MAIN IMPLICATIONS FOR NON EU CITIZENS
As a citizen of a third country you may enter and travel within the territory of the Member States applying in full the Schengen provisions for a period of up to three months, provided you fulfil the entry conditions laid down in the Schengen acquis, now integrated into the EU:
* the possession of a valid travel document,
* the possession of a short stay visa if required;
* being able to demonstrate the purpose of the journey;
* and the possession of sufficient means of subsistence for the period of stay and for the return
* furthermore, you should not be listed in the Schengen information system for the purpose of refusing entry and you should not be considered to be a threat to public policy or national security for all Schengen States.
If you want to stay longer than three months you still need a national long term visa or residence permit. It is up to the individual countries to set their own requirements.
In 2001 the Council of the European Union adopted a regulation1 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of short stay visas when crossing the external borders of Member States and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.
This means that all Schengen Member States issue visas under the same conditions, taking account of each other’s interests. A visa issued by one Schengen Member State is therefore also valid for the others, which benefits third country nationals wanting to visit more than one Schengen Member State. In exceptional cases, visitors that do not meet the common entry conditions are issued with a visa valid only for the Schengen Member State issuing it. Such cases arise for humanitarian reasons or reasons relating to national interest or compliance with international obligations.
Non-EU nationals legally residing in the territory of a Member State have the right to travel (up to three months) within the European Union:
On the basis of the Schengen acquis, a valid residence permit from a Schengen Member State, together with a travel document, can substitute for a visa. Thus, a third-country national presenting his/her passport and a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State is allowed to enter another Schengen Member State for a short stay without needing a visa. This equivalence does not apply to residence permits issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland, since they do not apply these provisions of the Schengen acquis.
http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/nav/en/c ... index.html
