Twenty-two EU member states participate in the Schengen Area and 26 European countries have abolished passport and border control.
Where Did it all Begin?
In 1985 Schengen Agreement was signed in Luxembourg near the point where the borders of Germany, France, and Luxembourg meet. The signing in this small wine-making village and commune took place at Schengen Castle. The original building dates back to 1390, but it was virtually rebuilt in the 19th century and now operates as an hotel and conference venue. When consensus could not be reached among all member states on the abolition of border controls, the Schengen Area was established separately by five of the then ten European Community members. In 2006, the village itself was renamed Shengen in recognition of the agreement.
Schengen Member States
Twenty-two of the twenty-seven EU member states now participate in the Schengen Area and twenty-six European countries have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control on mutual borders. They now function under a single jurisdiction for the purpose of international travel and have a common visa policy.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania are legally bound to join the area in the future, while Ireland maintains an opt-out. The four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, which do not have EU membership, have also signed agreements in association with the Schengen Agreement. And the three European microstates, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City, which are enclaves within an EU member state, are de facto part of the Schengen Area.
It is estimated that before the Coronavirus crisis about 3.5 million people commuted to work across internal European borders each day – in some regions constituting up to a third of the workforce.
Consensus was reached on absorption into EU procedures as more EU member states signed the Schengen Agreement. The outer borders of the Schengen Zone are around 50,000 km long, of which eighty percent is water and twenty percent land. Within the Schengen Zone are hundreds of airports and maritime ports.
What is a Schengen Visa?
A Schengen visa allows a short stay for tourism or business purposes of up to 90 days in total within any members of the Schengen Area. The Schengen region is the EU passport-free zone that covers most of the countries in Europe constituting the largest free-travel area in the world.
As there are no border controls within the Schengen Zone, the Schengen visa holder is given the freedom to enter, travel between borders within, and exit the zone from any of the Schengen member countries.
However, if you plan to work, study, or live in any of the Schengen countries for more than 90 days, then you have to apply for a national visa of that European country. In 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak, over 15 million people used their Schengen visa to travel around Europe.
Portuguese Golden Visa
One of the real perks for foreign nationals who choose to invest in real estate in Portugal is the ability to apply for permanent residency and citizenship after 5 years without the need to reside in Portugal permanently. The applicant is only obliged to visit the country for two weeks every two years in order to renew the Portuguese Golden Visa. Having acquired residency through the Golden Visa program however, the applicant will need to demonstrate ties to the country and pass a basic language test.
Citizenship of Portugal and a Shengen passport carries with it the right to live, work and study anywhere in the European Union for the investor, his spouse, and his dependents. Portuguese residency through the Golden Visa program allows the holder to travel throughout the EU Schengen zone.
Willem Maritz
16 Oct 2020
1:43 pm
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