travel to europe

[pvz]

hi
i am having a doubt about travelling to slovakia by car..
i am having EEA Family Permit. i am holding a indian passport.
my question...?

i am having slovakia visa. can i travel by road with out having a schengen visa on 21 december 2007. i hear that borders are lefting from 21 dec 07.
cuz i cant get schengen visa due to appointment problem in french embessy there is no appoint date for seven weeks.

is it safe to do....
i surf the net to find the answer but i cant find it.
if any one know please help me ....

[archigabe]

Expanded Schengen attracts tourists
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7152051.stm?lsm

A much-awaited expansion of the European Union's Schengen arrangement, which allows people to cross borders without having their passports checked, is cheered by tourists visiting from outside the EU.

The expansion will make it easier for them to travel within large parts of Europe, and thus it is also greeted warmly by tourism industry officials in old and new EU states alike.

The Schengen zone, which does not include the UK and Ireland, will be joined by nine countries on 21 December: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta. Switzerland will follow suit in 2008, becoming the 25th Schengen state.

The expansion matters little to travellers from EU countries, since they can already travel freely within the EU.Similarly, visitors from some other countries, including the US and Japan, have long been able to go on holidays within the EU without having visas.

But for tourists who need a visa to enter the EU, the changes are crucial, since they simplify travel within Europe.

In the past, these tourists would have needed separate visas for each country visited. From 21 December, they will be able to obtain a single visa that gives them access to 24 countries.

[Dawie]

Any national visa issued by the EU countries who are joining the Schengen zone on 21 December 2007, will NOT become Schengen visas after this date. These visas will only be valid for entry to the country that issued them, so a Slovak visa will NOT automatically become a Schengen visa if it was issued before 21 December 2007.

[SMOOTH OPERATOR]

Dawie i dont remember where i read it but are u aware that they are alsotrying to clamp down on schengen visa shopping.

by the way i rang estinia embassy up yday to ask them documents needed for a shcengen visa from 21 of Dec and the lady over the phone said it will still be the same procedure as an estonian visa: send copies of both you and your wifes Brit passport proof of insurance and proof of flights as well as hotels and we will then invite you for an interview and you can then bring all the original documents when invited!!!!!!. i then said to her why has Estonia's Embassy not thought about doing things the way french Embassy and Co. issue schengen visas she said we are new to this and carry on with what i have advised. bye

what i dont get is even though these counries had been made aware of joining why did they not decide to do things the way france and Co. issue Schengen. and am i so daft and stupid thinking Schengen countries practised the same thing!!! wake me up someone

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

hi
i am having a doubt about travelling to slovakia by car..
i am having EEA Family Permit. i am holding a indian passport.
my question...?

i am having slovakia visa. can i travel by road with out having a schengen visa on 21 december 2007. i hear that borders are lefting from 21 dec 07.
cuz i cant get schengen visa due to appointment problem in french embessy there is no appoint date for seven weeks.

is it safe to do....
i surf the net to find the answer but i cant find it.
if any one know please help me ....

Will you be travelling with your EU citizen family member? If so you should carry proof of your relationship to them. (if you are married carry the marriage certificate, if it is a child carry their birth certificate).

Is this primarily an issue of entering France on the way there?

Note that you should be able to enter the czech republic using your EEA family permit on the way back.

It is very difficult to find any good answers on embassy web sites. The information can be very wrong