Are there passport checks when going between EU and non-EU countries in the Schengen Area?

Upvote:2

Maybe

These are still international borders, and spot checks can happen. Those would not be styled like a passport control at other borders, but if there is e.g. a check for illegal drugs they start with who are you, where are you from, where are you going to determine if closer inspection is warranted.

Upvote:6

By the book, it doesn't matter whether it's in the EU: the Schengen Area is the single "country" for immigration (as opposed to customs) purposes. Therefore, there should not be any border checks for such trips.

Switzerland is a special case, however. Not being in the EU, they frequently perform "customs" checks at major land border crossings (notably at Chiasso, St Louis, Rheinfelden-Autobahn, Au SG and Kreuzlingen, and on TGV trains Paris-Zurich), although in practice, these are often "abused" into passport checks, with actual customs checks not always being performed. Random cars and train passengers are checked, and selected buses are boarded whereby everyone is checked. Those not holding documents required for entering the Schengen Area will be refused entry to Switzerland and turned around.

Norway and Iceland also perform customs checks, as they're both outside the EU; however at most crossings you drive to the side yourself if having anything to declare, and they do not perform passport checks as part of customs control.

Also, given the migrant crisis, several member states have temporarily set up passport checks at selected land border crossings, notably France, Denmark and Sweden. Norway has also introduced them at ferry ports. These checks are, in my experience, not systematic, but (like in Switzerland) particularly frequent for bus passengers.

During any of the aforementioned checks, passports will not be stamped; they'll simply look whether you have a stamp and thus are in Schengen legally.

Upvote:10

A central principle of the Schengen system is the abolition of immigration controls between its members. That principle continues to hold even for members that are not also EU states.

Because non-EU Schengen members are not part of the European Union, travelers entering or leaving these countries can be subjected to customs control even when traveling from or to another Schengen country. The probability of being stopped for a check, much less inspected, is low.

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