External Borders – Travelling to the non - Schengen Area

External borders are land borders of member states including river- and lake—borders, sea borders of member states and their airports, river-, sea- and lake-ports, provided that they are not internal borders. External borders may only be crossed at border crossing points and during the stated opening hours.

Crossing the external borders is laid down for all categories of travellers in the Schengen Borders Code. Crossing the external borders by the Slovak nationals is regulated, in addition to the Schengen Borders Code, also by the Act No. 647/2007 Coll. on Travel Documents and on the changes and amendment to some laws.

When crossing an external border, third-country nationals must meet the conditions stated in the Article 5 of the Schengen Borders Code.

The basic rule for carrying out customs controls on the borders is that the EU nationals undergo only minimum checks – their identity is verified on the basis of the submitted travel documents, unlike third-country nationals who have to undergo systematic and thorough controls.