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The main objective of the Schengen cooperation is the creation of an area without internal border controls. It requires efficient controls at external borders as well as the application of relevant flanking measures in areas such as police and judicial cooperation and visa policy. The provisions on external border control apply nevertheless at internal borders in two cases. The first one relates to the situation where the process for the lifting of internal border controls at these internal borders has not yet been finalised3. Border controls at these borders must be carried out in line with the provisions of Title II of the Schengen Borders Code. The second case refers to the situation where controls at internal borders are temporarily reintroduced by a Schengen State fully applying the Schengen acquis. The relevant provisions of Title II then apply mutatis mutandis as internal
borders are not becoming external borders
Ireland and the (United Kingdom now not applicable) have been authorised to apply some parts of the Schengen acquis but in a limited number of areas (police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters) which do not include external border control. As a consequence, for the purpose of this Information which focuses on border issues and is addressed to border guards, Ireland and the (United Kingdom not applicable) not included when the term “Schengen States” is used.
The entry conditions to be fulfilled by third-country nationals when entering the territory of a Schengen State are the following:
a) the possession of a valid travel document or documents authorising them to cross the border, whereby its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the Schengen States (although in a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived) and it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years;
b) the possession of a valid visa, when this is required, (not required for UK Nationals) except where a third-country national holds a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen State fully applying the Schengen acquis which is deemed to be equivalent to a visa or a valid long-stay visa. This equivalence does not apply to temporary permits issued pending examination of a first application for a residence permit or an application for asylum;
c) the justification of the purpose and of the conditions of stay in the Schengen State(s) to be visited, including the possession of sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin (or for transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, for instance because they have a residence permit issued by that country), or the possibility to acquire such means lawfully;
d) not being a person for whom an alert has been issued in the Schengen Information System (SIS) for the purpose of refusing entry;
e) not being a person considered as a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen States. This may particularly be the case where no alert exists in a national database entailing a refusal of entry towards the person concerned.
Third-country nationals must be subject to a thorough check.
At entry, the thorough check consists of the verification of the fulfilment of all entry conditions, i.e.:
the verification that the third-country national is in possession of a document or documents valid for crossing the border and which has not expired, and that it is accompanied, where applicable, by the requisite visa, residence permit or long-stay visa.
A third-country national subject to the visa obligation may travel with two passports, i.e. with a valid passport (without visa) and with an invalidated passport containing a valid visa.
L,the examination of the entry and exit stamps in the travel document of the third- country national concerned, in order to verify, by comparing the dates of entry and exit, that the person has not already exceeded the maximum duration of authorised stay in the area without internal border controls or the territory of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus or Romania taken separately- i.e. 90 days in any 180-day period preceding each day of stay;
the verification regarding the points of departure and destination of the third- country national concerned and the purpose of the intended stay and, where necessary, checking the corresponding supporting documents;
the verification that the third-country national concerned has sufficient means of subsistence for the duration and purpose of the intended stay, for his/her return to the country of origin or transit to a third country, or that he/she can obtain these means legally. In order to assess the means of subsistence, the reference amounts set by each Schengen State must be taken into account;
the verification of sufficient means of subsistence may be based on the cash, travellers’ cheques and credit cards in the third-country national’s possession. Declarations of sponsorships, where such declarations are provided for by national legislation and letters of guarantee/invitation from hosts as defined by national legislation, in case the third-country national is staying with a host, may also constitute evidence of sufficient means of subsistence;
the validity of a credit card can be verified by contacting the issuing company or by using other facilities available at the border crossing point (e.g. exchange offices);
Invitation from hosts can be verified by contacting the host directly or by verifying the host’s good faith through the national contact points of the Schengen State of residence of the host.
Guidelines on calculation of the length of stay:
For the 90 days within a 180-days period, the day of entry shall be calculated as the first day of stay in the area without internal border controls and the day of exit shall be calculated as the last day of stay in this area. For Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania, it corresponds to the day of entry in and exit from the territory of each one of these Schengen States. The notion of “any” implies the application of a “moving” 180-day reference period, looking backwards, at each day of the stay, into the last 180-day period, in order to verify if the 90 days/180 day requirement continues to be fulfilled. This means that an absence for an uninterrupted period of 90 days allows for a new stay of up to 90 days.
Stamping of Travel Documents
The travel documents of all third-country nationals must be stamped systematically on entry and exit. The stamp does not constitute proof that a thorough check has been carried out; it only makes it possible to establish, with certainty, the date and place of the crossing of the border. Stamping is also intended to ensure that it is possible to verify, during checks on entry and exit whether the allowed maximum duration of a third-country national’s stay in the area without internal border controls or in the territory of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania taken separately– 90 days in any 180 days period – has been respected.
No entry or exit stamp must be affixed in the following cases:
to the travel documents of nationals of the EU Member States, Norway, Iceland,
Liechtenstein and Switzerland;
to the travel documents of Heads of State and dignitaries whose arrival has been officially announced in advance through diplomatic channels;
to pilots’ licences or the certificates of aircraft crew members;
to the travel documents of seamen who are present within the territory of a Schengen State only when their ship calls in and in the area of the port of call;
to the travel documents of crew and passengers of cruise ships who are not subject to border checks.
to documents enabling nationals of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino to cross the border;
to documents of border residents enjoying a local border traffic regime.
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to the travel documents of crews of passengers and goods trains on international connections.
to the travel documents of nationals of third countries who present a residence card provided for in Directive 2004/38/EC.
The travel document of family members of EU, EEA and CH citizens who are third- country nationals must also be stamped, unless they present a residence card issued in accordance with Directive 2004/38/ EC as submitted in line with Article 39 of the Schengen Border Code or otherwise clearly indicating a family member of an EU citizen or a family member of an EEA or CH citizen.
Refusal of Entry.
When refusing the entry to third-country nationals, the checking officer must:
a) fill in the standard form for refusing entry substantiating the reason(s) for refusal, and give it to the third-country national concerned, who must sign the form and must be given a copy of the signed form. In case the third-country national refuses to sign, the border guard will indicate this refusal in the form under the section “comments”;
b) affix an entry stamp on the passport, cancelled by an indelible cross in black ink and write opposite it on the right-hand side, also in indelible ink, the letter(s) corresponding to the reason(s) for refusing entry, as listed in the form for refusing entry (see below).
Example of a refusal of entry stamp:
Letter indicating the reason for refusal of entry in accordance with uniform form.
Annulment of entry exit stamp.
Where the officer responsible for checks finds that the holder of a visa has been the subject of an alert in the SIS for the purposes of being refused entry, he/she must revoke the visa by applying a stamp stating ‘REVOKED’. When a visa has been revoked, the relevant data shall be entered into the VIS. Regarding the actions to be carried out in VIS.
When a Member State has revoked a visa issued by another Member State it is recommended to forward the information by means of the form set out for frontier control staff.
The visa must not be annulled or revoked solely because the third-country national was not able to produce the supporting document(s) requested to justify the purpose of the journey. In the latter case, a further enquiry must be made by the border guard in order to assess whether the person obtained the visa in a fraudulent way and represents a risk in terms of illegal immigration. If necessary, contacts with the competent authorities of the Schengen State having issued the visa will be taken. Only if it is ascertained that the visa was obtained in a fraudulent way, must such a visa be annulled by the border guard by applying a stamp stating ‘ANNULLED’. When a visa has been annulled, the relevant data shall be entered into the VIS. Regarding the actions to be carried out in VIS.
When a Member State has annulled a visa issued by another Member State, it is recommended to forward the information by means of the relevant form.
Best practice: annulment of an entry or exit stamp in cases other than refusal of entry:
There can be cases where a stamp that has already been affixed on a passport has to be annulled (for example, if the wrong stamp was affixed by mistake by the border guard). In such cases, the traveller bears no responsibility for it and therefore the stamp cannot be cancelled in the same ways as when a person is refused entry. It is therefore recommended to annul the stamp by running two parallel lines through the top left-hand corner of it like in the example below:
All persons to whom entry has been refused, or a visa holder whose visa has been annulled or revoked, shall have the right to appeal in accordance with national law. A written indication on procedures for appeal and on contact points able to provide information on representatives competent to act on behalf of the third-country national must be given to the latter.
When a visa has been annulled or revoked, as appropriate, the border guard must fill in the standard form for notifying and motivating annulment of a visa, substantiating the reason(s) for the annulment or revocation, and submit it to the third-country national concerned.
The decision to refuse entry must be performed immediately.
If the refused third-country national has been brought by a carrier by air, sea or land the carrier must be obliged immediately to assume responsibility for him/her again. The carrier must, in particular, be obliged to return the third-country national to the third State from which they were transported or to the third State which issued the travel document on which they travelled or to any other third State to which they are certain to be admitted. When the refused third-country national cannot be taken back immediately, the carrier must be made responsible to bear all necessary costs related to return travel. If the carrier is not able to return the third-country national, it must be obliged to ensure his/her return by any other means (e.g., by contacting another carrier).
Penalties must be imposed on the carrier in accordance with Directive 2001/51/EC and with national law.
The border guards must take all appropriate measures, based on local circumstances, in order to prevent third-country nationals refused entry from entering illegally (for instance, by ensuring that they remain in the transit area of an airport, o
r by prohibiting them from going ashore at a seaport).
Land borders
Checks can be made on road traffic trains, coaches, buses and commercial vehicles.
The border guard in command of a crossing point must ensure that effective checks on persons and documents are carried out, while at the same time ensuring the safety and flow of road traffic. To that end technical improvements should be introduced, where necessary, to reduce the response times of consulting the relevant databases. Where relevant, the technical infrastructure of border crossings should be improved, including the increased use of passport readers and mobile terminals
This information has been taken from the guidance for frontier guards. We hope it will assist in removing some of the misinformation, to know what is expected and how to react if treated unfairly.
A separate post is being drafted for those who have the right to freedom of movement which includes EU citizens and non EU spouses. The draft will also include information for border control for residents of Spain. Now added*
The movement through borders will improve with entry of the EES
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