International border crossings

[Jonesy55]

Originally Posted by x-type

because you're not from "suspicious" country.

That's true, you can't trust these Croats

Originally Posted by x-type

we must fullfill some imigration forms, that usually takes 15-45 minutes. but it's only for UK. )

For Ireland too, we have a sort of 'mini-schengen' with the Irish Republic, you can travel on boats or planes without a passport and there are no checkpoints on the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Originally Posted by x-type

when we enter Schengen zone, we get the entrance sign (as everybody) and if we change country (by a plane or boat), we they just check if we have entrance sign (the sign is this ink thing that policeman at bordercrossing puts into your passport, i don't know in english )

It's called a stamp.

I was disappointed that I didn't get a stamp when driving from Slovenia to Croatia, the border guards just waved me through with no checks and on returning to Slovenia they looked briefly at my passport but didn't stamp it.

[x-type]

Originally Posted by Jonesy55

That's true, you can't trust these Croats

Originally Posted by Jonesy55

I was disappointed that I didn't get a stamp when driving from Slovenia to Croatia, the border guards just waved me through with no checks and on returning to Slovenia they looked briefly at my passport but didn't stamp it.

that's really weird because Slovenians are really not miserly at all when they have to stamp the passports! in my passport each entrance stamp has its outgoing counterpart, and as much i i've seen, the same situation is with my friends too. maybe in summer when it's really crowded they don't stamp that much, but ink industry like them indeed!

[Qwert]

Originally Posted by x-type

but when you land by plane or boat, you don't have to pass too complicated border controls.

@KHS: nor Sna Marino, Lithuania and few more countries (7 i guess), but i have never liked to go abroad without passport

Yes, I know I don't have to pass controls.

BTW, is it possible to travel to Croatia from Schengen country only with ID card or do I need a passport?

EDIT: Bonus photo of border crossing Jarovce(SK)/Rajka(H). Look at it carefully beacause it will disppear soon.:

[x-type]

Originally Posted by Qwert

Yes, I know I don't have to pass controls.

BTW, is it possible to travel to Croatia from Schengen country only with ID card or do I need a passport?

depends where are you from. EU citizens can enter to Croatia only with personal ID

[KHS]

Originally Posted by Jonesy55

I was disappointed that I didn't get a stamp when driving from Slovenia to Croatia, the border guards just waved me through with no checks and on returning to Slovenia they looked briefly at my passport but didn't stamp it.

Let me guess... It was probably Saturday in the middle of tourist season.

[Qwert]

Originally Posted by x-type

depends where are you from. EU citizens can enter to Croatia only with personal ID

I'm from Slovakia so ID card will be enough.

[x-type]

Originally Posted by Qwert

I'm from Slovakia so ID card will be enough.

web of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs says so

[Jonesy55]

Originally Posted by KHS

Let me guess... It was probably Saturday in the middle of tourist season.

I don't remember what day it was but it was late September, there was a queue of maybe three or four cars but it wasn't very busy. The crossing was by the coast, near the Secovlje salt pans on the Slovenian side.

[x-type]

well, that's weird then they were not in the mood

[Qwert]

Originally Posted by x-type

web of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs says so

Last year I've been in Croatia only with ID card. I was wondering if it will be still possible even after joining Schengen. You have excellent highways, only a bit expansive especially on Central Europe circumstances.

[ChrisZwolle]

Last time i went to Sweden, they stopped me at the border, i think because i have drugs..uh Dutch ( ) plates. They asked me if i was in Sweden before, and if i knew anyone in Sweden, and if the car was mine. They didn't want to see any papers, just some questions.

[Grotlaufen]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

Last time i went to Sweden, they stopped me at the border, i think because i have drugs..uh Dutch ( ) plates. They asked me if i was in Sweden before, and if i knew anyone in Sweden, and if the car was mine. They didn't want to see any papers, just some questions.

Yea, customs are a pain-in-the-ass. You never know when/if they appear, sometimes they check all the trains too and other times they sit inside their booths drinking coffee. A trick if you don´t want to be stopped is to open up your window before approaching them, because the officer/s then believe you´ve got nothing to hide since your´e showing a willingness to co-operate

[Maxx☢Power]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

Last time i went to Sweden, they stopped me at the border, i think because i have drugs..uh Dutch ( ) plates.

They're only allowed to stop you if they suspect you're smuggling, so that's very likely

[ChrisZwolle]

Originally Posted by MaxxPower

They're only allowed to stop you if they suspect you're smuggling, so that's very likely

Yeah, since we are the narcotica state in Europe (and i'm not proud of that), i think they pick Dutch cars faster as German cars.

[Maxx☢Power]

NL = narkolangare = drug dealer

[ADCS]

Originally Posted by Chriszwolle

Yeah, since we are the narcotica state in Europe (and i'm not proud of that), i think they pick Dutch cars faster as German cars.

Pretty much why the border controls between the US and Mexico are so much stricter than those between Canada and the US, though that has changed in recent years.

Of course, there's other aspects to it as well, but that's not something exactly to be proud of.

[TheCat]

Originally Posted by ADCS

Pretty much why the border controls between the US and Mexico are so much stricter than those between Canada and the US, though that has changed in recent years.

Of course, there's other aspects to it as well, but that's not something exactly to be proud of.

Yeah, border control is being tightened between Canada and the US. Previously, you wouldn't need a passport to cross. All you needed was a valid ID, like a driver's license (in Canada and the US we don't have identity cards). However, beginning in January 2008, passports will be required to pass between the two countries by land, and passports have already been required for some time to pass by air.

[Alex Von Königsberg]

It doesn't feel right - in Europe the borders are being erased while the US-Canada border is being tightened even further.

[ADCS]

Originally Posted by Alex Von Königsberg

It doesn't feel right - in Europe the borders are being erased while the US-Canada border is being tightened even further.

Yep. The increasing supply of high-quality marijuana from British Columbia is one part of it. The other part is that the current administration has gotten so many people freakishly afraid of terrorists from other countries. It's really quite disappointing.

[rick1016]

Originally Posted by TheCat

Yeah, border control is being tightened between Canada and the US. Previously, you wouldn't need a passport to cross. All you needed was a valid ID, like a driver's license (in Canada and the US we don't have identity cards). However, beginning in January 2008, passports will be required to pass between the two countries by land, and passports have already been required for some time to pass by air.

It's pretty stupid, IMO. We are two developed nations. Both being some of the wealthiest in the world, yet we are going backwards in this case. Seems to me we should be making it easier to cross border, especially with the free trade happening.