Anybody willing to share how Schengen/EU borders are for foreigners?
Last year was the first time I traveled outside Australia since 2001, but my Australian passport was issued about 5 years ago. So there was not a single stamp in it.
On my way to Russia I had a stopover in Amsterdam for about 4 hours so I went out to have a walk around the city.
The customs officer had a look through my clean passport and asked "Travel much?". We had a laugh and in a few seconds I was in Amsterdam.
I flew to Madrid from St. Petersburg and then drove from Spain to southern France to Rome and flew back to St. Petersburg. Well, when you drive from one EU country to another there is technically a border but nowhere I was even stopped. In the airports they generally ask you to open your laptop but that's it. The most strict one was in Warsaw - I think I had to take my shoes off and place them on the conveyour. And you walk through a metal detector, but if you put your watch and wallet on the conveyour it generally doesn't detect anything, unless you have a huge belt buckle or something like that.
Well, with a Lybian or Iranian passport the experience could be quite different I assume ...
What was maddening was the process of applying for a visitor's visa. In addition to forms, it required around 25 pages of auxiliary documentation, including her most recent pay-slip; a print-out of her bank balance on the day of submission; a letter addressed to the embassy from her employer attesting to her position, her monthly salary and her length of employment; a travel insurance policy covering the length of the stay; a round-trip plane ticket; a letter of several pages from me, accompanied by evidence such as photos, describing how and when we first met, when I most recently met her, the total amount of time we have spent together face to face, etc.
That was for a two-week stay over the holidays. Fun.
Also, when you are inviting someone into "Schengen"/EU, you are taking quite a huge responsibility because any and all costs for the state or hospital bills can ultimately be billed to you. So trying to see the upside of things, you could say they are just making sure all bases are covered.
On the upside, you won't get shot at the border - I'm looking at you, USA/Mexican border.
We seem to have a 50/50 rate of whether they'll actually open your passport or not. Higher chances when flying in from the UK/US, lower chances when you're flying in/out of a city which isn't in the 'top 3' for each country.
The only question my wife has ever been asked, was leaving Italy; the chap wanted to know why she didn't have a stamp showing her date of entry. We had flown in from Zaragoza, Spain, and simply hadn't met any passport control. Deplane, baggage, and out the front door. We showed him a ticket stub showing that we'd entered the country less than 2 weeks ago, and got waved away.
The only noticable difference we've had between her (american) passport and mine (british), is that it is (or was?) difficult, verging on impossible to do an online check-in with RYR.
(to the original post; I don't travel to the US. ever. Mostly because I've put my 'status' in a gray area by walking out on a residency permit. You think it's bad when you're routine. hah!)
Supposedly you get more attention if you're Arab-looking, though (I'm rather white), and there can be visa hassles if your passport isn't from a western country.
She has also crossed borders in Italy and France, and was treated very well each single time; I am sure that the fact that she speaks Italian fluently and has an advanced level of French was a positive factor, but nonetheless she was treated just like any EU-citizen there.
On the other hand, EU visas can be very troublesome. I wouldn't recommend London as a photographer friendly place, either. Now, Hong Kong... that's a city/state/SAR with fantastically efficient and painless customs.
I travel extensively through the EU (probably cross an EU border at least 10 times/year on average) and never had any issues except for 1 time in Berlin where the immigration officer asked why I have been in the EU for so long.
I showed him my Austrian residency permit and he waived me through.
My girlfriend is English and I'm American. For the first 3 years we were together, it was impossible for me to live in England or for her to live in the US. Instead we rented an apartment in Spain and lived there with never a word from EU immigrations about my coming or going.
Granted, getting a visa to live there legally as an American is next to impossible. But at least in Spain, they just plain never check.
Both times my passport was checked in Paris... just a "what's the purpose of your visit", a look at the passport and visa, and a wave through. In Geneva, there was no border control (just a "go this way if you have anything to declare" or "go this way to the street" fork). In Zurich, there was another border guard; same deal as in Paris.
My issue with the Schengen scheme is the process of getting the visa itself. The requirements are a bit over the top, and it's expensive, think its's about £80 for a French Schengen.
The UK, however, is pretty well known for being rather strict with immigration procedures and border controls.
I guess this means that Schengen countries have extensive cooperation and will adopt joint standards in time.