Told Hungarian border police I walked along the outer Schengen border and took photos of it – will I be fined? [closed]

Told Hungarian border police I walked along the outer Schengen border and took photos of it – will I be fined? [closed] - Person Holding Space Gray Iphone X

I hold an EU passport of a Schengen area member state and travelled on a day trip to Hungary. In Hungary, I walked to and then along the outer Schengen border until I reached a border crossing, where I ended up between the border checkpoints of the two neighbouring countries. During my walk along the green border (i.e. a grass strip, without any fences or other barriers), I took a large number of photos of the grass strip and border markings (stones).

Believing that I had done nothing illegal, I went to the Hungarian border checkpoint and explained that I had not left the Schengen area and was legally allowed to be in Hungary. To prove this, I showed the border police officers a photo of the grass strip I walked on and a border marker, which showed that the grass strip was still inside the Schengen area. I had to hand over my phone, and the border police officers went through all the photos I took that day, then I was instructed to irrecoverably delete all my photos from the border area.

This was during Coronavirus travel restrictions – I was allowed to cross the border between Hungary and my home country, but apparently travel between Hungary and the non-Schengen neighbouring country was still generally prohobited. Travel to the non-Schengen country would not normally require a visa for me.

I was eventually allowed to pass the border checkpoint, but one of the border police officers told me that I will face a hefty fine for the photos I took, with a friendly smile that made me unsure whether he was serious or just joking. Another border police agent told me that being in the immediate vicinity of the outer Schengen border is prohibited by itself, but none of them seemed to know the exact legal situation particularly well.

What consequences should I fear now?






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Told Hungarian border police I walked along the outer Schengen border and took photos of it – will I be fined? [closed] - Bokeh Photography of Person Holding Turned-on Iphone
Told Hungarian border police I walked along the outer Schengen border and took photos of it – will I be fined? [closed] - Brown Barbwire
Told Hungarian border police I walked along the outer Schengen border and took photos of it – will I be fined? [closed] - Red and White Rolling Pin



Are there border checkpoints in the Schengen Area?

Since no checks are carried out at the borders between Schengen Member States, EU countries have decided to join forces to attain the objective of improving security through efficient external border controls, while still facilitating access of persons who have a legitimate interest to enter the EU territory.

What is the Schengen rule?

What is the Schengen 90/180 rule? Under the terms of Schengen, non-EEA nationals cannot spend more than a total of 90 days within a total period of 180 days without a visa. Furthermore, once you've used up your quota of 90 days, you cannot return to Schengen until 90 more days have passed.

Do Schengen countries share immigration information?

All Schengen countries share visa information through VIS. Denmark has also chosen to implement VIS. The central VIS system is linked to national systems, allowing Schengen states to exchange data. Sharing information regarding application decisions is particularly useful for preventing 'visa shopping'.

What is the effect on borders of the Schengen Agreement?

The Schengen provisions abolish checks at EU's internal borders, while providing a single set of rules for controls at the external borders applicable to those who enter the Schengen area for a short period of time (up to 90 days).




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Daria Shevtsova, Daria Shevtsova, Miguel Á. Padriñán, Jill Wellington