What is the meaning of Schengen and Non Schengen?

Schengen and non-Schengen merely means whether a country has or has not signed the Schengen Agreement and is or is not part of the Schengen Area.

The Schengen Agreement is an EU treaty which has abolished border controls between its member countries.

The agreement currently (2012) includes 29 countries:

- 22 out of the 27 members of the EU (the exceptions are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the UK)

- Plus 4 non-EU members (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

- De facto it also includes three European micro-states-Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican.

Bulgaria and Romania are due to join Schengen in 2013.

In essence it has eliminated all border controls within the Europe Union meaning that you can roam freely from country to country. The EU is a customs union and has abolished customs between members. If you are travelling between two countries which are in both the EU and Schengen, there are no border checks at all, just a sign by the side of the road.

If you are travelling between two EU countries and only one is in Schengen (e.g. UK to France) there are passport checks but no customs.

If you are travelling between two Schengen countries where one is not in the EU (e.g. Sweden to Norway), there are customs checks but no passport checks.