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Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience - Travel (2) - Nairaland

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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by JaffyJoe(m): 11:20am On Sep 10, 2017
Hungary is very sensitive about illegal migrants issue of late. Victor Orban is opposed to refugees quota imposed by Merkel led EU so any noticeable fishy movement has tendency to be randomly double checked these days.

Won't hurt to always keep your passport close in those areas before you find yourself in the international wing of Muritala Muhammed Airport.

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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by don4real18(m): 11:20am On Sep 10, 2017
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Wallace2107: 11:20am On Sep 10, 2017
kelvinUchiha:
Nice info bro...
I'm planning on going to Czech republic in January
Is there racism in schengen zones.
When you buy things and ask people for direction do they become racist?
ive stayed in Sweden on assignment.its a schengen state.they are friendly and not really racist.cops don't even bother u except u go outta ur ways to get into trouble.not all them states under schengen are hostile to foreigners or racist.

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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Pesuzok(m): 11:22am On Sep 10, 2017
You can carry a clear copy of your passport + visa. Besides, just like the cops did, if you dont have it with you they will take you to get it.

I dont think it is something you have to worry about. It is their country and it could be part of their immigration policy to randomly check.

1 Like

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by bookface: 11:22am On Sep 10, 2017
My holiday/travel rules:

1) Don't travel to places where majority haven't yet met or seen a black person. - i fcking hate the bewilderment glances

2) Don't travel to places where it's difficult to sue the police or the government

3) Avoid places where nationalism is ingratiated in the culture

4) Always keep an identification document with you - this is a sensible policy, even if you are not travelling outside of your resident area

5) Don't get into a fight with locals in places where majority don't speak English. - Preferably, don't get into a fight at all, unless to defend yourself.

14 Likes

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by zulex880: 11:22am On Sep 10, 2017
shocked
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Olasco93: 11:22am On Sep 10, 2017
Just do what they desired of you for security reasons... Many foreign countries are not like Nigeria where anything go in and out.

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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Edrevolution: 11:23am On Sep 10, 2017
You are very lucky, it was even better, you don't want to try that in Poland. You first go to detention for 30-90 days before they even talk of passport.

The worst senerio is they will never ever speak one English with you, they will tell you they don't understand nor have the right to do so..

1 Like

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Nobody: 11:23am On Sep 10, 2017
Never stepped out of this country for now. Good info though
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by KenModi(m): 11:24am On Sep 10, 2017
ayokellany:
Glad your write up is not one criticising for being security conscious. It is only common sensical for you to go everywhere abroad with your passport. I find it hard to believe many Nigerians make flimsy complain about not wanting to go everywhere with their passport yet they very well know that if the situation was in Nigeria the Nigerian police will not even allow you to go inside the hotel before arresting n possibly deporting you.

U just summed up d Nigerian police in those kind words
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by belindar: 11:24am On Sep 10, 2017
There is racism everywhere even within our own Nigerian communities. Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba.
That is why BUHARI will never respond to Fulani cattlemen mayhem across Nigeria but, he can send a minister to go to ILe Ife in Yoruba land to go and arrest only the yoruba's during the fight that broke up between the Hausa and Yoruba. He transferred them to Abuja to be dealt with. No single Hausa man was arrested.
There is racism that is Also why Buhari has never arrested a single Arewa youth but he send his armies and police to arrest the BIAFRA and kill some them.
There is Racism , Look at Buhari Appointment so far and come back to me to dispute all I have just said.

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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Akanbibabatunde(m): 11:27am On Sep 10, 2017
Just how a friend was detained for 8hours in Paris for not having an I D ....
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by chidooh1: 11:28am On Sep 10, 2017
It reminds me of my days in kosovo as an immigrant worker. Always be with a means of identification especially passport.

6 Likes

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Domwiz4all(m): 11:28am On Sep 10, 2017
Had similar experience, I was fortunate to have my passport with me.
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by chatmate: 11:29am On Sep 10, 2017
my own expr

This happened to me in Poland, for about 15min I was with a polish girl and with other naija friend by train station, then, I was with my dutch permit study card.. and they wanted to go home with me, but I refused lol, (HOME KE LOL OMO NA WAHALA B DAT O) they started speaking polish to the girl, the girl was pissed and shouted at them, the police asked her to be polite later they had to leave and I was just laughing. hahaha...


For sure this happen to me every time i fly within the European zones, your permit is not enough. !!!

abeg can I travel without visa to ireland anyone? with just study permit..(make dem no send person back to 9ja o lol)

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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Nobody: 11:31am On Sep 10, 2017
While in eatern Europe(7yrs), I always move around with my passport with me.
Hate being embarrassed by these racist cops.
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Nobody: 11:32am On Sep 10, 2017
Brother it is very illegal for them to do that .
That is discrimination they should never ask you for your passport
That is sad you have to go through that
All my life abroad i have never been asked for my passport
IT IS A CRIME
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Mekanus(m): 11:33am On Sep 10, 2017
People who take security of their country serious. A Nigerian police man would rather kill a fellow Nigerian to protect an illegal migrant from India.
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by greggng: 11:36am On Sep 10, 2017
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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by ipobarecriminals: 11:37am On Sep 10, 2017
Artorius:
A bombing in the Middle East, a landslide in Myanmar or a forest fire in Latin America are some of those events which one reads about in the news but never imagine will directly concern them.
In like manner, I have heard of experiences of foreigners in the Schengen zone who have been randomly stopped by the police to determine their immigration status but for some reason, I never thought that such will happen to me.

I am a student in Lithuania and last month I travelled to Hungary where I spent 5 days in Budapest and 3 days in Nyíregyháza – a small city, North-West of Hungary. Except for some gypsies and a few tanned Europeans, I was the only coloured person there and that naturally attracted a side glance or two. Nevertheless, I was surprised when at 10.20pm on my way to the McDonald’s, a police car pulled up beside me. I have seen several stories of police brutality especially against coloured people on Facebook, so I was naturally alarmed and my mind ran through a dozen scenarios of what could possibly happen. Three cops came out of the car and one of them said to me ‘passport please’. Well, I was on a casual trip to the McDonald’s at night and did not think to have my passport with me, as a matter of fact, I almost never do, except I need it for a specific reason, a passport is too valuable an item to carry around. I was slightly annoyed that I was halted just for my passport and I told them that it was in my hotel which was just around the corner. The cop talks over the walkie-talkie briefly and asks me to get into the car so that we can go to the hotel and get my passport. They could not speak fluent English but the instruction was clear: ‘Passport’, ‘car’, ‘hotel’. Never in my life have I been in a police car so my reluctance and extreme distaste can be imagined and perhaps tolerated, I calmly told them that I had no interest in getting into the car, but at night, with the language barrier, 3 white cops and one black boy, I reconsidered my position and got in. We drove to the hotel where I got my passport from my luggage and handed it over to the cops. They wrote down my full name and ran my data through some sort of hand held device and after 10 agonizing minutes in which I am inwardly furious, my passport is returned to me and the lead cop with some gestures imply that I should always have my passport while in Hungary. The ordeal was over at about 10.45pm and I had to forget about the burger because I wouldn’t make it to the McDonald’s on time and I was too pissed to think of asking the police to give me a ride cheesy
Herein is the question. As a resident of a Schengen state, should I always have my passport when walking on the streets of Schengen member states and is it legal for the police to randomly ask to see my passport? Is it right for the police to ask about the immigration status of an immigrant?
I have made some research, discussed with some colleagues and the specialists at my university and arrived at the following conclusions:

1.One should always have an identity document for security reasons – in this case, the passport. I had my Lithuanian student card
but it was insufficient as an ID because I was in Hungary.

2.The laws vary across Schengen member states but apparently, police checks do happen thus the need for one especially a third
world national to always have their passport or resident card.

In practice, it is not necessary to always have your passport if you are in big cities because there is A TON of foreigners for example in Budapest, and it is impractical for the police to try to find illegal residents in this way I guess. So it might be just fine to leave the passport at your hotel. But for small cities such as Nyíregyháza where there are few foreigners and coloured people are a rarity, it is helpful to have your passport on your person at all times if you don’t want to miss that burger.

It would be great to have more experienced travellers share their insight smiley
God bless u for ur gentleman attitude not like we dey do back home,brag%fight with Niagra police(some of them are cursed with bribe/thieves) when stopped. We began to speak in unknown tongue(mixed grammar with pidgin)bring out phone and kal a Ghost superior just to xcape delay.

2 Likes

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by budosky(m): 11:38am On Sep 10, 2017
Evaberry:
lol




Most nairalanders don't know what a passport is neither do they have one.

What kinda conclusion is this? Most?
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by temptnow: 11:40am On Sep 10, 2017
Evaberry:
lol




Most nairalanders don't know what a passport is neither do they have one.
who passport help

1 Like

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by successinlife: 11:43am On Sep 10, 2017
It is legal for police in shenghen states to ask for your identity,resident card or your passport as a student or visitor,note-all shenghen citizens move around with their identification card for so many reasons,one is in case of disaster/danger for fast and easy identification that would help to administer the first aid and onward treatment should it be grave,like cardiac arrest or when blood is needed to easily know your medical history and blood group.It should also be noted that criminals are easily trapped and arrested because of regular crime database,psychiatric cases are not also left out.All these are just to protect the citizenry,nationals and foreigners inclusive.

USA and Nigeria do not follow this system of policing and this is why these two countries may not ask for passports or identificattion.UK is an exception because they do not have identity as well but mere giving your name and date of birth all is known about the person in few minutes though i am not 100% on how UK policing works but i have been asked and giving my data helped to let me off,i was only asked to tell them the day i came into the country,which i gave and parents name was also asked.I think should there be any discrepancy,i would have been held.

My advise,criminals prefer staying in small towns because they think the police control there is not much,hence the police work at random and may stop anybody to ask for identity,this they do to their citizens too,it is not racism and i think it is for our safety.

About asking for assistance in English where English is not their language,it is a loto game,I will not blame a Czechs for not speaking english,
just as i will not blame a Nigerian that doesn't speak french in Ibadan/Enugu or Kano.Every nation is proud of their languages.Learn the basics or have a translation devise handy if you find yourself in a country you don't understand their language.

11 Likes 1 Share

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by Chukazu: 11:43am On Sep 10, 2017
DeutschJunge:
Hungary is one of the most racist countries in the world.. I have heared stories from refugee that pass through there on their way to Germany not even blacks and they never have anything good to say..


Sometime ago I was watching a documentary on one of the news outlets and there's this city in Hungary where they are looking for investors, selling their land very cheap but you have to be European white specifically English to be allowed to live there talk more if investing there..

Schengen Europeans are the most useless set of people in this world..

Germany
Poland
Hungary
Switzerland

Very useless


------------------------------------------------------

All those making excuses for the cops have no clue The subtle message in this write up.. you can be in a group of 30 people say 20 are nationals. The remaining are a mix of foreigners but if ur the only black there ur the first person police will come straight for and most times only person..

Switzerland too?

thought they are more tolerant?
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by hokafor(m): 11:44am On Sep 10, 2017
The police saw you and controlled your movement, Is normal. You are expected to carry identification card / passport When moving around as a foreigner. even the citizens of your host country also move around with their identifications. The police are simply doing their job.

1 Like

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by decatalyst(m): 11:45am On Sep 10, 2017
Evaberry:
lol




Most nairalanders don't know what a passport is neither do they have one.

Well, I do have one. May I use it to enter into your chambers, mi lady? wink cheesy
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by blackfase(m): 11:46am On Sep 10, 2017
Its always ok for your immigration officers to pester non citizens here for papers but not right for other countries to do same to us, cos were Nigerians right?
My brothers wife (Brazilian) was here and even though she came through the international airport, she was asked for her passport around Agbara area. What goes round must come round....

3 Likes

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by win2kwire: 11:49am On Sep 10, 2017
maybe some ibo drug dealers operated there and they mistook you for one.
I noticed ibo drug peddlers in Budapest rail and bus stations, and in some smaller Hungarian cities, they are also using romanian gysies to deal for them.
What most global police forces call Nigerian criminals are typically igbos
there is also the syrian crisis whereby some black africans used the opportunity to cross the border into hungary enroute to germany.

Hungary and poland have recently been sanction by the EU for racism and refusing to accept refugees.

Hungary has the highest numbers of prostitutes and pornopraphic people in the europe but they are also one of the most racist poor people in eastern europe!
beware!

3 Likes

Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by akashi01(m): 11:51am On Sep 10, 2017
greggng:



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Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by ip2121918021(m): 11:51am On Sep 10, 2017
chatmate:
my own expr

This happened to me in Poland, for about 15min I was with a polish girl and with other naija friend by train station, then, I was with my dutch permit study card.. and they wanted to go home with me, but I refused lol, (HOME KE LOL OMO NA WAHALA B DAT O) they started speaking polish to the girl, the girl was pissed and shouted at them, the police asked her to be polite later they had to leave and I was just laughing. hahaha...


For sure this happen to me every time i fly within the European zones, your permit is not enough. !!!

abeg can I travel without visa to ireland anyone? with just study permit..(make dem no send person back to 9ja o lol)

Omo you can't go to ireland or the UK o wink
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by DeutschJunge: 11:57am On Sep 10, 2017
Chukazu:


Switzerland too?

thought they are more tolerant?

If you are a millionaire yes! But normal human baba u are on a long thing
Re: Traveling In The Schengen Area? Always Have Your Passport!-a Personal Experience by edward1984(m): 11:57am On Sep 10, 2017
kelvinUchiha:
Nice info bro...
I'm planning on going to Czech republic in January
Is there racism in schengen zones.
When you buy things and ask people for direction do they become racist?



I have been to Czech more than a dozen times and never experience any form of rasicm, and the people a pretty friendly... Good luck

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