One of my all time favorite movies is Casablanca (1942) in which a struggle to obtain visas for free transit out of that Nazi-occupied North African colony of French Morocco is a central theme.
In any 1940's Hollywood European war/intrigue/spy movie there's usually a scene in which national police board the train at the border to inspect passports. "Your papers, please," demands a stern faced police officer.
That has happened to me occasionally, as when I took the train from Prague to Budapest and Bucharest a few years back, or the express from Paris to Frankfurt. There was a moment's hesitation as the French, German, Czech, Hungarian or Romanian immigration officer came through the railway car checking passports. He took my passport, then glanced at me to make sure my face matched the picture. As the inspector thinks to himself: "Not another American tourist!," you think to yourself, "Am I in trouble?" (Usually not).
Passport Power
Until a century ago almost everywhere in the world passports generally were not required for international travel. Such documents were mainly used to insure passage by diplomatic emissaries sent to negotiate peace treaties or carry official papers.
But in more recent times governments use passports to control (and watch) the movements of their citizens. That official control was especially prevalent in Europe during the Cold War years, and it has returned with a bureaucratic vengeance, especially in the U.S. since the 9-11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Borderless Europe
But now, at least in Europe, official border checks are largely a thing of the past, at least for the residents of 25 of the 27 nations of the European Union, plus non-EU member Switzerland, as of last month.
From December 12, 2008 Switzerland is part of the "Schengen Area," a zone covering 4,268,633 sq km (1,648,128 sq mi) offering unrestricted travel to 450 million Europeans. (The Schengen agreement also allows closer cooperation with the EU on cross-border police and asylum matters. The agreements were named after the small town of Schengen in Luxembourg where they were signed).
Switzerland Too
Switzerland's joining the Schengen Area, a 25-member European block, allows it to enjoy passport-free travel within and between these 25 member states. Switzerland is not an EU member, but it has several treaties with the EU. (Swiss voters have repeatedly, and wisely, rejected full Swiss EU membership, preferring their historic independence and neutrality).
Switzerland is not the first large non-EU country to join the passport-free zone. Norway and Iceland are also members, although as members of the European Economic Area (EEA) they are associate EU members. And two EU members, Britain and Ireland, by choice, are not members of the Schengen Area in an effort to control their immigration from outside.
Schengen = Freedom of Movement
The term "Schengen Agreement" describes two international treaties (1985, 1990) dealing with cross-border legal arrangements and the abolition of border controls that are now part of the EU code of laws. The main Schengen purpose is the abolition of physical barriers to cross border movement among European countries.
This borderless, Schengen free travel zone greatly enhances the usefulness of a passport issued by any EU member nation. That EU citizenship status allows the passport holder not only to travel, but to live, work, or establish a business in any of the EU nations, a major potential commercial and investor plus.
For non-EU residences, a common Schengen visa allows travel for tourism, business visits or temporary transit for employment. Non-EU citizens who hold standard EU residence permits from a Schengen state enjoy freedom of travel to other Schengen states for a period of up to 90 days.
You can learn all about dual citizenship and second passports, including those from EU countries, in one of my most popular books, The Passport Book, now in its sixth edition. Click here to learn more.
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