Schengen space Information and news about Schengen countries

Travelers flying between the nine new Schengen countries and to the rest of the Schengen space countries do not have to show their passport from this Sunday.

Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia have joined Schengen Space on last December, allowing them to stop border controls.

This measure had been extended to airports only on March 30th, when the semester flight schedule is updated.

Schengen space includes 22 countries within the European Union, plus Norway and Iceland, including 400 million inhabitants.

Since December 21st 2007, Ukraine is a direct Schengen neighbor, via the Hungarian and Polish borders.

Some reporters from Deutsche Welle reported that improved control at the border caused huge lines of trucks formed many kilometers of queue where the waiting time exceeded sometime over thirty hours. This is partly due to the cancellation of controls inside the European Union country: trucks reached Ukrainian much faster and that caused a queue.

At least, the state of Hungary provided hot tea and portable toilets for the frozen drivers.

The last remnants of the Iron curtain are history. From now on Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia have joined the border less Schengen Space.

The preparation took two years, but now traveling overland from Tallinn to Lisbon without showing up a passport is a reality. 400 million Europeans can now travel by road, train or ship in the expanded zone.

In next march, the airports will also abolish passport controls.

Pages on this Web site will be updated soon.

From January 1st 2007, Schengen states will increase the visa duty from 35 Euros to 60 Euros - because it did not cover the cost of application processing. The price is comparable to the cost of other states.
60 Euros is a bit lower than US $80 in december 2006; convert it to your local currency.

If you are not sure about your eligibility to a visa exemption, check this page, otherwise you ought to obtain an appointment with the closest Schengen consulate in your location.

The European Union's ten new members will join the the borderless Schengen zone in 2007, according to the Justice and Interior ministers from the European Union.

These members must use Schengen standards at customs and border points in order to join the other fifteen members (EU minus UK and Ireland, plus Norway and Iceland). Those who meet the criteria will be able to integrate into Schengen system in 2007. Land borders are scheduled to be opened in December 31, 2007 and sea and air borders checks will be lifted by the latest in March 2008. In mid-2007 the European Commission will evaluate if their borders are meeting the required standards.

Countries that joined the European Union in 2004 won't be able to join the Schengen zone as planned in April 2007.

Supported by Unisys and Microsoft, the Schengen Information System II (SIS II) will be delayed for technical reasons. SIS is a database that stores all travelers' entry and exit data in the Schengen zone.

Read a complete article about this subject on heise online.

Germany hopes that the number of illegal immigrants, terrorists and hooligans entering the country during the Soccer World Cup will be limited.

What travel visas will you need when travelling to Europe?

A Schengen visa permits free travel between Schengen space membership countries, but doesn't work to visit other european countries.

Tourists willing to visit more countries may be interested in having a look at travelvisas.eu, a Web site providing information about travel visas in all European countries.

An agreement has been signed between Russia and the EU for simplifying visa procedures. Thus, a Schengen visa will cost 35 Euros whereas it will cost 60 Euros for other visitors who need to apply.

On Thursday, April 27th, the European Council of Home and Justice ministers decided to raise the Schengen visa fee to 60 euros from January 1st 2007 instead of 35 euros today.

The reason for this increase is to cover costs and implement new technology such as biometrics and identity database.

The citizens’ Pact for South East Europe wrote a statement against this raise on April 18th.

A Schengen visa will still be less expensive than a US visa. Unfortunately, for many people, it lowers holidays' budget.