passport or ID) and a visa, if applicable, or a residence permit, as well as other documents that justify the purpose of their stay and prove that have sufficient financial resources for their subsistence during the same. On the website of the General Directorate of Migration and Home Affairs, there is a list that is updated periodically from countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa to enter the Schengen area. The visa application must be submitted to the consulate of the State of the main destination. In 2014 it was issued.
How long is it possible to stay with a Schengen visa? And without it?
Every person who has regularly entered through the external border of one of the signatory countries has the right, in principle, to move freely through the territory of the entire Schengen area with a maximum duration of 90 days within any 180-day period. On the European Commission website, there is a visa calculator for short stays.
What is required to become part of the Schengen area?
Before joining the Schengen area, States have had to demonstrate their ability to assume responsibility for controlling the external border of the space on behalf of the other Schengen States and to issue visas for uniform short-term stays (Schengen visas), as well how to cooperate efficiently with the other Schengen States in order to maintain a high level of security once the internal border controls are abolished, to apply the set of Schengen standards (such as rules on land border, maritime borders) and aerial, visa issuance, police cooperation and personal data protection), and to connect to the Schengen Information System (SIS) and Visa Information System (VIS) and use them.
The Schengen States are periodically evaluated to verify that the regulations are correctly applied.
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