Schengen: border free travel, Bulgaria still outside of the zone

Located in Luxembourg, the small village of Schengen played an important role back in year 1985. Then was signed the first agreement among several countries of the European Union that aimed to remove the border controls between these countries and to get common borders. The agreement was named after the village and the free travel zone became popular as Schengen zone. Ten years later, in 1995, the countries that applied these rules were eight. Throughout the years, their number increased to twenty-two states, members of the European Union but also non-members such as Liechtenstein and Switzerland, Iceland and Norway. Other countries, such as Ireland and Great Britain, do have border controls but are still sharing information with the countries from the Schengen zone. Bulgaria, along with Romania and Cyprus are waiting to be accepted. In order for Bulgaria to be accepted in the Schengen border free travel zone, it still needs to cover certain requirements and standards.

The Sofia based politicians are making their best to answer the requirements and to make sure that Bulgaria secures its borders with the neighboring countries that are not members of the European Union, in order to prevent crime and to stop the entry of illegal immigrants. Bulgaria has already gone through a certain transition period of several years, but in the beginning of March, its entry in the Schengen zone was postponed.

Schengen zone could be entered from many parts of Asia and Africa through a special visa. This is also valid for countries like Turkey and Russia. People from Australia and Japan, North and South America can enter the zone without a visa. At the same time, the Western Balkan countries except Kosovo, do not need visas for the Schengen area.