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The Schengen Area officially includes Romania and Bulgaria
After the decision to join Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen Area, inspection procedures between Bulgaria, Romania and Schengen now cancelled.
Initially, Romania and Bulgaria were accepted to join the Schengen Area by air and sea, and the decision to join by land was postponed. It is expected that attempts to land join will continue throughout 2024.
With this decision, the Schengen Area continues to promote greater cohesion and communication between its jurisdictions and at the same time will support these two countries with new projects in order to ensure their compliance with the laws and a strong security level at the external borders of the Schengen Area.
The decision to join Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area
The European Council took an important decision to add Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area and implement it fully on March 31 of this year (2024). This is the ninth expansion of the Schengen Area, which shows the extent of countries’ harmony and adaptation in one place.
This accession helps strengthen the unity of the European Council and facilitate travel, trade and tourism between European countries within the Schengen Area.
The Schengen Area was established in 1985 after an agreement between 5 European countries. Since then, the region has expanded to include 27 countries with a population of 420 million citizens living in one region without borders.
Attempts to join Bulgaria and Romania are not new. Accession procedures began in 2011, and in 2022 and 2023, monitoring committees revealed the extent of the two countries’ readiness to join and demonstrated their implementation of all required basic standards.
This accession will have long-term dimensions and benefits, the most important of which is increasing trade, tourism and cultural exchange in this region, with the ease of movement of citizens of these countries to the two parties more easily than before.
As Bulgaria and Romania have now joined, Cyprus has also submitted its accession papers and is expected to join soon.
The importance of arriving to Romania
Romania is located at the crossroads of Europe, specifically on the edges of eastern, central and southeastern Europe. Romania has a population of 2 million people. The capital of Romania is Bucharest. It is a city that combines modernity and history, and provides unique tourist attractions and different experiences.
One of the advantages of this decision is that Romania will become more attractive to foreign citizens and tourists, in addition to increasing the value of the port of Constanta on the Black Sea.
As for Romania itself, it will now be able to airlift medicines, sensitive technical materials, military and civilian logistics to other countries.
Romania is a suitable environment and business destination for investors. It is favored by innovators and businessmen because of its strong cultural roots.
The lower costs of doing business in Romania also makes it a better choice for startups specifically, which helps in setting up and managing these startups.
Overview of the Schengen Area and the European Union
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The Schengen area
The Schengen Area was established in 1985 after 5 countries agreed on the Schengen Treaty, which stipulates the gradual abolition of border controls between these countries and the tightening of controls on the external borders of these countries.
Since then, many countries have joined the Schengen Area, and today they became 29 countries. There are other countries that are not within the Schengen Area because they are unable to meet the requirements for adapting infrastructure and adapting local legislation.
European Union
The European Union was established for purely political and economic purposes, especially after World War II, for cooperation and support between affected countries. The European Union introduced the euro as a common currency, which was implemented by 19 out of 27 countries.
There are many countries in the European Union but not in the Schengen Area for several reasons. The main reason for this is that the rejecting countries want to maintain their policies related to internal security and immigration without sharing them with other countries.
Croatia joined the EU last year, and today Turkey, Albania, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia are trying to join the EU as well. In 2020, Britain officially left the European Union.
Differences and similarities
Not all EU countries are part of the Schengen Area, and at the same time some countries are outside the EU but within the Schengen Area.
Cyprus and Ireland are considered two countries within the European Union and at the same time outside the Schengen Area, and the countries of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein are countries within the Schengen Area and not within the European Union. They signed a treaty on freedom of travel and cooperation with other Schengen countries.
There are other countries on the European continent, but they are not within the European Union and the Schengen area, the most important of which are Belarus, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.
Access to the Schengen Area through citizenship by investment programmes
If you are not a citizen of the Schengen countries, Romania or Bulgaria and want to reach these countries comfortably, we advise you to obtain a second citizenship through investment programs.
These programs help citizens of countries that have a weak passport and at the same time need to enter the Schengen countries and Europe in order to expand business, travel, study, and benefit from health programs.
Caribbean programs have second citizenship programs through economic investment in their territories, and these countries allow you to enter 150 countries without a visa, not just the Schengen countries.
These programs have favorable tax laws in their countries and do not require residency or knowledge of the language to obtain their citizenship. It only takes you and your family members 6 months to obtain a Caribbean passport.
On the other hand, the Schengen countries themselves have golden visa programs through which you can reside in Europe after investing in one of the countries that offer this type of program.
With Golden Visa programs you will be able to live and work in any European country of your choice, and Golden Visa programs lead to obtaining European citizenship in the future.
Contact Global Citizen Consultants now to get comprehensive knowledge about the Citizenship by Investment and European Golden Visa programs if you aspire to arrive and establish yourself in Europe because Global Citizen Consultants is an approved program from the unity of these two programs.
About Author
Taher Shehab
As co-founder and CEO, Taher Shehab has guided Global Citizen Consultants to be a leader in providing citizenship by investment in over 20 territories, including the Caribbean.
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