What is Schengen?

The Schengen Convention abolished the checks at internal borders for the signatory states and created a single external frontier with checks to be carried out in accordance with a common set of rules .
This freedom of movement within the EU was accompanied by Schengen measures involving a common visa regime, improving coordintation between the police, customs and the judiciary and taking additional steps to combat problems such as terrorism and organised crime.

The countries currently members of the Schengen convention

Slovenia became part of the Schengen arrangement in December 2007, along with Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta.

Earlier members are  Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Norway.

Countries preparing to join the Schengen area are Switzerland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania.

The Schengen arrangement does NOT apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Please see the notes below for further information.

What changes has Schengen area brought to Slovenia?

Controls at the borders with Austria, Italy and Hungary were abolished, while at the same time those with Croatia were reinforced. Slovenia’s entry into the Schengen area implies that the country protects the common EU external border.

Requirements for border crossing have not changed much. The only difference is that there is no control at internal borders, which used to be carried out by the police. However, every EU citizens is still required to carry a valid identity card or a passport in order to move within the EU Member States.

Free movement within the EU

The new legislation simplifies conditions and administrative formalities for applying EU citizens’ right to travel and reside freely throughout the European Union. This means that the citizens of the Member States of the European Union and their families have the right to:

• Move and reside permanently within the territory of the EU, without the residence card. EU citizens have the right of residence in any other EU Member State, provided their stay does not exceed three months in duration. The only constraint that may lawfully be imposed in certain Member States is a requirement to notify the authorities of their presence. In most cases, this is done automatically on check-in at a hotel, or when a landlord fills in a declaration in respect of the tenancy. For duration of stay of more than three months in another EU country, citizens need to apply for a residence permit.
• Enter any other EU country with a valid passport or identity card without having to comply with special formalities, regardless of his or her situation; whether travelling for professional or private reasons, working in an employed or self-employed capacity or simply a tourist.
• Have their immediate family, whatever their nationality, travelling with them (as long as they fit the criteria of the 'immediate family').
• Obtain visas for non-immediate family members who are not nationals of an EU Member State to travel with them. This freedom applies to non-EU nationals only when they travel with an EU citizen.

Third country nationals

Citizens of third countries may enter and travel within the European Union provided they fulfil the entry conditions. They must be in possession of a valid travel document or a visa if required for a period of up to three months.
The common visa policy applies to the entire Schengen area. This means that a person with a visa issued by a Schengen state can also travel to other Schengen states. Schengen members use a common visa form, a common list of third countries whose nationals need visas, and a harmonised procedure for issuing visas.

United Kingdom and Ireland

On the basis of a protocol annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam, the United Kingdom and Ireland maintain autonomous visa, immigration and asylum policies. They have not signed up to the Schengen Convention and have thus not ended border controls with the other EU Member States. They may participate in those aspects of Schengen that entail cooperation between police forces and the judiciary, if they explicitly declare their willingness to do so.

For this reason, EU citizens, as well as third-country nationals, still have to show their passports when travelling between the UK or Ireland and the rest of the EU (although not between Ireland and the UK, which together with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man constitute a common travel area for which passports are not needed).

In principle, no question should be asked as to the purpose of the journey, means of subsistence, etc.

Non-EU citizens are still required to comply with the UK visa entry regulations, regardless of whether they posses a permit to travel to travel to Other EU Member States within the Schengen area.