Question: What is the Schengen Agreement?

Answer:

The Schengen Agreement provides an area made up of twenty six European countries where no visas are required and no border controls are needed.

The Schengen Agreement makes visa-free travel in Europe easier. European Union (EU) citizens who travel to the Schengen countries will only need to show a passport when leaving the EU's external borders, and non-EU citizens can travel without showing their passports throughout the Schengen countries once they have had their passport stamped just once when entering the region.

The down-side of traveling is always having to carry a multitude of documentation and cards with you to get through borders of foreign countries, and your children have to also present their own passports. Driver's licenses, military ID cards, passports and visas are some of the identification needed when you are entering a foreign country. The Schengen Agreement provides easier requirements used across all Schengen countries (see map). It is a treaty which was signed in June 1985.

Keep in mind that even though European Union regulations require that non-EU visitors must have their passports stamped when they enter any one of the Schengen countries, sometimes the borders are not properly staffed to ensure that this system is indeed carried out smoothly everywhere.

Membership to the Schengen Area Requires Regulation Compliance

The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Luxembourg implemented the agreement in 1995, followed by other other countries in ensuing years. Under the Schengen Agreement, member countries share the responsibility of policing the external borders, and police in these member countries share information about any criminals trying to enter the European Union (EU) countries.

There are strict regulations regarding police co-operation, personal data protection, visas and air borders which the countries gaining membership to the Schengen area have to conform with. These rules which dictate Schengen protocol are known as Schengen Aquis.

Later, the Scandinavian countries joined the Schengen Agreement.

The Schengen Agreement Has its Problems

There have been problems with the Schengen Agreement and in April 2011 for instance, France closed its borders to trains which had African migrants from Italy on them. This is in spite of EU policies wanting to make sure that there is free movement of people as well as goods and capital, with their mission being to maintain common policies on trade.

Don't Go Breaking Schengen Rules

Before any travel, it is always a good idea to check with the embassy of the country you are visiting to determine whether the business or tourist trip you are planning qualifies you for visa-free travel. If you are traveling to Europe for longer than three months in a twelve month period, it would be wise to check up on visa requirements just so you don't land up breaking any rules without realizing it. Once you are inside the Schengen countries, you can travel for up to ninety days within these twenty six member countries without having to show your passport when crossing any of the borders between these countries. Sometimes travelers make the mistake however, of thinking that once their ninety day period of travel is over, they can simply leave the area and re-enter, but this is not so. Travelers have to stay outside of the Schengen area for ninety days before they may re-enter the Schengen zone.

Harmonious Travel Arrangements

Nobody likes to have to be constantly presenting travel documentation at border posts, and The Schengen Agreement provides for the removal of this type of irritation and enables the harmonious and free movement of travelers within the European Schengen Area.