Press Release: Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-47/15. Sélina Affum v Préfet du Pas de Calais and Procureur général de la Cour d’appel de Douai

According to Advocate General Szpunar, a foreign national who was not stopped when illegally crossing an external border of the Schengen Area cannot be imprisoned solely on the basis of his illegal entry into the territory of a Member State.

This is also true, in particular, in the case where the foreign national is stopped when leaving the Schengen area, whether he is merely in transit or is the subject of a procedure for readmission to the Member State from which he has come.