Job Discussion Forums

[spiral78]

That's interesting because I googled the Schengen list today and the UK is officially on the list. I thought maybe this changed Jan 1 this year, but I haven't yet made a trip through there in 2008 (will be there next week, though).

[kronos]

Here are two articles I found that show that the UK and Ireland still are not part of Schengen. From what I read (in other places) they have agreed to certain terms of the Schengen, such as allowing holders of Schengen visas to freely cross borders into the UK or Ireland. Either way, if you're in Spain illegally, there's a risk of getting caught in the UK or Ireland!

Anyways, here's an article from Dec. 21, 2007, with a Q&A on Schengen:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4738063.stm

And here's one from Feb. 14, 2008, that says the UK and Ireland aren't part of Schengen but may join the border security system in the future:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/feb/14/immigrationpolicy.eu

[Takahiwai]

I don't know quite how the UK and Ireland became so prominent in this thread as they aren't on the OP's itinerary As far as I know, after many years of travelling between France, Spain and the Low Countries, your friend will have no problem as these are all part of the Schengen agreement and therefore don't have borders per se. Within this imaginary Schengen border, encompassing most of the EU countries, passport checks and the like are assumed to have been done on the periphery, at the point of entry. Switzerland is another kettle of fish, being neither a part of the EU or the Schengen agreement, and notoriously difficult to enter as anything other than a bona fide tourist.

[HLJ]

Has anyone who overstayed their Schengen Visa time ever simply "lost" or "damaged" their passport and gone to the US Embassy to get a new one issued, fresh and stamp-free?

[Phil_b]

Just to add my experience, In August 2004 I took a bus from Madrid to Lisbon, and woke up in Portugal without having had to show ID/Passort to anyone... But coming back from Porto to Madrid they checked passports at the border - I guess it's just pot luck....

[jonniboy]

[spiral78]

FYI, Phil, 2004 was a whole different world...

[freebeacher]

Yes, Ireland and UK do passport checks to from European mainland and between each other.

Interestingly enough, way back in 1988 when I was travelling around Europe the first time, I took then train from France to Switzerland. The Police Nationale stamped my passport with a French departure stamp. After examining my passport the Swiss immigration officer handed my passport back to me without stamping it. I politely asked if he would stamp it. He said "No, stupid American, only stamp for visa!" I have a US passport.

In 1992 I arrived at Vienna airport from Malaysia. I presented my passport to the Austrian immigration officer. He looked at the cover, did NOT open it to the name page, and handed it back to me. That was it. This was before machine-readable passports.

[jonniboy]

[The Ciderman]

I think it's worth adding my experiences of returning to Liverpool and Manchester Airports (3 occasions) from Spain over the past 12 months, even though we have strayed from the original topic.

The passport checks were as thorough as I have ever known them for UK passport holders. On each occasion the officers seemed to check photos verey carefully (One was holding the photo up to each traveller's face for comparison). I was also asked questions about the nature of my trip on two occasions.

[spiral78]

The bottom line may be that the border police ALWAYS have the right to check passports when they wish to.

I have just come back into the Netherlands from Belgium - where checks are NOT the norm - but we were checked anyway.

So - it may not be that one is checked at every border crossing throughout the Schengen zone - but it can always happen, regardless.

Far best just to have correct legal documents.