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The Schengen group, or the Schengen area, includes the countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement. Although the external borders of this area are guarded with a great care, control on internal ones is removed completely.

Safety in the Schengen area is guaranteed via the enhanced control of external borders; close cooperation between the border control services, police forces, and legal institutions of all Schengen countries; the implementation of a unified Schengen visa policy; and the functioning of the Schengen Information System.

Expansion of the Schengen Area

On December 6, 2007, the European Union (EU) Council of Justice and Internal Affairs Ministers adopted a resolution approving the decision of nine new states — Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia — to join the Schengen area. These nine states, joined by Switzerland, will remove control from internal land borders beginning December 21, 2007.

Control at air borders will be removed beginning March 30, 2008, taking into account new timetables of flights.

After the adoption of this resolution, the Schengen area covers 25 states:

- 13 old member states of the EU: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Finland, Sweden and Germany;

- 9 new member states of the EU: Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia;

- 3 states that do not belong to the EU: Norway, Iceland, and an associated member of the Schengen group — Switzerland.

The citizens of the 25 states that belong to the Schengen group have equal rights to travel without any restrictions.

The EU member states Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Cyprus do not belong to the Schengen group. The United Kingdom and Ireland still keep control on borders with other EU states, but they are committed to provide police and legal cooperation in criminal cases.

Free Movement of People

The Schengen policy allows the removal of the control of borders between Schengen states, sets common rules for the control of external borders, prescribes a common visa policy, and overseas additional internal border control instruments for special cases (for police and legal cooperation in criminal cases). These regulations have the following direct effect on the free movement of people:

• no border control on internal borders
• people crossing the external borders of the Schengen area are treated according to common rules
• at airports and when possible at seaports, people travelling within the Schengen area are differentiated from those coming from states that do not belong the Schengen group
• joint rules for short-term visits and the issue of visas are applied

The most noticeable effect of the Schengen Agreement on people is that a person crossing the internal borders of Schengen states does not have to pass through passport control. This does not mean, however, that travelling within the Schengen area is the same as travelling in one state and that no personal identity document is required. Representatives of legal institutions in any Schengen state are entitled to check the identity of a person present in their territory according to the requirements of national legal acts. The laws of each member state prescribe whether a person must have personal identity documents or not. Citizens of any EU state are entitled to travel throughout the EU for personal or business matters without restrictions — to enter any EU state without any special formalities — only with a valid passport or personal identity card in hand. An EU citizen’s right to travel may be limited only by certain considerations about public order, safety or health. Member states reserve the possibility to apply temporary border control if any danger to national safety or public order is suspected (e. g. the danger of a flood of refugees). Border control may also be temporarily restored during global sports events.

Great attention is paid to the strengthening of the external borders of the Schengen area; this involves both physical (implementation of new technologies and monitoring systems) and legal (the application of harsher penalties for crossing a border illegally, a more rigorous visa policy, and a special regimen for entering the Schengen area) aspects.

The Schengen Information System (SIS) is an electronic database containing information about undesirable or wanted people (criminals, illegal aliens, etc.), thefts (stolen identity cards, guns, vehicles, etc), and so on.

The Schengen Agreement

The Schengen Agreement is the main document concerning the step-by-step removal of internal border control. It was signed by five EU member states (Belgium, Germany, France, Luxemburg and the Netherlands) in 1985.

The Schengen Convention, signed in 1990, is a document about the implementation of the agreement concluded in 1985. The convention eliminates control on internal borders of states that have signed the agreement, fixes common rules for the control of external borders, and governs additional internal border control instruments in special cases. The Schengen Convention came into force in 1995; and in May 1999, when the Amsterdam Treaty came into force, the convention was included into the Acquis of the European Union.

Since then, the legal and institutional basis of the European Union has started to apply and develop the provisions of the Schengen Acquis.

The Schengen Acquis

The Schengen Acquis is a set of intergovernmental rules applicable in Schengen states. It includes:

- The 1985 agreement that was made between the States of Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the French Republic and concerns the step-by-step elimination of border control on their common borders

- The Schengen Convention concerning the implementation of the Schengen Agreement of 1985

- The accession protocols of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden and resolutions and representations of various Schengen institutions

- The council resolution of May 20, 1999 concerning the definition of the Schengen Acquis for the purpose of determining, in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty on European Union, the legal basis for each of the provisions or decisions which constitute the Acquis (1999/435/EC).

- The council decision of May 20, 1999 that determines, in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Treaty on European Union, the legal basis for each of the provisions or decisions which constitute the Schengen Acquis (1999/436/EC).

Some of these provisions were replaced or amended by later legal instruments of the EC/EU. The complete set of applicable provisions is called the Schengen Acquis.

The Schengen Acquis sets specific instruments that compensate for the elimination of control on internal borders and enhance security of the external borders of the EU. The main instrument is the requirement for member states to ensure suitable and efficient control of external borders of the EU. People from Schengen countries can enter the territory of any Schengen state for a short-term visit without any restrictions. Thus, it is extremely important to ensure strict control over the external borders of the EU and protect countries from illegal immigration, drug smuggling, or other criminal activities.

Common Visa Policy

Countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement apply a common visa policy. The Schengen group requires only one visa; this means that a person wishing to travel anywhere in the Schengen area needs to get only one visa. From the first day Lithuania joins the Schengen group, institutions of the Republic of Lithuania will start to issue Schengen visas and have the access to the Schengen Information System (SISone4all), including the system of Schengen visa inquiries — VISION.

Being a member of the EU, Lithuania has already applied such EU regulations (directly applied documents) concerning the common visa policy that fix:

- the shape of visa inserts

- the list of countries to which citizens may travel without visas

- the list of countries for which citizens are obliged to get visas.

Having become a Schengen state, Lithuania applies all the requirements of the Schengen Acquis.

Changes in the Visa Regimen for Citizens of Non-EU Countries

Short-term Visit (Less Than 90 Days)

Citizens of non-EU countries may arrive at and travel around those states that apply Schengen provisions for three months if they meet all requirements stated within the Schengen Acquis, i.e.:

- possess a valid travel document

- possess a visa for short-term visit, if such is required

- can state the purpose of their visit

- can prove that they have enough money for their stay and return home

- are not present in the Schengen Information System as people who are undesirable or dangerous to the public order or national safety of any Schengen state.

Citizens of non-EU countries who intend to stay longer than three months must obtain a long-term (D category) national visa or a permit to live. Requirements for the receipt of national visas and permits to live are enumerated in national legal acts.

The Schengen Group Requires Only One Visa

Foreigners wanting to travel around the Schengen group need to have only one visa.

From the first day Lithuania joins the Schengen group, it will start to issue unified short-term visas allowing travel around the Schengen territory; foreigners, who already have valid visas issued by another Schengen partner, will be allowed to stay in all Schengen states, including Lithuania, during the period their visa is valid.

Schengen states apply a common practice for the issuance of visas, taking into account the interests of each other they set unified requirements for the documents that are to be attached to the application and fix the same charge for the examination of a visa application; therefore, any visa issued in one Schengen state is also valid in other states. This practice is especially good for those citizens of non-EU countries who intend to visit several Schengen states. In exceptional cases, when people do not meet joint visa requirements, a Schengen state may issue a visa that is valid only in one country. Such exceptions are connected to cases related to humanitarian, national or international issues.

People That Have Permits to Live Within the EU Do Not Need Visas

To arrive in a Schengen state for a short period without a visa, it is enough to have a valid permit to live issued by another Schengen/EU state and any travel document. Permits to live issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland do not give the right to travel without visas since those countries do not apply the Schengen Acquis.

Visa Applications Should Be Addressed to the Schengen State That Is the Main Destination of a Trip

Citizens of non-EU countries who intend to visit a Schengen state must apply to the embassy or consulate of that state for visas. If a person intends to visit several Schengen states, the application must be submitted to the embassy or consulate of the member state that is considered the main destination of the trip. If a person intends to visit several Schengen states and it is impossible to determine which state the main destination is, he/she must submit the application to the embassy or consulate of the member state that will be visited first.

Visas issued before Lithuania joins the Schengen group (i.e. before December 20) will remain valid till the expiration of their validity, but such visas will allow the traveller to arrive only in the Republic of Lithuania.

Charge for the Examination of Visa Application

The charge for the examination of a Schengen visa application was fixed by the Decision of the EU Council 2006/440/EC of June 1, 2006 and is EUR 60.

Privileges

The Council Decision 2006/440/EC and other legal acts of the EU set various privileges.

No charge is applied for:

- Children under six years of age

- Schoolchildren, students, postgraduate students, and attending teachers who are travelling for educational or academic purposes

- Scientists who are travelling for the purpose of conducting scientific research within the EU.

In exceptional cases, the charge may by reduced or a person may be exempt from it if this helps to promote national culture, foreign policy, national development, or other spheres of public interest or due to humanitarian reasons.

Reduction of or exemption from this charge is also possible in order to simplify the present visa-application procedure between the EU and a particular non-EU country.

The charge is not applied to family members of EU and EFTA citizens.

Visa Issuance on the Basis of an Agreement Between the EU and Non-EU Country (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Western Balkan Countries)

The charge for the citizens of those countries (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkan Countries) that before January 1, 2007 obtained the mandate of the EU Council to negotiate with the European Commission the simplification of the visa-application procedure, will stay EUR 35 until December 1, 2008.

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