Crossing Liechtenstein's borders, no passport check but customs

Liechtenstein has two borders, and they couldn’t be more different. The Swiss one you cross without noticing, over a bridge on the Rhine. The Austrian one won’t ask for your passport either, but it’s a proper customs frontier. Knowing why saves you surprises if you’re driving, buying something expensive or travelling on through Vorarlberg. The Swiss army hasn’t always respected that open frontier either, as the episodes in Swiss invasions of Liechtenstein show.

Towards Switzerland, the Rhine and little else

Customs between Switzerland and Liechtenstein disappeared in 1924, when the customs treaty turned the two countries into a single customs area. And as both are in Schengen, there’s no fixed passport control either. In practice the border is the river. According to the Office of Statistics it runs for 41.3 km along the cantons of St. Gallen and Graubünden.

You cross it by the Rhine bridges. The Historisches Lexikon records the first fixed bridges between 1867 and 1871, linking Schaan with Buchs, Bendern with Haag, Balzers with Trübbach and Vaduz with Sevelen, followed in 1929 by Ruggell to Sennwald. Of them all, only the Vaduz bridge is still wooden, a covered crossing from 1901 that you can walk. For me there’s no nicer way to go from one country to the other, and I cover it in the old Rhine bridge. Which countries border Liechtenstein, and how it looks on the map, is in the map of Liechtenstein.

Towards Austria, Schengen yes, customs too

The 36.6 km border with Vorarlberg is another matter. There’s no fixed passport control, as Liechtenstein has been in Schengen since 19 December 2011. But Austria is in the EU and Liechtenstein is part of the Swiss customs area, so crossing takes you from one customs zone to another. gov.uk spells it out in its travel advice, Switzerland handles Liechtenstein’s customs.

The main crossing is at Schaanwald on the Feldkirch road. The bus stop there is literally called Zollamt, customs office, and routes 11 and 14 call at it. Driving on the A14, you leave at exit 41, Feldkirch-Frastanz. The whole journey is laid out in Feldkirch to Vaduz.

Could anyone ask for my passport?

Usually not, but it can happen. The EU notes that Schengen countries can reintroduce temporary border controls in exceptional circumstances, and police can carry out identity checks in border areas, stations and airports. As a British visitor your passport is your only valid travel document, so keep it on you whenever you cross.

What you can bring in

Entering the Swiss customs area from Austria, Liechtenstein included, Swiss customs lets in goods and gifts for personal use VAT-free up to CHF 150 per person per day, children included. Go over and you pay VAT on the whole amount, 8.1% or 2.6% depending on the item. There are quantity limits too, 5 litres of drinks up to 18% alcohol, 1 litre of anything stronger, 250 cigarettes and 1 kg of meat.

This is where I’d use the official QuickZoll app. It lets you declare purchases and pay anything due before you cross, choosing a two-hour window, after which you can use any crossing point. For a couple of bottles of wine it’s unnecessary, but after a big shop in Feldkirch I’d rather have the peace of mind.

Heading on into the EU

If you’re driving on through Austria or Germany, you enter the EU from a non-EU country, so EU allowances apply. Your Europe lists 4 litres of still wine, 16 litres of beer, 1 litre of spirits over 22% and at least 200 cigarettes, depending on the country, plus €300 per person of other goods when travelling by land. The allowances for bringing goods home to the UK are set by the UK, so check gov.uk before you fly back.

I haven’t found a readable official source on VAT refunds for tourists, so I won’t promise you one. If a shop offers it, get them to explain how it works. What’s worth buying is in shopping and souvenirs in Liechtenstein.

The border your phone notices

There’s one more frontier, the one your phone sees. Liechtenstein is in the European Economic Area and Switzerland isn’t, and in the Rhine valley, with Switzerland just across the water, your phone can switch networks without warning. Since Brexit that matters mainly according to your UK tariff, and I have no official figures on what each network charges, so I’ll stick to the advice, lock your phone to a Liechtenstein network by hand. It’s explained in phone and roaming in Liechtenstein.