The logistics surrounding travel can be complicated, especially when it comes to traveling internationally. In this post, I want to talk a bit about the Schengen Area, and the implications of this for travelers. I know that for some people, this will be super obvious, but for others, it can be quite confusing.
In this post:
The basics of Europe’s Schengen Area
Within Europe, there are 29 countries that are part of the Schengen Agreement (named after the town in Luxembourg). The practical implications here are that there are no passport checks or border controls when moving between these countries.
The 29 countries belonging to the agreement include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
There are some exceptions to this list, particularly where a territory is an island that does not share a border with another Schengen country, such as Greenland for Denmark.
There are also three European countries that do not participate in the Schengen Agreement but still have open borders to their surrounding countries. These include Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.
The Schengen Area should not be confused with countries belonging to the European Union, or countries using the Euro (yes, confusing, I know!). It’s important to note that:
- While there’s a lot of overlap between the Schengen Area and the European Union, there’s not full overlap; Cyrus and Ireland belong to the European Union, but not to the Schengen Area
- While most Schengen Area countries use the Euro as their currency, that’s not the case with all countries; countries like Iceland and Switzerland have separate currencies
Why the Schengen Area matters when traveling
If you’re traveling by air, how does the existence of the Schengen Area impact your travel experience?
If you’re traveling on a flight between the non-Schengen Area and Schengen Area, it’s no different than an international flight anywhere in the world. In other words, if you’re arriving in Frankfurt, you have to go through passport control, whether you are landing from Delhi or Dublin (since both are non-Schengen Area places).
This means that there will be passport checks, you may need proof of onward travel, in some situations visas may be required, etc. It’s also worth emphasizing that the Schengen Area has passport checks on departure as well (unlike when departing the United States). This means that if you’re traveling from Frankfurt to Paris to Los Angeles, you’d have to go through the Schengen Area passport control in Paris, as that’s the point where you’re exiting the Schengen Area.
Major hubs in the Schengen Area also often allow sterile transit, whereby you don’t enter the Schengen Area. This could be useful if you’re traveling between two non-Schengen Area airports via a Schengen Area airport (like flying from New York to Dubai via Paris).
The huge benefit to travelers, meanwhile, is when moving within the Schengen Area, whether it’s by plane, train, or car. There’s no inbound or outbound passport control, so you can freely move between countries. Think of it almost like taking a domestic flight within another country.
The Schengen Area can also impact lounge access
While this is admittedly pretty niche, it’s also worth mentioning the Schengen Area in the context of airport lounge access. At larger airports, you’ll often find that there are lounges in both the Schengen Area, and in the non-Schengen Area.
When visiting lounges, you’ll want to keep track of whether you’re in the Schengen Area or non-Schengen Area:
- If you’re visiting a lounge in the Schengen Area but are departing on a flight from the non-Schengen Area, just remember to save enough time for passport control; at some airports that’s fast, and at other airports it takes a lot of time
- Sometimes lounges will restrict access to those departing from that zone; for example, some lounges in the non-Schengen Area may not welcome guests with flights departing from the Schengen Area, so check the rules for the lounge you’re visiting
- While there’s some variability, I find that immigration officers usually don’t have an issue with moving between the two zones, even if it’s just for lounge access; if they ask, just explain what you’re trying to do
Bottom line
The Schengen Area is a handy concept for travelers, as it allows free movement within 29 European countries, in a similar way to what you’d usually get when traveling domestically. While there’s a lot of overlap between the Schengen Area and the European Union, there’s not full overlap.
Hopefully the above is a good basic rundown of what to expect when traveling to, through, or within the Schengen Area. If I missed anything, please let me know.
What has your experience been with Schengen Area travel?
The comment about crossing between Schengen and non-Schengen zones for lounge access only applies for those who are entitled to enter Schengen. Trying to do it on e.g. a Kenyan passport without at least multiple entry visa isn't likely to end well.
What do you mean with Greenland and Schengen, isn‘t it now part of the US?
Not that many of us carry much cash across borders usually (if ever), but if you cross some of the borders within Schengen countries with a substantial amount, you may still be subject to cash/cash-equivalent customs declaration requirements.
It's really important to declare anything over €10k if you don't want to risk getting into a world of pain.
Who do you report it to? Flying from Stockholm to Amsterdam you won’t see a single customs officer from airplane door to the street.
I'm pretty sure you can do it online, but they do have offices in those airports and they'll be able to help.
You have to be some kind of masochist to actively seek out a customs officer to declare your funds on an internal Euro flight.
My friend who is a customs officer at an airport somewhere in Southern Europe would beg to differ. There's no prohibition on carrying the money, it's just an administrative obligation for anti-laundering purposes. It's like an insurance policy - the risk of things going wrong is pretty small, but if they do go wrong you're screwed. Obviously if you're travelling with someone else, you can split the cash and no longer have to declare anything...
My friend who is a customs officer at an airport somewhere in Southern Europe would beg to differ. There's no prohibition on carrying the money, it's just an administrative obligation for anti-laundering purposes. It's like an insurance policy - the risk of things going wrong is pretty small, but if they do go wrong you're screwed. Obviously if you're travelling with someone else, you can split the cash and no longer have to declare anything exceeding 10k per person.
*no longer have to declare anything NOT exceeding 10k per person
Literally the worst possible word to omit
Thank you for this post.
Also, there's a hiccup with a 5th freedom flight from one Schengen country to another Schengen country, as you'll have to go through passport control on departure and on arrival. E.g., Ethiopian flight from CPH-VIE.
You also have Montenegro, which uses Euro as official currency, but is not a member of EU or Schengen.
@ Bjarne;
But it is NATO and on the waitlist to become EU since 2010 (hope it will last on that list).
Montenegro and Servia (among others) should be offered to russia, as they like them and act like.
Never got it why they got the Euro and probably they didn't want it too...
Probably everyone knows this, but just in case. USA passport holders can only visit Schengen countries for 90 days combined out of each 180 days without an additional visa.
'There are some exceptions to this list, particularly where a territory is an island that does not share a border with another Schengen country, such as the Faroe Islands for Denmark, or the Azores for Portugal.'
You seem to imply that the Azores are not in Schengen. This is incorrect. The Azores are in Schengen.
The Faroe Islands are outside of both Schengen and the EU not because they are islands, but because their...
'There are some exceptions to this list, particularly where a territory is an island that does not share a border with another Schengen country, such as the Faroe Islands for Denmark, or the Azores for Portugal.'
You seem to imply that the Azores are not in Schengen. This is incorrect. The Azores are in Schengen.
The Faroe Islands are outside of both Schengen and the EU not because they are islands, but because their territory has autonomy from Denmark, they had their own decision regarding the EU and chose not to join because they didn't want to join the common fisheries policy.
Two follow up questions:
1. How do fifth freedom intra -Schengen flights operated by foreign carriers work - does everyone deplane at the first stop and go through immigration? Or are passengers just taking the fifth freedom flight treated as non-Schengen?
2. Can you elaborate a bit on customs (as opposed to immigration)? I’ve definitely had to go through a nothing to declare line when exiting a Schengen flight.
1) I believe everybody would need to disembark. I took an intra-Schengen portion of one and nobody was on before boarding.
2) Customs is done at final destination. The 'Nothing to declare' lane is often the same as the 'EU arrivals' lane.
But customs and Schengen are quite different as you can arrive from a non-schengen flight that doesn't require going through customs (Dublin to Athens for instance) and you can arrive from a Schengen...
1) I believe everybody would need to disembark. I took an intra-Schengen portion of one and nobody was on before boarding.
2) Customs is done at final destination. The 'Nothing to declare' lane is often the same as the 'EU arrivals' lane.
But customs and Schengen are quite different as you can arrive from a non-schengen flight that doesn't require going through customs (Dublin to Athens for instance) and you can arrive from a Schengen flight that does require it. (Oslo to Athens)
But if you arrive from EU, you go through the arriving from EU lane and if someone decides to pull you for questioning, just tell them where you are flying from and if you have, show your boarding pass, and that should be sufficient.
I remember some airports in the Schengen area having a blue customs lane (specifically for arrivals from within the EU) as well as green (nothing to declare) and red (goods to declare) lanes. Is that still the case?
Often the blue and green will be combined. But yes, this is standard.
@Grey, I have flown Ethiopian MXP-FCO-ADD and we didn't disembark, all the formalities had been completed in Malpensa. Not sure whether they bother selling tickets for the 40-minute local segment though.
There are sometimes arrival passport/ID and/or customs checks when crossing countries within the Schengen area.
And even as there are no such checks most times, they do sometimes deny entry and turnaround foreign visitors who arrive without a passport and/or European national ID.
This is a good point that is often overlooked - and you often clear "customs" (agriculture checks, etc) at a separate airport or country after entering the Schengen area and passing through Immigration. And yes, sometimes it's unmanned / simple and you won't even notice it.
Must be what happened when I landed in Rome last fall, we flew ATL-AMS-FCO and went through passport control in AMS, but appeared to be leaving with general population from the terminal in FCO. Never saw any kind of agricultural/customs check area in the baggage claim like I would if I was leaving from an international flight in a US airport. But who knows, I was also dead tired and figuring out transportation for the...
Must be what happened when I landed in Rome last fall, we flew ATL-AMS-FCO and went through passport control in AMS, but appeared to be leaving with general population from the terminal in FCO. Never saw any kind of agricultural/customs check area in the baggage claim like I would if I was leaving from an international flight in a US airport. But who knows, I was also dead tired and figuring out transportation for the whole family and also helping my stepmother with her lost bag on nothing but a quad shot of espresso and a sandwich from AMS. I might just have not noticed.
You always clear customs at the destination airport, unless you're flying to a very minor destination (think the sort of Greek island airport that only sees 3-4 turboprops a week). If you'd been carrying anything impermissible,they could've intercepted and fined you. They don't really do random checks though, they typically only act on tip-offs or if you arrive from an unusually exotic/notorious origin.
Let's say you're flying from Medellin to Poznan via MAD and CPH....
You always clear customs at the destination airport, unless you're flying to a very minor destination (think the sort of Greek island airport that only sees 3-4 turboprops a week). If you'd been carrying anything impermissible,they could've intercepted and fined you. They don't really do random checks though, they typically only act on tip-offs or if you arrive from an unusually exotic/notorious origin.
Let's say you're flying from Medellin to Poznan via MAD and CPH. SK will notify the Polish authorities that, in addition to intra-EU luggage, they've got 3 pax with bags from MAN, another 5 from ATL and one from MDE, and the customs officer on duty may well keep an eye out for you and your stuff.
So if you are coming from a non-Schengen area like LAX and going to a Schengen destination like AMS but connecting in another Schengen airport like MUC, do you always “enter” the Schengen area (passport checks, etc.) on the first arrival into a Schengen destination? I would assume so, but…
@ Flyerrx -- Yep, that's correct!
No, what they do is they keep you in the non-Schengen area, board everyone in the Schengen area, then drive the plane over to you in the non-Schengen area, ring a little bell, you hop on through a lil winda.
You are then kept in a special box onboard the plane, and when you land, all Schengen travelers get off like normal, but then they drive the plane over to non-Schengen, do the hokey-pokey, and you go through passport control there.
Hope that helped.
Sounds worth it as long as they don’t let you on.
@ France Gall -- that’s actually how it works in Thailand when leaving the country and having a domestic flight first. Obviously they don’t drag the plane around or put you in a box, but they have domestic and int boarding areas for the same flight.
... so what you're saying is they *do* do the hokey-pokey? :)
Appreciate the info. Next, we'll talk about how to drink water out of a glass or something equally complicated ...
Yep, that's how it works. Consider that there are certainly people who are originating in AMS and flying to MUC; there's no way to separate people on that flight based on origin.