Romania enters Air Schengen from March 31. What changes are occurring at airports and…

Starting from March 31, border controls will be lifted for citizens of the Schengen states, air and sea border controls will be eliminated, and people will be able to move to or from other Schengen member states without being subject to border controls, reports the Police of Frontier.

In the context of the adoption of Emergency Ordinance no. 25 for the modification and completion of some normative acts in the field of foreigners and the border, starting from March 31 this year, citizens traveling to the countries of the Schengen area will no longer have to go through border control. Specifically, they will no longer stop at the Border Police control filters to have their travel documents checked, they will go directly to the boarding gates. There will be no additional obligation for the passengers.

However, the border police will continue to be present in the airport premises and will carry out punctual and unexpected police actions to verify the identity and legal status of the persons, but also to prevent and combat possible illegal acts.

Police actions will be carried out based on a risk analysis or reasonable suspicion. In such a case, the police officer will be able to take steps to establish the identity of the person and checks in the operational databases. The policemen will be equipped with mobile control devices with which they will carry out these checks.

If the suspicions are not confirmed, the person can continue his journey. If these are confirmed, the person’s trip will be interrupted and legal measures will be applied.

People who are generally or internationally wanted will be detained and handed over to the competent authorities, and those who are found to have committed crimes – possessing prohibited substances, false or falsified documents, are illegal migrants – will be prepared with the documents preceding the criminal investigation.

As for minor Romanian citizens, as in the case of adults, they will no longer carry out border control and will also go directly to the boarding gate. They will NOT need any additional approval, being able to travel in the Schengen area with the same documents as until now.

In this context, we briefly remind you which documents are required when leaving the country in the case of minor Romanian citizens, depending on the situation:

If the minor is traveling accompanied only by a parent or a third person, the following are required:

► Valid travel document
►The consent of the other parent if traveling accompanied by only one of the parents
►Consent of both parents when traveling accompanied by a person other than the parent
►Only the travel document if traveling to home/residence and provides proof of this
►Only the consent of one of the parents when traveling for studies/competitions/medical treatment and proves the stated purpose of the trip
►If the minor is over 16 years old and traveling unaccompanied, he will need:

►Valid travel document
►Consent from both parents
►Only a travel document if it provides proof of domicile/residence in the country where you are traveling
►To check whether the minor Romanian citizens and their companions are in possession of the mentioned documents, the border police can carry out spot checks in the airport premises. If it is found that they are not in their possession, they will not be allowed to leave the country.

Accompanying minors, other than the parents or the legal representative, are no longer required to present the criminal record certificate in physical format, it is consulted electronically by the border police. However, if the border policeman finds that the minor’s companion has committed certain crimes provided for by law, he will not be allowed to leave the country with the minor.

It is about the following crimes: murder; crimes against sexual freedom and integrity; crimes related to the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable persons; unlawful deprivation of liberty; crimes related to drug trafficking or precursors; trafficking in human tissues or organs; crimes of terrorism.

For trips to non-Schengen countries, both for Romanian adults and minors, the travel conditions remain unchanged, and the documents will be checked at the Border Police control filters.

The Romanian Border Police is prepared for integration into the Schengen Area by air and sea starting from March 31. In addition to rethinking the device and organizational measures, which aim to protect citizens, especially minor Romanian citizens, measures were also ordered to facilitate border transit by citizens traveling to non-Schengen states.

One of the measures consisted in relocating the automatic control gates. They represent a modern solution with the help of which a large number of European citizens moving to countries outside the Schengen area can be processed in a short period of time.

These are of real help, considering the large flow of passengers at Henri Coandă International Airport. Only last year it was transited by approximately 15 million people, with an average of 43,000 people per day in the summer season.

These are the changes in the Emergency Ordinance aimed at the activity of the Border Police and the manner in which the border police will put them into practice after March 31.