Schengen Agreement

For other uses, see Schengen.

United
Kingdom

Ireland

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Full
Implementation

Romania

  Schengen Area

  Set to implement later

  Police and judicial cooperation only

File:Schengen Monument.jpg

A monument to the Agreement in Schengen, Luxembourg

A typical Schengen border crossing has no border control post and only a common EU-state sign welcoming the visitor, as here between Germany and Austria.

The 1985 Schengen Agreement is an agreement among most European countries which allows for the abolition of systematic border controls between the participating countries. Covering a population over 400 million and a total area of 4,268,633 km² (1,648,128 sq mi), it includes provisions on common policy on the temporary entry of persons (including the Schengen Visa), the harmonisation of external border controls, and cross-border police co-operation. By the Treaty of Amsterdam, the agreement itself and all decisions having been enacted on its basis had been implemented into the law of the European Union.

A total of 30 states, including all European Union states and three non-EU members (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland), have signed the agreement, and 24 have implemented it so far. The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom only take part in the police co-operation measures and not the common border control and visa provisions. Border posts and checks have been removed in the Schengen area states (see section Customs control) and a common Schengen visa allows tourist or visitor access to the area.

Passport-free travel

As of 21 December 2007, 24 signatories and Monaco allowed passport-free travel among themselves, an increase from 15 on 20 December 2007. The nine new countries which came under the passport-free travel of Schengen territory are: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Cyprus, which entered the European Union at the same time as the above states, will delay joining the Schengen zone by one year. Two latest EU entrants, namely Romania and Bulgaria, are enhancing respective security systems to qualify for joining the Schengen territory. The existing 15 countries have been: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Of these, two countries, namely Norway and Iceland, are not EU members. On the other hand, present EU members the United Kingdom and Ireland have so far declined to join the full Schengen system, preferring to keep control over cross-border flows as a matter of national responsibility. Notably, European Union leaders enthusiastically celebrated enlargement of the Schengen territory. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel took centre-stage on the Polish-German border. Any non-Schengen traveller having a Schengen visa has been allowed to travel throughout these 25 countries from 21 December 2007.

Pre-Schengen free-travel zones in Europe

Before World War I, one could travel from Paris to Saint Petersburg without a passport. This freedom of movement ended with the war, but several local free-travel zones were later established.

Following Irish independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, no laws were passed requiring a passport for travelling across the newly created international border, in keeping with the European norm of a few years earlier. The free-travel zone comprising the two countries (the Common Travel Area or CTA) was not codified, or indeed given an official name, until 1997, and then only at the EU level to distinguish it from the Schengen Treaty.

In 1944, the governments-in-exile of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (Benelux) signed an agreement to eliminate border controls between themselves; this agreement was put into force in 1948.

Similarly, the Nordic Passport Union was created in 1952 to permit free travel amongst the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories.

Membership and implementation

The agreement was originally signed on 14 June 1985, by five European states of Belgium, France, West Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. An additional document, known as the Schengen Convention, put the agreement into practice; it replaced the first and was signed by each state on the dates shown below. The signing took place aboard the ship Princesse Marie-Astrid on the Moselle River, where the borders of Luxembourg, France, and Germany meet, near the small town of Schengen in Luxembourg, thus giving the treaty its name.

For each member state there has been a delay between signing and actual implementation. Although the original agreement was signed on 14 June 1985, it was not until almost a decade later, 26 March 1995, that Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain became the first states to implement its provisions.

Membership

	14 June 1985		Belgium, France, West Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands
	3 October 1990		German reunification brings in the former East Germany
	27 November 1990		Italy
	25 June 1992		Portugal, Spain
	6 November 1992		Greece¹
	28 April 1995		Austria
	19 December 1996		Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
	29 May 2000		Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom²
	1 May 2004		Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
	16 October 2004		Switzerland
	1 January 2007		Bulgaria, Romania

¹ Greece incompletely implemented the agreement and requires a different visa for citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia because of the name-conflict between the two countries.

² Both countries limited membership only

Inclusions and exceptions

See also: Special member state territories and their relations with the European Union

Included in the Schengen area:

• All non-Continental and non-European areas of Portugal and Spain:
  • The Azores and Madeira.
  • Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands.

The following territories of the membership countries are not covered by the agreement:

• All overseas regions of France
• Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Heligoland and Büsingen of Germany
• Svalbard of Norway
• Northern Cyprus

The following territories of the member states are indirectly covered, and do not have full passport check against the Schengen area:

• Greenland and the Faroe Islands, although formally excluded from the Schengen Agreement, are integrated. (It was laid down in the association agreement with Denmark that persons travelling between the Faroe Islands and Greenland on the one hand, and the Schengen member states on the other, are not subject to a border check. The traditional Free Movement of Persons acquis of the European Community is not applicable to Greenland and to the Faroe Islands.)
• Livigno of Italy is a "tax haven" and maintains customs checks and random passport control.
• Mount Athos, an important Orthodox religious site and autonomous region of Greece, has a special exemption from Schengen allowing women to be barred from entry; this is in line with ancient tradition.

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland are the only two EU members who have not signed the Schengen Agreement: both have an opt-out. The U.K. and the Republic of Ireland have a Common Travel Area with no border controls; thus the Republic is unable to join Schengen without dissolving this agreement with the UK, and incurring controls at its border with Northern Ireland. The UK remains reluctant to surrender its own border control system. In 1999, the ROI and the UK had applied to participate in a number of provisions of the Schengen acquis, and this was granted by the E.U. Council on May 29, 2000. Therefore, UK and ROI are signatories of the Council Decision covering police co-operation, but not of the regulations covering asylum, visas and border controls.

The reluctance of the U.K. government to join the agreement has been criticised by the House of Lords, which accused the government of hampering the fight against cross-border crime due to the inability of the UK to access the Schengen Information System, which contains data on potentially problematic persons.

In October 2007, the UK Government announced plans to introduce an electronic border control system by 2009 and this led to speculation that the Common Travel Area would end. However in response to a question on the issue, the Irish Taoiseach (i.e. Prime Minister) stated "On the question of whether this is the end of the common travel area and should we join Schengen, the answer is 'No'."

Implementation

States that have already implemented the terms of the agreement:

26 March 1995	Belgium France Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain
26 October 1997	Italy
1 December 1997	Austria
26 March 2000	Greece
25 March 2001	Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden
21 December 2007*	Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Malta Poland Slovakia Slovenia

* Only for overland borders and seaports, and on 29 March 2008 for airports.

Signatories yet to implement the agreement, and the planned implementation date

Prospective date of implementation	Implementing State
November 2008	Switzerland and Liechtenstein
2009	Cyprus
2011	Bulgaria and Romania

Before fully implementing the Schengen Agreement, each new state will need to have its preparedness assessed in four areas: air borders, visas, police cooperation, and personal data protection. This evaluation process involves a questionnaire and visits of EU experts to selected institutions and workplaces of the country under assessment. The Council of the European Union was scheduled to review the results between April and September of 2007.

Non-signatories of note

• San Marino, although not formally part of the Schengen area, has an open border with Italy (although some random checks are made by Carabinieri, Polizia di San Marino and Guardia di Finanza).
• Monaco: the Schengen Agreement is administered as if Monaco were a part of France, with French authorities carrying out checks at Monaco's sea port.
• Liechtenstein, not yet a member of the agreement, has an open border with Switzerland (which has not yet implemented the agreement), but still conducts border checks on its border with Austria, an EU member. As part of the European Economic Area (EEA), Liechtenstein applies the Traditional Free Movement of Persons acquis of the European Community. Liechtenstein intends to adhere to the Schengen area and it applied to join in the autumn of 2005 and the EU Council of Ministers gave assent to the start of the negotiations in late February 2006. Liechtenstein is expected to implement the agreement in 2008. For Switzerland, expecting to implement the agreement on 1 November 2008, the issue of its open border with Liechtenstein remains. If it is not possible for Liechtenstein to implement Schengen at the same time as Switzerland (as some EU states want to apply fraud issues with the Schengen enlargement to Liechtenstein), an interim solution will have to be found, in order to avoid Switzerland introducing border checks with Liechtenstein, even for a short time.
• Vatican City has expressed a desire to join the Schengen Agreement. It already has an open border with Italy, but enforcing the agreement will allow for closer cooperation in information sharing and similar activities covered by the Schengen Information System.
• Andorra is not integrated into the Schengen area, and border controls remain between it and both France and Spain. Citizens of EU countries require their national identity card to enter Andorra, while anyone else requires a passport or equivalent. For those travellers who need a visa to enter the Schengen area, they need a multiple-entry visa in order to visit Andorra, because leaving Andorra constitutes re-entry to the Schengen area.

Principles behind the agreement

File:SchengenVisaNewType.JPG

Common Schengen Visa, new type (allowing photograph of bearer to be inserted)

File:SchengenResidencePermit.JPG

Common Model of a Schengen Residence Permit, here: Form for a German long-term residence permit

A typical Schengen internal border (here near Kufstein between Germany and Austria): the traffic island marks the spot where a control post once stood; it was removed in 2000.

Before the Schengen Agreement, citizens of western Europe could travel to neighbouring countries by showing their national ID card or passport at the border. Nationals of some countries were required to have separate visas for every country in Europe; thus, vast network of border posts existed around the continent which disrupted traffic and trade—causing delays and costs to both businesses and visitors.

Since Schengen, border posts have been closed (and often demolished) between participating countries. Road traffic is no longer delayed; road, rail and air passengers no longer have their identity checked when crossing borders (however, see section Customs control). Citizens of non-EU, non-EEA countries who wish to visit Europe, and who require a visa to enter the Schengen area, are simply required to get a common Schengen Visa from the Embassy/Consulate of the Schengen country they intend to visit first; they may then visit any of the Schengen countries without hindrance. However, in some exceptional cases, visas can be restricted to just certain member states.

Third-country nationals who are holders of a residence title of a Schengen state may freely enter into and stay in any other Schengen state for a period of up to three months. For a longer stay, they require a residence title of the target member state. Third-country long-term residents of a member state enjoy, under certain circumstances, the right to settle in other member states.

Not only does the Schengen Agreement remove border checks between participating countries, but participating nations co-ordinate external controls. The details of border controls, surveillance, and the conditions under which permission to enter into the Schengen area may be granted are exhaustively detailed in a European Union regulation called Schengen Borders Code. In particular, Article 7 of the Schengen Borders Code provides that all persons crossing external borders have to be subject to a minimum check, this including the establishment of identities on the basis of the production or presentation of their travel documents, while third-country nationals must be subjected to thorough checks, which also concern all entry requirements (documentation, visa, employment status, means of subsistence, absence of security concerns).

National security

A country is permitted by articles 23-31 of the Schengen Borders Code to reinstate border controls for a short period if deemed in the interest of national security, but has to follow a consultation procedure before such action. This occurred in Portugal during the 2004 European Football Championship and in France for the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day. It was used again by France shortly after the London bombings in July of 2005. Finland briefly reinstated border controls during the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in August 2005. Germany used it for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and again in 2007 for the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm.

The Schengen rules also include provisions for sharing intelligence, such as information about people, lost and stolen documents, vehicles, via the Schengen Information System. This means that potentially problematic persons cannot 'disappear' simply by moving from one Schengen country to another.

Under Article 41 of the Agreement, police from one Schengen state may cross national borders to chase their target for up to 30 km ('hot pursuit'). The officers either have to be in uniform, or their vehicles have to be marked as police vehicles and weapons may be used only in self-defence. Many neighboring Schengen states have introduced further bilateral measures for police cooperation in border regions, which are expressly permitted under Article 39 subsection 5 of the Schengen Agreement. Such cooperation may include joint police radio frequencies, police control centres, and tracing units in border regions.

Air security

When travelling by air between Schengen countries, identification (usually passport or national ID card) must be shown. Whilst this is not a Schengen rule, it is an air security requirement even when flying within the same country.

ID checks at hotels and other places

According to the Schengen rules, hotels and other types of accommodation must register the name, citizenship and ID number of all foreign citizens . For this reason, a passport or a national ID card must be produced; however, the rule is not always enforced.

Customs control

Most member states of the Schengen area are also members of the European Union, among which customs controls have been abolished, leaving no checks at the borders. Customs checks remain between two Schengen members where one is a non-EU country (and indeed at borders between the European Union Value Added Tax Area and those zones of the EU that lie outside it). Customs checks are also performed in connection with travel within one single member state, if a part of that state is located outside the EU common customs area; this e.g. between Heligoland and mainland Germany. With respect to travel between EU members where one is non-Schengen, there are identity (passport) checks, but no customs checks; this applies between Ireland, the U.K. and the European Continent.

Some member states maintain checks with respect to controlled substances. For example, the Dutch policy on drugs differs from that of the French, and a person could buy drugs in the Netherlands and transport them to France to sell them on the black market; thus France insisted on maintaining border controls on people entering France from the Benelux countries.

Sweden and Finland maintain customs checks in order to control the smuggling of drugs and alcohol. The Schengen treaty allows this, so long as cars are only stopped when a suspicion of smuggling has been established.

Non-EU members Norway and Iceland are not a part of the EU customs union and therefore enforce the same level of customs control towards all travellers who are not members of the Nordic Agreement.

Information sharing: Prüm Convention

An agreement was signed on 27 May, 2005 by Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, and Belgium at Prüm, Germany. This agreement, based on the principle of availability which began to be discussed after the Madrid bomb attack on 11 March, 2004, could enable them to exchange all data regarding DNA and fingerprint data of concerned persons and to cooperate against terrorism. Sometimes known as the Prüm Convention, this is becoming known as the Schengen III Agreement and was adopted into EU regulation for Schengen states in June 2007. The Visa Information System, to be rolled-out in 2009, could be in the future the largest biometric database in the world.

External borders

Passport control at an external Schengen border in Finland

The borders against non-Schengen countries are to be carefully controlled, and every person crossing those external borders must carry an accepted means of identification, such as a passport, other travel document, or – in case of EU and Swiss citizens – national identity card. All persons who are third-country nationals have to be checked against the Schengen Information System, a database containing information about undesired or wanted people, stolen passports, and other items of interest to border officials; while checks on EU citizens and other persons enjoying the right of free movement in the EU may only be conducted on a "non-systematic" basis.

The border controls are located at roads crossing a border, at airports, at seaports, and onboard trains. Usually there is no fence along borders in the terrain, but there are exceptions like the Ceuta border fence. Fence is partially located at the border between Slovakia and Ukraine. Along the southern coast of the Schengen countries, coast guards are making a substantial effort to prevent private boats from entering without permission.

The Schengen Agreement stipulates that all transporters of passengers across the Schengen external border must check, before boarding, if the passenger has the travel document and visa required for entry. This is to prevent persons from applying for asylum at the passport control, after already having landed within the Schengen area. Since all asylum applications filed on EU territory must be investigated, and since it often proves to be difficult to deport persons who already have landed, the Schengen states want to prevent third-country nationals who do not have the papers required for entry into the area from even reaching a passport control point on their territory. Because this system proves to be effective, unsafe boats, containers, or other unconventional and life-endangering means of transport are used for people smuggling.

The Schengen Agreement and the European Union

All states which belong to the Schengen area are European Union members, except Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland which are members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) . Two EU members (the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) have opted not to fully participate in the Schengen system (their reasons are outlined above). The main reason that the non-EU states of Iceland and Norway joined was to preserve the Nordic Passport Union (see section Pre-Schengen free-travel zones in Europe).

The Schengen Agreement was originally created independently of the European Union, in part due to the lack of consensus amongst EU members, and in part because those ready to implement the idea did not wish to wait for others to be ready to join. However, the Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated the legal framework brought about meanwhile, the so-called Schengen-Acquis,by the agreement into the European Union framework, effectively making the agreement part of the EU and its modes of legislature. Amongst other things, at first the Council of the European Union, later the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in the codecision procedure, took the place of the Executive Committee which had been created under the agreement, leading to the result that legal acts setting out the conditions for entry into the Schengen Area can now be enacted by majority vote in the legislative bodies of the European Union. This also concerns the original Schengen Agreement itself, which may be altered or repealed by means of European Union legislation, without such amendments having to be ratified by the signatory states. Thus, the Schengen States which are not EU members have few options to participate in shaping the evolution of the Schengen rules; their options are effectively reduced to agreeing with whatever is presented before them, or withdrawing from the agreement. Future applicants to the European Union must fulfil the agreement criteria regarding their external border policies in order to be accepted into the EU.

Entry conditions for third-country nationals

The Schengen rules include uniform rules as to the type of visas which may be issued for a short-term stay, not exceeding 90 days, on the territory of one, several or all of those States. The rules also include common requirements for entry into the Schengen area, and common procedures for refusal of entry.

According to the Schengen Borders Code, the conditions applying to third-country nationals for entry are as follows:

• The third-country national is in possession of a valid travel document or documents authorising them to cross the border; the acceptance of travel documents for this purpose remains within the domain of the member states;
• He or she either possesses a valid visa (if required) or a valid residence permit;
• He or she can justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;
• There has not been issued an alert in the Schengen Information System for refusal of entry, and
• he or she is not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen states.

In other words, mere possession of a Schengen visa does not confer automatic right of entry. It will only be granted if the other transit or entry conditions laid down by EU legislation have been met, notably the means of subsistence that aliens must have at their disposal, as well as the purpose and the conditions of the stay.

There is an exception of these rules for the citizens of Croatia. Based on the Pre-Schengen bilateral agreements between Croatia and it's neighboring EU countries (Italy, Hungary and Slovenia), Croatian citizens are allowed to cross the border with ID card only (passport not obligatory). There has been many disputes whether Croatian citizens will lose this right on 21 December 2007 when Schengen control was established on the land border with Hungary and Slovenia as well as the sea border with Italy. Many people living near the border cross it even few times a day (some work across the border or have land), especially on the border with Slovenia that wasn't marked for more than 40 years as Croatia and Slovenia were a part of Yugoslavia. As Croatia is about to join EU in the matter of years, interim solution that got the green light from European Comission was found: Every Croatian citizen is allowed to cross Schengen border with an ID card and evidention card that is issued by Croatian police on the exit control. Police authorities of Hungary, Italy or Slovenia will then stamp the evidention card both on entry and on exit cross. Croatian citizens, however, are not allowed to enter any other Schengen agreement countries without a valid passport with the entry stamp, but are allowed to travel between Hungary, Italy or Slovenia. This praxis is about to be abandoned once Croatia becomes EU member country when it's citizens will be able to enter any member country with an ID only.

A third-country national who has been granted entry may stay in the Schengen area and travel between Schengen states as long as the conditions for entry are still fulfilled. For stays which exceed three months, so-called national visa (category D) are issued by the relevant Schengen state where the alien intends to reside. Any third-country national who is a holder of a residence permit of a Schengen state, which is granted for a stay which exceeds three months, is allowed to travel to any other member state for a period of up to three months.

EU (Schengen) visa lists

  EU member states

  Special visa-free provisions (Schengen treaty, OCT or other)

  Visa required to enter the EU - annex I countries

  Visa-free access to the EU for 90 days - annex II countries

  Visa-status unknown

The requirement of a visa for short-term stays in the Schengen area which do not involve employment or any self-employed activity are set out in an EU regulation. The list of the nationals which require a visa for a short-term stay (so-called Annex I list) and the visa-free nationals (so-called Annex II list) refers to the nationality of the third-country national and not to the passport or travel document he or she is holding (with an exception to holders of Hong Kong and Macau passport holders, and another exception vis a vis holders of refugee travel documents, where the country which issued the travel document is relevant). Nationals which intend to take up employment or self-employed activity may be required by member states to obtain a visa although they are listed on the Schengen visa-free list; usual business trips are normally not considered employment in this sense.

The uniform visa is granted in the form of a sticker affixed by a Member State onto a passport, travel document or another valid document which entitles the holder to cross the border.

It is granted in four categories:

• Category A refers to an airport transit visa. It is required for some few nationals for passing through the international transit area of airports during a stop-over or transfer between two sections of an international flight. The requirement to have this visa is an exception to the general right to transit without a visa through an international transit area of an airport.
• Category B refers to a transit visa. It is required by nationals who are not visa-free for travelling from one non-Schengen state to another non-Schengen state, in order to pass through the Schengen area. Each transit may not exceed five days.
• Category C refers to a short-term stay visa. They are issued for reasons other than to immigrate. They entitle holders to carry out a continuous visit or several visits whose duration does not exceed three months in any half-year from the date of first entry.
• Category D refers to national visa. They are issued by a Schengen state in accordance with its national legislation as with respect to the conditions (however, a uniform sticker is used). The national visa allows the holder to transit from a non-Schengen country to the Schengen state which issued the national visa within five days. Only after the holder has obtained a residence title after arrival in the destination country (or a different visa), he may again travel to other Schengen countries.
• Category D+C visa combine the functions of the visa of both categories: They are intended to allow the holder to enter the issuing Schengen state for long-term stay in that state, but also to travel in the Schengen area like a holder of a Category C visa.
• FTD and FRTD are special visa issued for transit only from the main part of the Russian Federation to the Kaliningrad area.

Under certain conditions, seamen are issued visa at the border in order to board a ship or travel home from a ship in an EU harbor. Furthermore, visa may also be issued at the border in exceptional cases, e.g. emergencies.

To obtain a Schengen visa, a traveller must take the following steps:

• He must first identify which Schengen country is his main destination. This determines the State responsible for deciding on the Schengen visa application and therefore the embassy or the consulate where he will have to lodge the application. If the main destination cannot be determined, he should file the visa application at the embassy or consultate of the Schengen country of first entry. If the Schengen State of the main destination or first entry does not have a diplomatic mission or consular post in his country, he will have to contact the embassy or the consulate of another Schengen country, normally located in his country, which represents, for the purpose of issuing Schengen visas, the country of his principal destination or first entry.
• He must then present the Schengen visa application to the responsible embassy or consulate. A harmonised form is to be submitted, together with a valid passport and, if necessary, the documents supporting the purpose and conditions of the stay in the Schengen area (aim of the visit, duration of the stay, lodging). He will also have to prove his means of subsistence, i.e., the funds that he has to cover, on the one hand, the expenses of the stay, taking into account its duration and the place where he will reside, and, on the other hand, the cost of his return to his home country. Certain embassies or consulates sometimes call the applicant to appear in person in order to explain verbally the reasons for the visa application.
• Finally, he must have a travel insurance which covers, for a minimum of €30,000, any expenses incurred by emergency medical treatment, or by repatriation for sanitary reasons. The proof of the travel insurance must in principle be provided at the end of the procedure, i.e. when the decision to grant the Schengen visa has already been made.

Requirements for family members of an EU citizen differ from those indicated above. In general, there is no requirement to provide information about one's employment, or to prove one's means of subsistence. In addition, no fee is required for the visa to be issued.

See also

• European Commission
• Maastricht Treaty

Further reading

• Dissertation Topic for architecture Studies. Nicolas Pannetier and Simon Brunel were interested in the disappearance of internal border after Schengen agreement. To complete their research, they travelled along the former 237 checkpoints from Swinoujscie to San Bartolomeo.
• Abolition of internal borders and creation of a single EU external frontier European Commission
• The Schengen Acquis (Official document listing all related agreements)
• Switzerland joins Schengen BBC News article
• Schengen Visa Website (last updated 2003)
• The Schengen area European Navigator
• "Britain open to terror suspects in EU loophole" Daily Telegraph 21 Jan 2007
• "House of Lords European Union Committee Report on SISII" House of Lords 2 March 2007 (Inquiry in to the UK implementation of SIS and progress of SIS II)