Romania has four sea border crossing points: Mangalia, Constanta, Constanta South Agigea and Midia. In these ports, border checks will be abolished for the crew and passengers on board of vessels arriving from or departing for Schengen countries. Cruise ships arriving from the Schengen area will be allowed to dock in Romanian ports that do not have an established border crossing point (Tomis-Constanta, Belona-Eforie, Limanu-Mangalia). However, the coastguard can check the passengers travelling on board of these vessels at any time to prevent illegal migration, the Romanian interior ministry said. Schengen rules do not apply to river ports in Romania and Bulgaria. The ferry services, just like the bridges, on the Danube River between the two countries qualify as land border crossings and the documents of passengers travelling on these routes will be checked.
According to figures from Romania's ministry of interior, airports in Romania received more than 23 million passengers last year, with more than 160 thousand flights landing and taking off. Of the latter, 66 percent were flights within the Schengen area.
The European Council's decision of December 30 last year on the Schengen membership of Romania and Bulgaria did not set a target date for their full accession. It remains a priority for the Bucharest government to gain full inclusion in the borderless travel zone this year.
