Schengen Agreement
Denmark joined the Schengen system on 25 March 2001. The Schengen area comprises 26 countries, 22 of which are EU Member States. It was established to create a common area without internal borders. Accordingly, checks are generally not performed at border crossings between Schengen countries.
As a result of Denmark’s participation in the Schengen Agreement, Danish borders are divided into external and internal Schengen borders. Denmark’s external borders are either sea borders or air borders. Denmark has no external land borders as, in a Schengen context, the borders to Germany and Sweden are considered internal borders. Many airports and ports in Denmark are considered both internal and external borders depending on the country of departure of a ship or aircraft.
In exceptional cases, the Schengen border control rules provide the possibility of introducing temporary border control at internal borders in the event of a serious threat to public policy or the internal security of a Member State.
The rules governing the movement of persons across borders are set out in the Schengen Borders Code.
Temporary border control
On 4 January 2016, Denmark reintroduced temporary border control at the internal land and sea borders to Germany due to the serious terrorist threats against Denmark in light of the migration situation. The temporary border control is carried out by the police in the form of spot checks on travellers at the border crossings to Germany to verify whether the relevant persons can lawfully enter Denmark.
On 12 November 2019, Denmark also reintroduced temporary border control at the border to Sweden due the threat from organised crime and terrorism. The border control is carried out as regular checks of road, rail and ferry traffic from Sweden.
Travel documents
Travellers entering Denmark can be grouped into two categories:
- Nationals of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland
- Nationals of third countries
The travel documents that you are required to bring depend on whether you are a national of a third country or of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland. Read more about the travel documents required for entry by clicking on the link below: