Refugee Travel Document: Travelling Within the Schengen Area

[Solo4Life]

So as you know some Schengen countries are now asking for visas for UK Travel document holders. If you are travelling to multiple countries within the Area and your entry point of entry is a country that doesn't require visas for travel document holders, for example, Germany, but then you are planning to enter a country that does require you to hold a visa (like Austra or the Czech Republic), do you need to have had a Schengen in advance?
Many thanks in advance

[CR001]

Yes, you would need to hold a Schengen visa in advance of traveling to the relevant country.

[Solo4Life]

Yes, you would need to hold a Schengen visa in advance of traveling to the relevant country.

thanks CR001, so basically i need to get a visa even though no one is going to check it.

[Zerubbabel]

Yes, you would need to hold a Schengen visa in advance of traveling to the relevant country.

thanks CR001, so basically i need to get a visa even though no one is going to check it.

No one to check it? I travel a lot within Schengen and they do check.

They don't always check, but I don't remember a single a trip where I didn't have to show an ID.

Even on the train, you may get the police "randomly" checking IDs. Germany and Switzerland they do blatant facial profiling. So depending how you look like, Schengen doesn't exist for you.

[Solo4Life]

Yes, you would need to hold a Schengen visa in advance of traveling to the relevant country.

thanks CR001, so basically i need to get a visa even though no one is going to check it.

No one to check it? I travel a lot within Schengen and they do check.

They don't always check, but I don't remember a single a trip where I didn't have to show an ID.

Even on the train, you may get the police "randomly" checking IDs. Germany and Switzerland they do blatant facial profiling. So depending how you look like, Schengen doesn't exist for you.

I haven't travelled as much, 4-5 times but they have never checked my visa, except on arrival ofc. If you travel by bus/train, they check your visa? I assume they don't check you randomly in public right?
I even travelled from Amsterdam to Berlin by flight and no one checked, but that was in 2015 so maybe things have changed.

[Zerubbabel]

They don't check randomly in public. Except in Switzerland where if you look foreign / darker they may single you out in the street or train platform to ask for an ID. Pay attention the Train Police. They are in deep green jackets and anyone who doesn't look local is controled.

I took the Thalys train from Paris to Germany. 80% to 90% of the times, there is a control. If the French control, they usually ask the entire car to show IDs. If the German control, they usually pick up some passengers. It's easy to guess who they pick up. The Swiss do the same but they are even more predictable. I can take any train and bet you £100 about whom will be controlled. It never fails.

[secret.simon]

basically i need to get a visa even though no one is going to check it.

They definitely do check, particularly when entering/exiting Germany for sure.

Two summers ago, my bus was held up at the Austrian-German border when the police decided to ask everybody for their papers. They got onto the bus and found an Egyptian who did not have a visa (though he did have his Egyptian passport). It is not impossible that it was not an intelligence guided check.

The other time, I was on my way from Belgium to Germany, but forgot my passport in my hotel in Belgium. And there was another thorough check of the bus. I fessed up straightaway and got off the bus, so as not to hold the bus up. Thankfully, I was carrying my UK EHIC card and a DeutscheBahn Bahn 25 card. Seeing those and having verified my identity, the police let me off with a warning.

Most assuredly there are checks.

Keep in mind that the continental mindset is very different from the British. On the continent, all residents (including citizens) are expected to carry identity papers at all times. Therefore even if there is a check on them on the street, it is quite likely that they will have papers on them at all times. So papers can be checked at any time, not just at the time of travel.

[Solo4Life]

basically i need to get a visa even though no one is going to check it.

They definitely do check, particularly when entering/exiting Germany for sure.

Two summers ago, my bus was held up at the Austrian-German border when the police decided to ask everybody for their papers. They got onto the bus and found an Egyptian who did not have a visa (though he did have his Egyptian passport). It is not impossible that it was not an intelligence guided check.

The other time, I was on my way from Belgium to Germany, but forgot my passport in my hotel in Belgium. And there was another thorough check of the bus. I fessed up straightaway and got off the bus, so as not to hold the bus up. Thankfully, I was carrying my UK EHIC card and a DeutscheBahn Bahn 25 card. Seeing those and having verified my identity, the police let me off with a warning.

Most assuredly there are checks.

Keep in mind that the continental mindset is very different from the British. On the continent, all residents (including citizens) are expected to carry identity papers at all times. Therefore even if there is a check on them on the street, it is quite likely that they will have papers on them at all times. So papers can be checked at any time, not just at the time of travel.

That’s terrible that they randomly check ID cards. I think it shouldn’t happen in free countries. The police shouldn’t have the power to stop people at will. Unless they have good reasons. Ofc, they’ll check my passport in Germany but I’m allowed to go there without a visa, since I have the travel document. I thought they wouldn’t check if you travel within schengen. Either way, I’m not going to do it if I need a visa to enter a third country. I was just saying that it’s not cool.

[negmas]

Do you guys know if visa required with Refugee travel document to France, Croatia or Spain? I saw today that Spain required visa as of Feb 2020, do you guys know if France and Croatia also have new restrictions?

thanks

[Solo4Life]

Do you guys know if visa required with Refugee travel document to France, Croatia or Spain? I saw today that Spain required visa as of Feb 2020, do you guys know if France and Croatia also have new restrictions?

thanks

France and Croatia don’t require visas, yet. It sucks that Spain now asks for visas as that was a place I liked to go a lot but oh well, cest la vie.

[Jalalleo]

Hi Guys,
I have Certificate of travel (black) Do you know which countries allow to visit? I recently applied for a Shengen visa(Germany) Can I use the same visa to enter other countries?