Airplanetire From United States of America, joined May 2001, 1809 posts, RR: 3 Posted (10 years 11 months 2 weeks 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 6137 times:
Some of this belongs in the Civil Aviation forum, but some of it doesn't, so I'll put it here. I have some questions about passport control in the European Union. If you fly from one EU country to another, must you go through passport control at the arrival airport? What is the policy with the UK? If you fly into the EU from a non-EU country and are continuing to another country in the EU, do you go through passport control at your entry point to the EU, or your final destination? If you enter an EU airport from a non-EU country and are just connecting to a flight that is exiting the EU and does not stop over in the EU, must you clear passport control? If you enter the EU on a flight from outside the EU and that flight continues on to another destination in the EU and you are on that continuing leg, where do you go through passport control? Now here is my non-aviation part. How is border crossing from EU country to EU country? I made a border crossing by bus from Spain to France earlier this summer and it was pretty minimal. We stopped at a little check point very briefly and that was all. What about from non-EU country into an EU-country? Thank you for any info that you provide!
707cmf From France, joined Mar 2002, 4885 posts, RR: 32 Reply 1, posted (10 years 11 months 2 weeks 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 6120 times:
If you fly from one 'Shengen' country to another (i.e. France, Italy, Germany... Sorry, I don't know the list), you will not have a single control.
However, if you go to UK, you are required to have a valid passport (an I.d. would be enough for a E.U. citizen, but as a U.S. citizen you will need a passport)
If you have a flight let's say JFK-CDG-TLV (so U.S., then E.U. then something else), well.... I don't know if you have to clear passport. I did though have to do it last winter when I flew CDG-MIA-SDQ, but I don't know what the policy is in Europe.
Same thing for the U.S.-E.U-E.U. flight, although I'd say you go through passport control at your arrival in E.U. as there will probably be no control after the second flight.
Now, if you cross French-Spanish border by bus, I can guaranty you that you will almost certainly get no passport control.
Jwenting From Netherlands, joined Apr 2001, 10213 posts, RR: 21 Reply 2, posted (10 years 11 months 2 weeks 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 6113 times:
Correct.
If you fly JFK-CDG-TLV you'r probably not get past passport control but check for the 2nd leg as a dedicated transit desk inside the secure area.
For a flight US-EU-EU, it would be the same as a flight EU-US-US. You arrive in an international terminal, go through customs (I think in the EU your bags will be checked through automatically, might depend on the airport) and check in for the other flight. You'd then no longer have to go through customs (though still passport check at checkin and boarding for security reasons).
Airplanetire From United States of America, joined May 2001, 1809 posts, RR: 3 Reply 3, posted (10 years 11 months 2 weeks 3 days 1 hour ago) and read 6093 times:
Thank you. When I was in Spain and France earlier this summer, I had to make a stopover at LGW for a fligth to BCN. We only had to go through security in LGW, but no passport. Does anyone know the Shengen countries?
PHX-LJU From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 4, posted (10 years 11 months 2 weeks 3 days ago) and read 6088 times:
Airplanetire, the Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
Mls515 From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 3069 posts, RR: 9 Reply 7, posted (10 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 6050 times:
Airblue-
True, mostly. I went by coach from London to Athens. We were subject to search while entering France from the ferry (but weren't, only the ferry company checked to see whether we HAD passports). We entered Switzerland (not in Schengen) from France. There was no departure check in France and the Swiss waved us through although we were subject to border formalities. Leaving Switzerland into Austria all of our passports were collected and recorded but there was no questioning. From there we were clear on into Germany, back into Austria, into Italy and over to Greece with no border checks to speak of. When I flew from Greece back to the UK my passport was checked in both Athens and London by immigration officials.
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