Nordic Passport Union - Nordic Countries and Schengen

Nordic Countries and Schengen

As of 1996, all Nordic countries had joined the larger Schengen Agreement, now comprising 26 countries in Europe.

From 25 March 2001, the Schengen acquis fully applied to the five countries of the Nordic Passport Union (except for the Faroe Islands, which remain outside the Schengen Area). Border checkpoints have been removed within the Schengen zone. However, there are some provisions in the Nordic Passport Union that give extra rights for Nordic citizens, not covered by Schengen, such as less paperwork if moving to a different Nordic country, and fewer requirements for naturalization of citizenship. Within the Nordic area, any Nordic ID card (e.g. a driving license) is valid for Nordic citizens because of the Nordic Passport Union, while a national ID card or a passport is required in other Schengen countries. Most Scandinavian people do not own any Schengen approved national ID card, so they need a passport when visiting Schengen countries outside the Nordic area.

Before 2001, full customs checks were required for ferry travel when travelling from Denmark to other Nordic countries. There was no land border with Denmark before July 2000 when the Öresund Bridge was opened, which had relaxed customs check from the start. Nordic citizens did not need to be in possession of a passport, but a passport could be useful for those not natively speaking a Scandinavian language. As a part of the customs check, at least when arriving from Denmark and non-Nordic countries, every car driver was asked about where they had been, and suspicious people were subject to further checks. For land and ferry travel into Denmark and between Sweden, Norway and Finland, there were much more relaxed customs and passport checks, and often no checks at all. For air travel, there were full passport and customs checks, even though verbally claiming Nordic citizenship with a Scandinavian language, plus showing the ticket for the intra-Nordic flight, or any Nordic ID card, was usually enough to pass the passport check. It happened that Nordic citizens without a passport were not allowed to pass until a thorough identity investigation had been made, usually for people looking non-Nordic. Passengers travelling by public transport, such as train or air, were usually not interviewed by the customs control.

From March 2001, the Schengen rules have given more relaxed customs checks from Denmark, including no passport checks at airports, since intra-Schengen travellers are separated from the travellers from outside the Schengen area.