The Schengen Area

  • The Schengen Area consists of the 29 countries in Europe (listed below) that signed the Schengen Agreement in 1985. Most of these countries, though not all, are members of the European Union.

  • The Schengen Area operates as a single state in terms of travel, which removes most borders within the area, simplifying travel through Europe by creating overall guidelines for international travel in and out of the Schengen Area, with few borders within the area. Bulgaria and Romania only have air and maritime borders open.

  • Citizens of Schengen member states do not need to show a travel document or national ID card when travelling from one border free Schengen EU country to another.

  • Common Schengen visas include single entry, multiple entry, short-stay, and transit visas, however there are many different visas for many different purposes. If a passenger holds a full Schengen visa, they may enter one country and travel freely throughout the Schengen Area.

  • Not all EU member states are part of the Schengen Area. The UK and Ireland have chosen not to join, whereas Cyprus is legally obliged to join. This means that travellers are not able to visit the UK or Ireland on a full Schengen visa.

  • Holders of a double or multiple entry Schengen visa may use this visa to enter Cyprus. This visa must have already been used to enter a Schengen member state.

Single Entry Visas:

  • Single Entry visas are valid for a maximum stay of 90 days for tourist or business purposes, and only allow travellers to enter the Schengen Area once.

Multiple Entry Visas:

  • Multiple Entry Visas allow a passenger to leave and enter the Schengen area multiple times up to a maximum of 90 days within a 180 day period.

Airport Transit Visas (Type A):

  • These visas are requires for citizens of certain countries when transiting through the international section of airports situated in Schengen States.

Short-stay Visas (Type C):

  • These visas are granted for purposes such as tourism, business, and family reunions. These visas are generally valid for the entire Schengen Area.
  • Type C visas may be either a Single Entry Visa or a Multiple Entry Visa.

National visas for longer stays (Type D):

  • These visas are granted under the jurisdiction of individual member states, however they entitle the holder to stay up to three months in any of the other Schengen states.
  • The requirements to be granted this type of visa differ between states.
  • They are usually considered to be a prerequisite to obtaining a residence visa in a particular Schengen state.
  • Type D Visas may be either a Single Entry Visa or a Multiple Entry Visa.

 

The Schengen Area member states are:

Country Country Code
hb7zBrqWf6VhVTFRf4XHySobwsHh7L2QHous79KyV0FBXyquwiPdVV9DfV867FgrOtBUdrMwNiRr311XRVlvHCXMyjgnza71nY3NzEJP9dLpGc7F4VCoUwDGN7334D+kpuGWQagwAAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Austria AUT
BhWXGSXdjXMgAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Belgium BEL
KmvOh1MOFlgT7043RkXSr4J6sPTNN9u5xpqwjK0PWlpYoa46PpusjgukKX09a7MST8o2OPGOAvQSLxdJiPqUhE2sXmTAdIAiC+As+0EwmcYfAfAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Bulgaria BGR
gQ1hBURT1G1RtetTbCZ0GAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Croatia HRV
evL8xGDg8PQ1PKPypD53RUDURiAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Czech Republic CZE
3U3+T5rNJhqNBv4ApPOks9whqt0AAAAASUVORK5CYII= Denmark DNK
SSTSYrFojwUCNkTT2fi2edyOUTbq6urFcHm5iaRSERK0uk02WyWi4sLLi8vJWKfyWRklfF4nMPDQ2w2W1mQz+exWq3Y7XZcLhcej4ft7W1EVbu7uwQCATmbra0t3G436+vrLC8vs7S0RKlUQhE9iwyxWOyfEVUUCgX5Oz8CuNsjwsekH6gAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Estonia EST
SR2KhY1obO+GSqXC0NAQBgYGoFAo0NXVBYqiIBaLQd4Gj4wnyWAymf4ZUsXCwgJ7wX8AAltDCxfk+I8AAAAASUVORK5CYII= Finland FIN
sXxuVnap6yQIgAAAAASUVORK5CYII= France FRA
zn8ACXQbtaxOIEgAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Germany D
oF4SZ7RDwLo98AAAAASUVORK5CYII= Greece GRC
jt9rQ1He5IshkMhAopGgd6kKXRgKxQQG5mYVmxgDtrAms1QjVlB4DJjV69DJwVUJckF6FbvwBisUiGHrvyWSyPNl6CZPHRBvT+gPRt1IZO08TtgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Hungary HUN
AaPaKAHwGYp9AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Iceland ISL
kIwAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Italy ITA
WBHR6GbXwcJ5OTsE9MwDo6isPBQZg6O7HV0IDlkhKMlZVlJpgoLMTL2lpoqWGXUg9lMlhnZ2Gfn4dNocCxXI79kRHoenuhoSlelJfjcWVl2iAajULW3Y0ndMcFGnOZDJSUzszMYIMOr9HC1FNTeE0GS3QVRWsrxmpq8Hx6GslkEhLxbSORCAL0Uz0UnuchBov1C76DQQzud4kQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Latvia LVA
gZFiwnhQCM3fQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Liechtenstein LIE
0zbW1tiI3F+AHJ7wahbeTNTQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Lithuania LTU
gNMThs0CZz44QAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Luxembourg LUX
pgTPvdRG8CyLNLpNCikUqlYN0HHOrgL+i2SDD5fu4y3nnN4ftyFOyfcvwGapsHr9SIYDCIUCiEcDiMSiYA2lvaG53nQKbFzfixev4rAlAezkyfhm5m27oWh9dJIItnGf1WBXCYNTO0XmPqNHei6LYAAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Malta MLT
s+gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Netherlands NLD
u4M3WJGrjV3B9few3gNfr5fK+PdxKTeZR+k4qTmbzj7qCnEsPKSqvpuZyLtpTx6k8eognqnTU27dyfVMCN8+eYWJiAkXoRw0PD2MSn+p7ZTabCTUOxVeepSjWxudo4QAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Norway NOR
SpF9L3TP5DjuH+WIAigjWn8Br5AR1iy8yotAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Poland POL
8ZqEJlEuCwBNTCM+dx7Ybi9h3O5jcx2GYtZF0qnbQFbeTrpgoXDs24ty8ijZR8nKJL1eCFkuCINVMNl+Rs0sbTELFOpJ023h9Lg5X8iFcSQk4j8TiEEU2UWJZH4ohaCG5K5dLgpAkHyJzlhBbtIajZVGcvL+XuouJWNNSxKuc4INKieXwPox7RHHEWqpCl5KtCB4WeDweYpK3E5WiIDY9EqV6F6q8BLTpx6lMO4XuTCr3VMcoV8ajjY2mMCqC7PBVaE6lMjg4iMz7o3p7exEE4Z+x2+14B3vzC0VSEJmMs2VeAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Portugal PRT
cikD3RfzPywj5lEURf0ByMlpzwnzaqkAAAAASUVORK5CYII= Romania ROU
S2hAwViIXz9PKL9yh1zzAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC Slovakia SVK
fjzuyQzw8HkPxGQVPL6oo06RQlpJMyXklj+NPUnT0CIXBgeR4S8kRxsVvLRE7Suwuk8n0z4gNKBYW4yfxNxrCAHaByQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Slovenia SVN
xmbzYY6WK2fdLw4J6MiyM4AAAAASUVORK5CYII= Spain ESP
ldruRZfmfOZ1OAgsH2h8JfzyQEwn4oAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== Sweden SWE
Switzerland CHE

  • The Schengen Area

           

This work is a derivative of "Map of the Schengen Area" from Wikimedia Commons, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 / Colours changed and key added