How did immigration/travel between European countries work in the 1800s?

Recently I’ve been researching my ancestry, and I’ve found that my family seemed to move around between Denmark and Germany and Poland from one generation to the next. Now mind you, I obviously know that countries’ modern borders were not always what they are now, but how did immigration within the European continent work in the late 1700s – late1800s? Were there customs stations? Did you have to apply for a visa? When I try to imagine a family of farmers going through the ordeal, these all seem like such modern inventions.

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One Response to How did immigration/travel between European countries work in the 1800s?

  1. CAROL JEAN

    I don’t remember what countries or if all countries required passes. I believe they were just a piece of paper stating that A wanted to go to country B. This pass would allow the person to leave the country. If my memory serves me correctly, this pass was obtained from the local police. I would say the head of the police dept would have to okay and sign the pass.

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