I have a schengen visa on my US refugee travel document. I will be landing in prague and then taking a train to vienna and then a train to venice.
I've heard that Vienna (austria) won't allow me to enter their country cuz they don't recognize the US refugee travel document as a valid passport...is that true?
also secondly, if i am just stopping for a day in vienna on a train from prague...will they even check my passport on that train b/c of the schengen open borders agreement?
When I took the train from Prague to Vienna a couple years ago, two agents ---one from Cz. Republic and one from Austria ---came through the train checking documents, and providing an exit and entrance stamp, respectively.
I'm afraid I don't have any answers about the validity of your travel documents, however.
When we went to Budapest there were immigration officials on the train who checked every passport - both ways. Don't know about the refugee item- check with your embassy or the State Dept.
My experience agrees with the previous posters. Your documents will be checked while on the train as the train stops at the border to allow agents to board.
Not sure about your documents though.
Now I'm really confused. I thought the border control between Schengen countries was gone. When I went from Vienna to Bratislava a few weeks ago (admitedly another country) the only thing I got asked for was a ticket. Can someone explain?
Exactly...what's the point of the open borders policy if they still check.
I called every Austrian embassy in the US and they NEVER answer the phone. If you want a question about a visa answered, you have to call a different number and pay 20 dollars on your VISA/MC before they give you an answer...RIDICULOUS !!
I walked in to the Austrian embassy in the LA and the lady told me that Austria is one of those rare countries that doesn't recognize US refugee travel document so I can't go to Austria or I can't even pass thru Austria on my train from Prague to Venice. I had to purchase a flight from Prague to Venice and skip Vienna all together now...UNFORTUNATELY b/c of this policy...
oh well...i means now I have time to go to Capri, Naples, Montecito and Sorrento...any other recommendations? we're already going to venice, cinque terre, pisa, florence, rome.
Far from an expert, but I was told that the Czech Republic is a Schengen country but has not yet joined the Agreement Open Borders" group.
What I know for sure is that I was checked at rail border crossings in and out of Czech republic this year.
So I did walk in to the Austrian consulate in Los Angeles and they told me that Austria does NOT recognize the US refugee travel document as a valid passport so I CAN'T go to or through Austria.
I subsequently emailed a few other Austrian Consulates across the US and the only ones that replied were Chicago and Atlanta and they both said the same thing.
So my trip now is gonna be LA to PRG and then fly from PRG to Venice (rather than taking the train and going to Vienna which I really wanted to do) and then we just added more things in Italy like Capri and the Amalfi coast rather than just stopping and turning back from Rome.
I'm still quite upset that I can't go to Vienna.
Infact, when I got my Schengen Visa from the Italian Consulate, they crossed off 4 countries from the Schengen list that don't allow people with refugee travel passports in their countries. Those countries are: Austria, Iceland, Poland, Portugal...
I have no idea what their reasoning is...
The other interesting thing is, if any holder of a US refugee travel document wants to go to Germany, they DON'T even need a visa...cuz Germany considers any US travel documents equivalent to a US passport. Ain't that cool !!!
