Is Norway a Schengen member. Schengen area: concept, history, member states, procedure for entering Schengen for Russians

Hey! We were going to talk about the states of the Schengen agreement, but decided not to take the bread from Wikipedia. the site is a purely tourist portal, and the Schengen countries are of interest to us only from the point of view of the possibility of entering them on a Schengen visa. The fact is that the list of states where a Schengen visa opens the way for a traveler from Russia is somewhat wider than the list of Schengen countries. We hope you are not confused yet. Understanding! ↓

Schengen countries: official list

Meet the Schengen countries in no particular order:

Luxembourg
Estonia
Netherlands
Germany
Greece
Slovakia
Iceland
Switzerland
Italy
Latvia
Sweden
Liechtenstein
Austria
Finland
Hungary
Norway
France
Portugal
Denmark
Slovenia
Malta
Poland
Czech
Spain
Lithuania
Belgium

There are no visible borders between most of these countries, all movement is absolutely free. For example, if you take a bus in Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) and head to Vienna, you can understand that you have crossed the border with Austria only by a welcome SMS from your mobile operator: “Welcome to Austria! Roaming prices ... etc. "

The single Schengen area was created to implement the Four Freedoms ( Four freedoms): freedom of commodity logistics, movement of people, distribution of services and movement of capital.

Some of these countries have nevertheless introduced passport control at their borders, but your passport will be checked there. Border crossings are not stamped.

Where else will they be allowed on Schengen

In the European part of Eurasia, holders of a multiple-entry Schengen visa can additionally visit:

Bulgaria
Romania
Croatia
Curacao
Andorra
Monaco
San Marino
Vatican
Kosovo
Albania
Montenegro (no more than 7 days)
Macedonia (no more than 14 days)
Bosnia (no more than 7 days)

Schengen countries: visa restrictions

On the basis of multiplicity, there are 3 types of Schengen visas: single (they are allowed to enter the Schengen area once), double (the same, only twice) and multiple (they are multivisa, they do not set a limit on the number of entries).

That is, if you received a one-time Italian Schengen, flew to Rome, and then decided to visit, for example, Bulgaria, then this idea is obviously doomed to failure. In this case, you will leave the Schengen zone, and you will not be allowed into Bulgaria, since your single-entry visa will already be “used” when passing the border control in Italy.

Such restrictions apply to all countries from the previous paragraph. Another thing is that, for example, in the Vatican there is no passport and visa control, so if you decide to visit it while in Rome, no questions will arise for you.

Also, there is no passport control between Schengen and Andorra. But go to Andorra with single entry visa we strongly discourage it as it is illegal and contrary to the Schengen Visa Code.

In addition, it is prohibited to stay on the territory of the Schengen countries without a valid health insurance policy. We strongly do not recommend neglecting this rule, because without insurance, prices for medical services in Europe are approaching space.

Travel insurance is best done here ↓

When applying for a policy in the list of countries to visit, it is better to select the item "All Schengen", and not indicate a specific state from the list. This will not affect the price, but it can be a nice bonus. For example, you have come to Prague for a few days. After examining everything there, we decided to rush for a day to the nearest city of neighboring Germany - Dresden. In this case, a policy with coverage for the entire Schengen area will be very useful.

Buying a convenient air ticket for the required dates is a trivial task with an unlimited budget. However, if the bank card is not bottomless, and you really want to see the new shores, you have to be smart. A list of aggregators where you should look for tickets in the first place,.

On a Schengen visa to America

With a Schengen visa, you can also visit some states located on the American continents. Even in the absence of a national visa, you can enter these countries with the current Schengen visa:

Guatemala
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic (minimum half-year Schengen required)
Salvador

How not to lose your visa on your first trip

It is not uncommon for Russians to obtain visas to Europe on the “where it’s easier” principle. They check with the list of Schengen countries, read reviews on the forums and choose, for example, the consulate of Finland to request a visa.

Having received, they, without thinking about the consequences, take plane tickets to Germany and begin to pack their suitcases. The trouble comes during the passage of the German border guards: they are surprised how a person ended up in Germany with Finnish visa without having previously traveled to Finland. They conclude that the would-be tourist misled the employees Finnish consulate in order to simplify your life. The consequences are sad: the visa is immediately canceled, the traveler is not allowed to enter Germany, and he has to return home, spending money on the next flight to his homeland.

To avoid such troubles, use the following logic. Any Schengen visa is issued for the trip for which you requested it. If the consul decides to issue you a multiple-entry visa for six months, a year or more, this is just a bonus for a good visa history. Thus, by law, you are obliged to go on your first trip exactly where you stated. And only after that you can use the open borders of the Schengen countries at your own discretion.

Conclusion

The main purpose of this publication is to clearly show that the countries of the Schengen agreement are not the only area where the road is open on a Schengen visa. In the article, we highlighted those states that we personally encountered in one way or another. If you have something to supplement this list, you can do it in the comments. The editors will be grateful!

The Schengen zone is the territory of Europe, within which there are no borders, passport, customs office between the states entering the zone. That is, the Schengen area is a kind of state, with clearly defined and guarded external borders and the absence of those inside.

And I must say, the feeling is amazing. Here is Switzerland, suddenly, imperceptibly, Italy ...

Countries in the Schengen area

Austria
Andorra
Belgium
Hungary
Germany
Greece
Denmark
Iceland
Spain
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Finland
France
Czech
Switzerland
Sweden
Estonia

The Schengen area includes 26 states, the European Union - 28, but not all EU countries have Schengen membership

Conversation in the Milan metro

“Russians? - Yeah - Where from? - From the Crimea. Traveling - Wow! - How are you here? - I've been living for five years. I studied in Genoa, now I work here - Will you be able to apply for citizenship soon? - I don't need it. I'm from latvia"

Indeed, Europeans living in the Schengen countries have no problems with citizenship. Within the Schengen area, people, goods, capital move freely. An entry visa to one of the states belonging to the Schengen zone is valid for all other states of the zone.

The Schengen area initially included the territory of only Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany. It was these five countries that signed the so-called Schengen Agreement on June 14, 1985 near the Schengen town in Luxembourg, which abolished passport and customs controls between them. Gradually, other European countries joined the Agreement. The latest according to the Wikipedia report were Switzerland (date of entry December 12, 2008) and Liechtenstein - 12/19/2011.

Schengen area and European Union

The Schengen area should not be confused with the European Union. The European Union emerged in 1951 from the unification of West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg into the European Coal and Steel Community. In 1957, the same six states created the European Economic Community, or Common Market, for broader cooperation. Gradually, more and more European states joined the aborigines of the Common Market, which in 1992 signed an agreement establishing the European Union, the so-called Maastricht Treaty. The Union continued to expand, and today it includes 28 European states:

Austria,
Belgium,
Bulgaria,
United Kingdom,
Hungary,
Germany,
Greece,
Denmark,
Ireland,
Spain,
Italy,
Cyprus,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Luxembourg,
Malta,
Netherlands,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Finland,
France,
Croatia,
Czech,
Sweden
Estonia

That is, it is easy to see that the EU includes more European countries than those left behind. There are only twelve of them.

Moldavia
Serbia
Montenegro
Macedonia
Ukraine
Russia
Switzerland
Norway
Liechtenstein
San Marino
Monaco
Iceland

The first six on this list would like to go to "Europe", but they do not take it, the second, apparently, is so good.

It's been 33 years since several European countries common decision simplified passport and visa control at their borders, laying the foundation for the development of a visa-free Schengen area. Having seen all the advantages of a visa-free space, over several decades, many countries have expressed a desire to join it: the list of Schengen countries in 2019 is seriously different from the list that took place at the beginning. One way or another, but today's travelers are advised to know all the Schengen countries, in which we will try to help them.

The Schengen Agreement: what it is and how it works

As we know, the basis for simplified visa control was the Schengen Agreement, signed on June 14, 1985 by five European countries near the Luxembourg village of Schengen. Initially, the agreement existed separately from other European integration programs, as the rest of the continent could not find a common language regarding the simplification of border controls.

The first text of the document assumed only the abolition of passport control, which was to be replaced by a selective inspection of individual Vehicle... That is, it was still far from unhindered movement.

In addition, the countries signed the Convention on the Implementation of the Agreement only 5 years later. It was this Convention that first established unhindered movement and entry into the Schengen states (by that time there were already 7 of them), which only started working since 1995.

By the way, the agreement was fully valid only for 4 years, until 05/01/1999, until the moment the Amsterdam Treaty became legal. He, in turn, with the aim of abolishing border controls between the EU countries, introduced into the union treaty the provisions of the Convention on the introduction of the Schengen agreement. Since this agreement as such ceased to operate and was replaced by the wording "Schengen law" or "Schengen rules".

It is noteworthy that all European countries that wish to join the visa-free zone do not sign any new document, but only adopt the necessary EU legislation at the national level.

In addition to legislative regulation, the new member states of the zone are required to apply a number of practical measures. After the settlement of all issues and approval from other participants, the new countries enter the Schengen area, which allows their residents, as well as persons to whom the country has issued a Schengen visa, to freely cross the borders of the countries of the zone.

Schengen countries in 2019

Now we propose to figure out which countries you need a Schengen visa. Thus, 22 countries of the European Union practice the full application of the Schengen rules. By the way, another 6 countries that are or were members of the EU, despite the adoption at the national level of the relevant legislation, are not included in the Schengen area; or on their borders the corresponding border control.

At the same time, due to the action of the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association, there are four more countries that are members of Schengen, but at the same time are not members of the European Union. Thus, 26 states should be considered full members of the zone. Let's consider them in the form of a table.

Schengen countries					EU non-Schengen countries
EU countries				Other countries (EEA / EFTA)
Austria	Spain	Netherlands	France	Iceland	Bulgaria
Belgium	Italy	Poland	Sweden	Liechtenstein	Cyprus
Hungary	Latvia	Portugal	Czech	Norway	Romania
Germany	Lithuania	Slovakia	Estonia	Switzerland	Croatia
Greece	Luxembourg	Slovenia			England
Denmark	Malta	Finland			Ireland

Thus, far from the entire EU territory is the Schengen area.

Firstly, because not all members of the European Union, which at the national level have adopted the appropriate regulatory framework, introduced appropriate practical measures to protect their borders. For example, the inclusion of Cyprus in Schengen has been postponed indefinitely, since the authorities of the island state do not control the entire territory of the country and do not want to tighten the border crossing regime with the uncontrolled territory.

Bulgaria and Romania, in turn, have long awaited a positive decision, but it is also constantly postponed by the EU leadership. The main reason is the ineffective fight against corruption and organized crime.

Secondly, EU legislation provides for some exceptions, providing for the impossibility of applying Schengen legislation to some territories of the countries that entered the zone. This is, in particular, Greenland as a Danish territory, Spanish settlements Ceuta and Melilla, Dutch territories outside Europe, French overseas territories, and so on. Most often this is due to geographic features or distant location.

Non-Schengen countries covered by Schengen

Among other things, the zone without border control applies not only to the Schengen countries: there are a number of countries where it operates, but at the same time they are not EU members and do not apply the Schengen rules. These are, in particular, such European dwarf states as the Vatican, Monaco and San Marino. These countries do not have protected borders and in fact are located on the territory or within the borders of other European states, so you can get into them the same way - with a Schengen visa, but in fact, a visa is not required to visit them.

A similar situation is observed with Andorra, which is located between France and Spain and has no other means of communication; that is, Andorra cannot be visited without going through these EU states. Given the geographical situation, Andorra does not impose any visa rules for citizens of any country. Thus, the country is not included in Schengen, does not establish passport and visa control, however, you can enter its territory only with a Schengen visa.

In addition, we note that, despite the non-adherence of a number of the above countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Croatia) to the zone of unimpeded movement, it is also possible to enter their territory with a Schengen visa. But to get to Schengen territory by their national visas not yet.

Features of crossing the Schengen borders

Despite the lack of passport and visa control within the Schengen area, for foreign citizens non-member states of the agreement, there are some restrictions in terms of crossing the border of the zone, especially if they visit it on a Schengen visa. We can identify 4 main features that travelers will have to face when entering the zone:

The rule of the main country of stay: a visa must be issued to the country in which the tourist is expected to stay most of the time. This does not deprive the tourist of the opportunity, but is only a formal requirement.
First frontier rule: In theory, the EU country that issued the Schengen visa should be visited first. This does not mean that it will not be possible to initially enter another EU country on a visa, however, it will be possible to move on them before arriving in the country that issued the visa only in transit, that is, delaying no more than 5 days. The article titled "" will tell you more about this.
Duration of stay: in total, a tourist cannot stay in the zone for more than 3 months within six months.
Registration of entry: when crossing the zone, any tourist, regardless of whether he needs a visa, is obliged to present travel documents to the border guards and go through biometric control, providing an image of his face.

In addition, it must be remembered that in connection with some countries, they have introduced enhanced border controls in certain areas of the concentration of illegal immigrants.

Take a sociological survey!

Most popular tourist destinations

The countries of Europe have always been the center of tourist pilgrimage, and after the introduction of a single zone without passport and visa control, the flow of tourists only increased. Of course, almost all of these countries have a tourist attraction, but we will single out 5 most popular for our readers:

France. It is the most popular tourist destination in the world - 84 million travelers visit the country annually. Paris is the most popular in France, followed by Lyon and Strasbourg.
Spain. Spain annually receives about 65 million tourists, which has made tourism the main sphere of the state's economy. Most often they go to Madrid and Barcelona, although as many as 13 Spanish cities are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Italy. Almost 49 million travelers come to Italy every year, most of whom travel to Rome, Venice and Milan. However, the country has something to see without these cities - there are 50 UNESCO sites in Italy.
Germany. 33 million people come annually, not everyone manages to get Schengen and travel around Europe. For such tourists, there are countries that do not need a Schengen or any other visa to visit.
You can choose not only countries without Schengen for Russians, but also states on other continents. It includes over 70 states, including such popular tourist destinations as Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Seychelles, Thailand, Turkey and many others. The visa-free regime allows you to visit these countries, having only a travel ticket and.

There are also a number of states that issue - that is, there is no need to worry about it in advance, and it itself takes no more than 5 minutes. These countries include Egypt, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Madagascar, Paraguay, Nepal, Sri Lanka and several dozen others.

To learn more about them, a publication called "" will help.

Conclusion

The Schengen area is limited to 26 European countries, 22 of which are members of the European Union. At the same time, not all EU countries enter the zone of uncontrolled movement - a number of countries have been waiting for the legalization of their status for several years.
Having received a Schengen visa, tourists can freely move around the territory of the zone and some other countries. And if it was not possible to obtain a visa, there are many other options where Russians can or work without preliminary paperwork.

The Schengen area got its name from the Schengen agreements, which confirm that 26 different European countries have recognized the elimination of international borders with other members of the union for free and free movement between them people, goods, services and money, combined with generally accepted rules for controlling external borders and fighting crime, strengthening the overall legal system and promoting police cooperation.

Throughout the Schengen area, borders between European countries exist only on maps, and for more than 400 million inhabitants belonging to each of the 26 countries, they do not exist, and they can safely move without going through passport and border control, since each country within the zone has general rules of travel and movement.

List of countries that are members of the Schengen area

Belgium.
Denmark.
Finland.
Germany.
Hungary.
Italy.
Lithuania.
Malta.
Norway.
Portugal.
Slovenia.
Sweden.
Liechtenstein.
Austria.
Czech.
Estonia.
France.
Greece.
Iceland.
Latvia.
Luxembourg.
Netherlands.
Poland.
Slovakia.
Spain.
Switzerland.

As can be understood from the list above, the Schengen area includes 26 countries, but only 22 of them have fully accepted the Schengen law of the European Union, while four of them are members of the European Free Trade Association and enjoy special agreements that have relation to the Schengen agreement.

The following three countries are members of the Schengen area but are not members of the European Union: Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

Three more countries are special members of the European Union and part of the Schengen area, although they are outside the European continent: Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

It is also worth noting three more countries that have opened their borders to members of the Schengen area, but they themselves are not members of the Schengen area: San Marino, Vatican and Monaco.

There are six more European Union members that have not yet joined Schengen: Ireland and Great Britain (the latter has already left the European Union), as well as Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus, which are obliged and, in principle, want to join Schengen themselves in the near future. time.

The external borders of the Schengen zone have a total length of more than 50 thousand kilometers, with 80 percent of them being water borders, and only 20 percent lying on land.

There are hundreds of airports and seaports in the Schengen area, the area of the zone is more than 4.3 million square kilometers, and the population is more than 400 million people.

Please note that although most of the Schengen countries are also members of the European Union, you should not confuse Schengen with the EU!

Key features of the Schengen area

The abandonment of borders between European countries has led to the following:

Representatives of any country in the world, being on the territory of the Schengen zone, can cross the borders between the countries that are members of this zone, without going through passport and border control.

General standards for crossing the external borders of the Schengen area.
Harmonious conditions for obtaining a visa for entry and short-term stay in the territory of any of the countries within the Schengen area.
Improved communication between police in the Schengen countries.
Privileged legal cooperation between members, including faster deportation of criminals and easier movement of offenders for sentencing.
Advanced common base data, which allows members to quickly exchange information about people and goods (this database is known as SIS, i.e. Schengen Information system).
Despite the great freedoms afforded by the Schengen Agreement, the police still retain the right to conduct border checks or border areas under certain conditions, however, these checks are not considered customs clearance. The police at the internal borders may require you to provide documentation of your stay in the Schengen area, as well as ask you relevant questions on this topic.
If a country cannot provide full internal security during a serious threat, she has the right to return checks at the border on a temporary basis, but only for no longer than thirty days.

Schengen legal documents that have been adopted in accordance with the laws of the European Union

There are four main provisions related to the Schengen area, which are part of the European Union Legislation:

Schengen border code.
Visa code.
Local border traffic regime.

Criteria for countries that want to become members of the Schengen area

Many European countries want to become members of the Schengen area, but not all can do it instantly.

The reason is that there are certain conditions and the criteria that countries wishing to join Schengen must meet.

Such a country, for example, should be able to control the external borders of the zone on behalf of other members of the zone, as well as issue unified Schengen visas.

It should also be able, after abandoning borders, to be able to interact with law enforcement other members for greater security, etc.

Schengen security system

The mechanisms by which the Schengen area ensures the safety of residents and detects fraudulent travel documents provided by travelers who are prohibited from entering the Schengen area are as follows:

Visa information system.
Schengen Information System.
European fingerprinting.

Visa information system

The main role of the VIS is to provide all members with visa information, as well as to supply data on the embassies and consulates of countries that are not members of the European Union, as well as those that have the external borders of the Schengen area.

Schengen Information System

The Schengen Information System functions as the basis for interaction in law enforcement matters, as well as in the protection of the external borders of the zone, providing information about the alarm to the police, as well as to migration, legal and other services, if people disappear in the territory, people appear who are suspected of committing a crime , as well as about those people who are trying to enter the Schengen area, without having permission to do so.

European fingerprinting

The role of European fingerprinting is to monitor the process of applying for asylum in the Schengen area or crossing the borders of the European Union, using fingerprint sets.

The aim is to support legal travel and movement, the fight against serious crime and terrorism, as well as illegal crossing of the borders of the Schengen area or the European Union.

The fingerprints of people moving around the territory of the zone are instantly transferred to a database where they are compared with the existing fingerprints, and this happens every time a person crosses the Schengen border or applies for asylum.

According to the agreement signed by representatives of five European states in 1985 in the village of Schengen, which is located on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the borders were opened and the passport and visa regime between the following countries was abolished:

France;
Germany;
Belgium;
Holland.

The fifth party to the agreement was directly the owner of the territory where the agreement was drawn up and signed - Luxembourg.

The entry into force of the agreement took place after 10 years, in March 1995. To date, the circle of participants in the agreement has expanded significantly, and citizens of 26 countries of the world can use the visa benefits provided for by the clauses of the document. Information about which states are included in this zone, as well as information about other nuances related to the well-known contract, are described in the article.

Features of the passport and visa regime of the Schengen zone

The following persons have the ability to freely move around the territory that is part of the Schengen zone:

Legal citizens of the countries that signed the agreement;
Nationals of the signatory states international treaty on the introduction of a visa-free regime for citizens living in the territory of the Schengen countries;
Holders of Schengen visas for others, provided by law, grounds.

A Schengen visa is valid for the period established by the issuing organization, from 1 to 5 years.

It should be noted that the Schengen events were not part of the formation and development procedure, it was a parallel movement towards integration, therefore, these concepts should not be identified.

Which countries are included in the Schengen area

Today, the list of Schengen states includes 26 countries, among which there are both EU members (Sweden, France, Germany and others) and not (Switzerland, Norway, etc.)

Full list of Schengen countries as of 2017

EU members included in the Schengen list	Non-EU countries that are members of the Schengen Agreement
Malta	Liechtenstein
Estonia	Iceland
Czech	Switzerland
Italy	Norway
Sweden
Poland
Spain
France
Slovenia
Lithuania
Portugal
Germany
Netherlands
Austria
Luxembourg
Slovakia
Latvia
Belgium
Hungary
Finland
Denmark
Greece

After analyzing the data from the table, we can conclude that several EU members have not joined the Schengen Agreement, therefore visa-free regime on the territory of any of them does not apply. For example, Great Britain, Romania, Cyprus and the last EU member - Croatia are not included in the list of Schengen countries, Ireland and Bulgaria remained outside the zone. Great Britain has left the main passport control, so a separate visa is required to enter the country, which can be obtained in any British visa center in the RF.

Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, decided to enter the Schengen area in 2008, resulting in checkpoints passport control was canceled. But even after joining the Schengen area, the state, which is considered a symbol of the elite banking system, is in no hurry to become a member of the EU. This policy is due to the fact that Switzerland has a number of undeniable advantages over the European Union.

Is it possible to enter the area for representatives of third countries

Since the Schengen countries have common border, then the rules for entering and leaving their territory are the same.

Third Party Policy of the Schengen States: