A Schengen visa is a document that opens up a ton of opportunities for tourists from all over the world, especially Europeans. Thanks to her, you can travel to Europe without passport control, not only for work, but also travel to famous countries.
History of creation
The name of this visa comes from the locality of the same name located in Luxembourg. It was Schengen that was the closest village to the place where the Schengen agreement was concluded. Its essence is the elimination of passport control.
The idea of creating such a document lurked a long time ago, back in the Middle Ages. But here the most active steps to develop a contract began to occur later. The reason for this was globalization. Its appearance in the world marked the expansion and opening of borders. The second half of the 20th century began with economic integration, and the last impetus was the formation of the European Union.
This type of visa has helped many foreigners to travel around Europe, turning a blind eye to all sorts of prohibitions. Of course, far from all the countries of the Schengen zone, the list of which was formed later, were immediately open for “communication”, nevertheless, what happened helped to take a step towards development.
It is worth noting that such a system was directly related to the functioning of the UES. The goal is to form a common market. To do this, you had to adhere to the "Four Freedoms", that is, unimpeded movement:
- people;
- goods;
- services;
- capital.
In support of the second and third points in the late 50's. The 20th century, the Customs Union was formed. Despite the fact that citizens of countries that were members of the EEC could travel around neighboring states without obtaining a pass, passport problems could not be avoided.
Therefore, in 1985, Benelux, Germany and France signed a document that allowed over time to cancel the foreign control.
Convention
Thus, in 1984, the Convention on the use of the Schengen Agreement was concluded. The parties, as mentioned above, were the Benelux powers, the GDR and France. The document proclaimed the phased cancellation of inspections at neighboring borders, immediately the Schengen zone appeared.
At the beginning of the article it was said that the document was named after a nearby village. This is because the signing of the act took place on a ship that crossed the Moselle River. The ship was called Princess Marie-Astrid.
Of course, the Convention immediately raised many questions and contradictions. Many future Schengen countries did not want to support it. At first, the Schengen document was slightly aloof from the European integration organizations.
The Single European Act helped to further develop this idea. Thanks to him, clear deadlines were established for the formation of the central European market.
Final path
Now the matter remained small - to form the European Union. The document on the formation of the EU was adopted in the Netherlands, and its main provision was the creation of personal citizenship. Now, EU citizens could freely move around the union. It was then that they decided to consider the issue of foreign control.
In order to make everything conceived come true, I had to sign another document in 1990. Its main provisions were: the Schengen area, the removal of control, the joint work of the court and the police, the unification of the visa system. When the pact was launched, Portugal and Italy joined it.
Dramatic changes in the document occurred in 1999. The Amsterdam Treaty announced changes to the EU pact, and accordingly, the provisions of the Schengen Convention were also affected. From this moment, Schengen laws were formed. And now we find out which countries are in the Schengen area.
Member countries
Estonia, Switzerland, Sweden, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Malta, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Belgium and Austria is the Schengen zone, which consists of 25 countries.
Next, some nuances begin. For example, micro-states that did not conclude an agreement - the Vatican, Monaco, San Marino and Andorra - are small towns surrounded by Schengen states, and therefore automatically constitute Schengen.
Not all Schengen countries, the list you saw above, allow tourists to visit as easily. Things are a little more complicated with Andorra. To get into the country, you must issue multiple admission.
Exceptions to the Rules
The French and Dutch are the founders, but their overseas regions do not contribute to this control procedure. Also controlled by Spain, Ceuta and Melilla were excluded from the agreement, but, in principle, getting there with Schengen will not be difficult. With Gibraltar, things are even more complicated, you can visit it only with special access.
Great Britain and Ireland abandoned the Schengen zone due to the fact that they already have their own special tolerances. And Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus provide incomplete Schengen document capabilities. Meanwhile, any power that has signed the agreement may temporarily refuse the free passage of its borders due to certain circumstances.
Difference: Zone and Agreement
There is a significant difference in these concepts. On the example of the same England and Ireland it is worth saying: although the Schengen zone does not act on them, nevertheless the pact was concluded, and documentary control is fully operational here.
As a result, a person who has received a pass to the Schengen state can travel to any region that has concluded this act. The Schengen state is visited by any resident of the Schengen country.
Visa types
- “A” permits membership only in the transit area.
- “B” - admission for 5 days, allows you to follow more than once through the region of the Schengen state.
- “C” is a three-month document for tourists. Allows several times to visit the Schengen state.
- “D” - admission for a period of three months. It allows a citizen to move through other countries that are members of the Schengen zone. Transit should not exceed five days.
- "C + D" is issued for a long stay and does not exclude the free movement of the agreement area.
There is also a simplified transit act that permits movement between Russia and Kaliningrad.
Where else to go?
The Schengen zone, the list of which is 25 countries, offers tourists a number of powers where you can go with the help of the Schengen permit. To Albania - with a visa of class "C" or "D". To Bulgaria - with a “C” type approval for a period of up to six months. You can drive to Gibraltar with a multiple category C pass for just three weeks. With the same category you can go to Cyprus, Romania or Croatia.
In Costa Rica, you will be accepted with a Schengen document of any type for three months, and for Panama you need a multi-visa or double, but before that you need to visit the country that issued the document. You can get to Reunion and French Guiana only if you have a special note on your visa.
