Rights and obligations you should be aware of prior to departure
| Author | European Commission |
| Pages | 5-11 |
Page 5
As a citizen of a Member State of the European Union, you have the right to enter any other EU country without having to comply with special formalities. All you need is a valid passport or identity card.
Your right to travel may be restricted only on grounds of public policy, public security or public health. Accordingly, your right to travel does not depend on your circumstances; whether you are travelling for professional or private reasons, whether you are working in an employed or self-employed capacity or whether you are simply a tourist, you have the right to travel anywhere in the European Union.
Provided your stay in another EU Member State does not exceed three months you do not have to ask for a residence permit. The only constraint that may lawfully be imposed on you in certain countries is a requirement to notify the authorities of your presence. In most cases this is done automatically when you check in at the hotel or when your landlord fills in a declaration in respect of the tenancy (see fact sheet on "Notifying your presence to the authorities in another country of the European Union").
If you stay for more than three months you must apply for a residence permit. To find out more about your rights as regards residence and, where applicable, your rights as a person working in an employed or self-employed capacity, as a jobseeker or as a student in another EU country, consult the guides entitled "Living in another country of the European Union", "Working in another country in the European Union", "Routemap for jobseekers in the European Union" and "Studying, training and doing research in another country of the European Union".
Members of your family, whatever their nationality, may go with you. Your family is defined as your spouse, children under 21 (or dependent on you), as well as your parents and your spouse"s parents, if they are also dependent on you 2.
For citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries studying in another EEA country, family members are defined as your spouse and children under 21 or dependent on you.
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Members of your family who are travelling with you should, as a general rule, also have a valid passport or identity card. The legislation of the Member States often provides, in the case of minors, who are not personally entitled to such a document, for the issuance of a special identity card or for an entry to be made in the passport of one of the parents (for details of the special provisions applicable in this respect to minors of Irish nationality, please contact the national authorities, whose particulars are given under the heading "Useful addresses").
Please note that, if members of your family are not EU nationals, the Member State(s) to or through which you intend to travel may, depending on the nationality of the individuals concerned, require an entry visa (see fact sheet on "Obtaining a visa for members of your family who are not nationals of a Member State of the European Union"). This visa should be granted free of charge and without undue formalities by the relevant consular authorities.
Caution: the right of travel enjoyed by the members of your family under Community law is not an independent right; in other words it applies to them only if they accompany you. Accordingly, members of your family who are not nationals of a Member State of the European Union are not entitled to the visa arrangements mentioned above when travelling alone.
Conversely, members of your family who are not nationals of a Member State of the European Union do not require an entry visa if they reside in a country that has signed the Schengen Agreement and wish to travel to another Schengen country: they may travel freely without you accompanying them and without a visa in the Schengen area provided they are in possession of their identity document and their residence permit.
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The European Union has set itself the objective of creating an area without internal frontiers in which persons may move freely, irrespective of their nationality.
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam which incorporated the Schengen provisions into the framework of the European Union, this objective was achieved by eliminating checks at internal borders between the Member States that have signed the Schengen Agreement ( ).
The EU"s internal borders can therefore be crossed at any point without checks being carried out. Persons crossing a land border or flying between Member States that have signed the Schengen Agreement and those taking a ferry crossing between two Schengen States are no longer subject to border checks.
The provisions of the Schengen Agreement nevertheless stipulate that Member States retain the option of invoking a safeguard clause. This allows the Member State concerned to temporarily reintroduce checks on persons at its borders for reasons of public order or national security.
Although checks at internal borders have been eliminated, it should be stressed that the Schengen States have retained the right, on the basis of their national legislation, to carry out identity checks throughout their territory as part of police duties. Under these circumstances, you simply need to carry an identity card or a valid passport, and a residence permit where necessary.
EU citizens travelling from a Schengen State to the United Kingdom or Ireland or vice versa may be subjected to checks. However, such checks may not go beyond the provisions of Community legislation in force. These borders may therefore be crossed simply upon production of a valid identity card or passport. In principle, no question may be asked as to the purpose of your journey, your means of subsistence, etc.
Passport checks in the case of members of your family who are not nationals of a Member State of the European Union may, where applicable, be aimed at establishing whether a visa has been issued and their status as a member of the family of a national of an EU Member State, i.e. the status that carries with it the right to enter the territory in question.
On the other hand, under the terms of the common travel area, there are in principle no longer any checks on persons travelling between the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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When travelling within the European Union you are in general entitled to take your personal effects with you without restriction.
However, for reasons of public interest, Member States may prohibit or restrict certain goods such as drugs, products from endangered species or certain types of pornography.
This also applies to firearms, the transport of which to other EU Member States is governed by very strict rules. If you are a hunter or engage in a sport involving the use of firearms, you must be in possession of a European firearms pass in order to take your weapon with you to another EU country. For information on the formalities concerned and the requirements for entitlement to the pass, please contact the competent national authorities (see the fact sheet "Useful addresses" at the end of this guide).
In addition, you may take with you medicinal products that have been prescribed for you by your doctor or which you have purchased lawfully in the Member State in which you reside or have been travelling. Please note, however, that the medicines you are allowed to take with you must not exceed the quantities corresponding to your personal needs.
You may take with you all the money you need in the course of your travels. Although restrictions on capital movements have been abolished within the European Union, certain Member States may, for administrative and statistical reasons, require you to declare how much money you are bringing into or taking out of their territory. The Member States concerned have set thresholds above which transfers must be declared. In practice these thresholds exceed the amounts most travellers actually take with them on short journeys. The thresholds do, however, vary considerably between Member States ( ). If you plan to transport a large sum, you should consequently first find out what level of threshold the country you are travelling to imposes and whether you will have to declare the sum.
Apart from the money you may wish to take with you, you may also transfer the money you might need on your travels.
Should you wish to do so by making a transfer in euro, please refer to the brochure "Cross- border credit transfers in euro" to obtain further information on this subject.
Remember, however, that if you want to transfer a large sum between banks in the European Union, you may be asked to provide certain details for statistical reasons. The same applies if you use an intermediary other than a bank, e.g. the post office.
In addition, the national authorities have the right to carry out checks if they suspect that transfers of funds are connected with criminal activities (e.g. money laundering).
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You may, subject to certain requirements, take your pets with you when travelling to another Member State. For example, in the majority of Member States a current valid certificate of vaccination against rabies is needed for dogs and cats. These are standard certificates obtainable from your veterinary surgeon. For Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom, however, there are certain special requirements. In Sweden you must register the import of your cat or dog and ensure that it complies with several health requirements, including a rabies vaccination and subsequent blood test.
Ireland and the United Kingdom may, in particular, require all imported animals to undergo a six-month period of quarantine. However, the United Kingdom has recently lifted this requirement for pet dogs and cats subject to certain conditions.
The embassy or consulate of the Member State of your destination will be able to provide all relevant details of any necessary formalities.
The principle of mutual recognition of licences issued by Member States is enshrined in current Community legislation. This means that if you have a valid driving licence issued by a Member State of the European Union it will be valid, throughout the EU, for the class or classes of vehicles for which it was issued in the Member State of origin.
Page 10
When motoring abroad you are required to follow the highway code of the country concerned.
The only equipment and accessories Member States may require you to carry on board your vehicle are those that are compulsory under the legislation of the Member State in which the vehicle is registered. However, Member States may require the carrying of a hazard warning triangle in your car, even when this is not compulsory in the Member State of registration.
The rules on driving are largely the same throughout the Union. The wearing of helmets by motorcyclists and their passengers is compulsory throughout the Union, as is the use of safety belts and child restraints if the vehicle is fitted with them. In addition, road signs provide some information on specific provisions, such as maximum speed limits. Some rules are not always displayed, however, such as the maximum permissible level of alcohol in the blood, which varies from 0.2g to 0.8g per litre depending on the Member State.
If guilty of a breach of the highway code you are therefore liable to the same penalties as those which apply to nationals of the Member State concerned.
The registration certificate issued for your vehicle in a Member State of the Union allows you to use that vehicle anywhere in the Union. Accordingly, if your vehicle is registered in the Member State in which you reside, and you are in possession of the registration certificate concerned, you are entitled to travel to any other Member State in your car or on your motorbike.
If you are driving a vehicle in another Member State and the person in whose name the vehicle is registered is not on board, you must be able to justify your possession of it (for example, by carrying a paper signed by the owner confirming that he has lent it to you).
You do not normally have to produce your "green card" or insurance certificate when crossing an internal frontier of the European Union, because the licence plates of your car are taken as evidence that you have taken out compulsory civil liability insurance in your own Member State.
If, however, you are responsible for a car accident while travelling in another Member State, your insurance certificate or card will constitute proof that you are covered by an insurance policy enabling the victim(s) to obtain compensation. Moreover, if you are the victim of a car accident for which you are not responsible while travelling in another Member State, you will be indemnified either in accordance with the rules in force in that Member State or in accordance with the rules in force in your country of residence if the level of indemnification in the latter is higher. These rules still differ from one Member State to another but, irrespective of the Member State, you are guaranteed minimum Page 11 coverage of up to EUR 350 000 for personal injury and EUR 100 000 for material damage. The overall amount paid out may, however, be limited in certain Member States where the same accident results in a number of victims.
If the accident is caused by an uninsured or unidentifiable car, you are entitled under Community law to compensation from the motor vehicle guarantee fund of the Member State in which the accident occurred (for further information on motor vehicle insurance, please see the guide entitled "Buying goods and services in the single European market").
If you suddenly fall ill or have an accident in another Member State of the European Union in which you are staying temporarily, you and the members of your family are entitled to immediate healthcare, including all urgent necessary medical care required. In addition, students, seconded workers, and persons entitled to social security pensions or annuities, as well as members of their families, are entitled to non-immediate healthcare during their stay.
To facilitate the provision of immediate health- care you should be in possession of an E111 form. This attests that you are affiliated to a health insurance scheme in a Member State and enables you rapidly to receive immediate healthcare in the country in which you are staying temporarily. You are accordingly advised to obtain an E111 form from your national health insurance authorities prior to departure.
You will still be entitled to receive immediate healthcare even if you do not have an E111 form, but you may then be asked to pay for that healthcare in full. You would be entitled to claim a refund from the authorities responsible for your health insurance scheme for reimbursement in accordance with the rates applicable in the country of treatment.
Note that the E111 form does not give you the right to automatic reimbursement for health- care if you go abroad specifically for the purpose of receiving healthcare.
For information on the circumstances under which you may qualify for healthcare when staying for longer periods in another Member State, please consult the guide "Working in another country of the European Union" or "Studying, training and doing research in another country of the European Union", depending on which one is more relevant to your circumstances.
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Notes
[2] Proof of kinship is usually provided by copies of birth certificates, or records of family relationships (e.g. marriage) on identity documents, or in the case of children, inclusion in the parent"s passport or family record book.
[3] All the EU Member States except the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus Norway and Iceland.
[4] In 1997 for example, the lowest threshold imposed by a Member State was EUR 2 000 and the highest over EUR 10 000.
