Established in 1995, the Schengen Zone or Schengen Area encompasses 29 European countries which have officially abolished border controls at their mutual frontiers, making for seamless travel between them.

But the return of controls at the German border is throwing into perspective some of the other limitations on the freedoms of the Schegen zone, particularly for non-EU citizens who are officially resident in France.

Schengen countries

The Schengen zone is not quite the same as the EU – most EU countries are part of it but there are a couple of exceptions, while some other countries are part of the Schengen zone but not members of the EU.

The Schengen zone countries are; Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. 

Travel between these countries usually does not involve a border check, while commercial traffic can also pass freely between these countries without requiring customs checks or import taxes.

It’s worth noting that the tiny microstate of Andorra, situated between France and Spain, is not a member of the Schengen zone, meaning that customs officials can check what you are bringing back into France and limit the amount of items such as cigarettes, alcohol and household products (which are significantly cheaper in Andorra since it has no sales tax).

The EU member states of Ireland and Cyprus are not part of the Schengen zone.

Police checks 

While Schengen zone countries agree to abolish border checks, they can impose police checks at the border if they feel this is necessary.

This could be either temporary – for example if one country is on heightened alert for terrorism – or on a longer-term basis as Germany has recently announced it will be doing.

During the Covid pandemic many Schengen borders saw the return of regular police checks in order to enforce health restrictions. 

Police have the right to check the documents of anyone crossing the border and to perform a search of baggage or vehicles if applicable. 

Documents 

Although in practice crossing an internal Schengen border may involve no checks at all, the rules still state that you need to have a valid travel document.

For non-EU citizens who are resident in France, this means a passport. A carte de séjour is a residency document – it proves your right to re-enter France and can also be used as an ID document but it is not a travel document. You should therefore always have with you a valid passport when travelling in Europe.

Non-EU nationals may also have their passports stamped at the border, although in practice this is rare.

For EU citizens, a national ID card – such as the French ID card – does count as a travel document, which means you don’t need a passport in order to travel within the Schengen zone (although since Brexit the French ID card can no longer be used to travel to the UK).

Freedom of movement

Non-EU citizens who have residency status in France (visa or carte de séjour) have the right to unlimited stays in France for the duration of their card/visa – however this does not extend to other EU countries.

Once a non-EU national leaves France, immigration rules kick in, which for countries that benefit from the 90-day rule means a limit in stays to 90 days in every 180.

Although in practice a lack of border checks mean that there is not strict controls, non-EU citizens who are resident in France should be aware that their right to stay in other EU countries is limited. Likewise having residency in France does not entitle you to work in another EU or Schengen area country.

These rules do apply to Brits who have the Brexit carte de séjour known as WARP or Article 50 TUE, since onwards freedom of movement (ie moving to a different EU country) was not part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement deal.

Overstayers

If you have over-stayed in one EU or Schegen zone country, this risks barring you from entry to all the others.

There are a range of sanctions for ‘over-staying’ – which includes both remaining in a country after your visa/residency card has expired or over-staying your 90-day allowance – and they can include being barred from re-entry to both the country you over-stayed in and the other 28 Schengen zone countries.

Even if you are not officially banned, having the ‘over-stayer’ stamp in your passport can lead to increased checks and scrutiny at an internal Schengen border. 

READ ALSO What happens if you ‘over-stay’ in France?

EES/ETIAS 

In good news, the EU’s new Entry & Exit System of enhanced biometric passport controls – due to come into effect on November 10th – is only applicable at external EU/Schengen borders. Therefore there is no need to complete EES pre-registration if you are making a trip between two Schengen zone countries.

The same will apply to ETIAS, once that comes into force in the spring of 2025.

EES and ETIAS: The big changes coming for travel in Europe