Nordic Passport Union
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| Type | Free movement and open borders area |
|---|---|
| Established | 1952 (open borders) 1954 (free movement) |
| Members | |
| Area | 1,259,974 km2 |
| Population | ~27 million (2016) |
The Nordic Passport Union allows citizens of the Nordic countries – Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland – to travel and reside in another Nordic country (excluding Greenland and Svalbard) without any travel documentation (e.g. a passport or national identity card) or a residence permit. Since 25 March 2001, all five states have also been within the Schengen Area. The Faroe Islands are part of the Nordic Passport Union but not the Schengen Area, while Greenland and Svalbard are outside both. However, Greenland has an open border with all Nordic countries, and allows Nordic citizens to enter, settle and work without requiring a passport or permits. Svalbard allows Nordic citizens to settle and work without permits, as a result of the Svalbard Treaty, however with the exception of Norwegian citizens, valid travel documentation (such as a passport, or a national identity card from an EU or EFTA country) is required to enter Svalbard. Furthermore, as citizens of a Nordic country, those from Svalbard and Greenland are permitted to reside in any other Nordic country.
Nordic citizens are generally treated like local citizens in all these countries, in particular for travel purposes. For Nordic citizens, no identity documentation is legally required to enter or reside in any Nordic country. However, identity documentation is still useful, as companies may require proof of identity for certain services, such as trains, airports, and age check for alcohol purchase. Usually any valid proof of identity is accepted, such as a driver licence. For services aimed at residents, like banking, picking up postal packages or dealing with authorities, sometimes only local identity documentation, along with passports and national identity cards, are accepted. Similar to the Nordic Passport Union, the Common Travel Area allows Irish and British citizens to travel between Ireland and the United Kingdom without travel documentation (however they may still require identity documentation) and each country generally accords the same rights to citizens of either country.
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Wikipedia