Hi all,
Forty days left in our countdown!! How does customs work in regards to train travel? We are flying into Brussels from US, training it throughout Europe and back to US from Brussels. We understand customs at airports but how about trains? Thanks in advance!
You will only go through customs at the airport when you land. You will not go through customs at any EU borders, that is long gone.
Thanks, Alex. Check that off my anxiety list. :)
What part of Europe are you traveling to? When we went into Croatia via bus we were all stopped and the bus was inspected and each persons passport was closely examined. Make sure you get your entry stamp when you land in Brussels. I hadn't gotten my entry stamp when we landed in Rome (the entry guards were just waiving everyone through) and it almost created a problem. They asked me several questions and eventually let us enter, but it could have been a problem. There are also borders crossing into Bosnia where we had to go through the same routine. So again, it depends where in Europe you will be traveling.
As I said any EU member as in Germany, France, Austria, Italy, etc. Switzerland as well as it in the Schengen area. You will get your passport stamped when you enter at Brussels I have never had a situation where it was not stamped. You should go through passport control where they will stamp the passport. They will stamp it again when you depart Brussels. But for all of the major EU countries you will not go through customs at their borders.
There are no formal customs examinations on trains within Schengen countries, but despite the usual principles you may sometimes have your passport checked on trains or at stations.
Jenny, there is customs and there is immigration (passport control). These are two different things, customs is easy (they just do random checks and you may not notice you have passed through customs), passport control can take time.
Most countries in Europe are in both the EU and Schengen, so there are no customs or passport controls, nothing, zilch.
You can travel from Belgium to Portugal or to Finland without going through any checks.
But, there are some exceptions. The UK is in the EU but not in Schengen, so if you are taking a train between France and the UK you have to arrive 30 minutes early to go through passport checks before boarding the train.
Switzerland is in Schengen but not the EU, so there is customs but no passport checks. Though they only random check a very small percentage of train travellers.
"I have never had a situation where it was not stamped."
Alex, in 2000, I flew into and out of Frankfurt in Aug/Sept. They stamped my passport both in and out. In Mar 2001 I returned to Frankfurt, but they forgot (?) to stamp my passport. When I left, also from Frankfurt, the immigration officer paused for a second because my only entrance stamp was from six month before. It looked like I had been in Schengen too long. Then he saw the exit stamp from September and realized I had left on time; it just wasn't stamped on my return. He shrugged and gave me an exit stamp.
I have both had my passport just not stamped on arrival, or if stamped, is just a blob, or so light as to not see it. Never had to resort to it, but I usually have a copy of my itinerary and maybe my boarding card from arrival tucked away someplace. If moving in and out of the Schengen zone, not a bad idea to keep a bit of a paper trail (tickets, hotel receipts, etc.) in case asked about your travels.
