Chuck

My wife and I are planning a trip to South of France. Since she is not a US citizen (just a Green Card), is there a formal Customs between France and Monaco? Does anyone really check visa(s) when people cross the border?<BR><BR>Thank you. Chuck.

cheryl

I'm not sure what you mean by----is there a formal customs between France and Monaco---Monaco is in France

nospam

Chuck -- we went to Monaco from Nice on the train. No one checked passports. <BR><BR>Cheryl -- um, Monaco isn't in France, it's a country unto itself. It is a monarchy.

cheryl

I stand corrected---I hope I remember my passport when I go to the Vatican.

Thyra

Technically Monaco, I believe is considered a "Principality" what ever that means . I think there is a lot of cross cooperation with France but taxes, government etc are completely under the control of Monaco. <BR>And there is no passport checking at all, actually you can go from nearly any country in the European Union and not have to show your passport once, except at your point of entry into the EU.

kam

No passport control and a principality means that the guy in charge in a prince, not a king. A monarchy would have a king.

nospam

Now I stand corrected! "Monarchy" didn't seem right at the time I was writing it, but couldn't figure out why it wasn't...<BR><BR>Thanks! <BR><BR>And hey -- if it's just a principality, what happened to the king? <BR><BR>

clairoobscur

<BR><BR>Actually, the government isn't under total control of Monaco. The members of the government, high ranking civil servants are choosen with the agreement of the french gov., or on a list it provides, or something to this effect.<BR><BR>But anyway, there's no border check between France and Monaco.<BR><BR><BR>And there never was a king in Monaco. The principality is one these odds bits of territory which, for some weird reason, managed to stay independant under the control of their lords instead of being absorbed by their more powerful neighbours. <BR><BR>I suspect the princes granted themselves this title (from the latin Princeps : the first one, IIRC...which means the guy isn't the vassal of someone else, "son of the king" being only a secondary meaning) to assess their independance and were probably originally mere "lords of Monte Carlo" or something to that effect...

XXXX

I believe even though your wife is a green card holder she will need a visa to enter France, I would suggest you contact your local French Consulate for information on a Schengen visa.

fran

Whether or not she will need a visa to enter France will depend upon what passport she is travelling under. (US pink card is of little concern to the French!) If it's any of the Schengen countries--or even the rest of the EU or Western Europe, a visa would be unnecessary, but then there is the rest of the world! The advice to call the French consulate sounds right to me!