Schengen is an agreement between 26 countries, most of which are from the European Nation and few are Non-EU. This agreement allows a Schengen Visa holder to travel to these 26 countries freely without the need for visas for each of the country. Once you have received the Schengen Visa stamp on your passport, you are free to travel anywhere across these countries.
In this topic, we’ll be clearing about the countries and important things to know about the process and requirements for these Schengen Areas and who can visit.
What are the Schengen Countries?
The 26 countries which are in agreement are listed below:
Austria | Belgium | Czech Republic | Denmark | Estonia | Finland |
France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Italy |
Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Netherlands |
Norway | Poland | Portugal | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain |
Sweden | Switzerland |
Brief about Schengen Countries
Basics Information for All Schengen Countries
- While entering a Schengen Country, you will be asked for certain travel documents by border officials. These include:
- Passport with at least three months of validity and issued in under last 10 years
- Valid visa
- Border Officials have the final call if they should allow you to enter or not. They may ask you few questions regarding your travel.
- Border Officials will have to stamp your passport to confirm your legal entry into the country. Without it, you may be fined or detained inside the country.
Note: Some countries have completely shut down the internal border checks to allow free movement without any restriction, from country to country.
Application for Visa
- You need to apply at the relevant embassy (country you’re planning to visit) / Consulate / VAC in your own country if:
- You only wish to enter that particular country OR
- You wish to visit more Schengen Areas but most of the time will be spent in that particular country OR
- You will be spending an equal amount of time in other Schengen Areas but your entry in Schengen will be from Austria
Eligibility
- In order to be eligible to apply for this, you must be either:
- Citizen of the country you’re applying from OR
- A foreign citizen currently on a temporary resident permit in the country from where you’re applying
Note: You cannot apply for a short stay visa from the country you currently have a visa for.
Stay for more than 90 days
If you are a third-country national and wish to stay for more than 90 days in the Schengen Area, you will need to apply for a long-stay visa but you cannot stay for more than one year on this. If a Schengen state wants to allow a long-stay visa holder to remain there for more than one year, the state must offer him or her a resident permit.
Schengen Countries Visa
Please select the country below to get more information about the visa process and specific requirements for that country:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
After the abolishment of the borders between these countries, led to:
- People of any third world countries, when in the Schengen Area, to cross and move between the states without border checks.
- Common standards for external border checks
Note: Even though the internal checks are not mandatory, occasionally police enjoys the authority to conduct checks in specific circumstances. They may ask questions about your travel, stay, and reasons. They can also ask personal questions to confirm the identity of the person, from travel documents.
You can visit Schengen Visa to know more in details about the Schengen Agreement & Zones.
Non-Schengen Countries which allow Schengen Visa holders to Enter their Country
In addition to the 26 Schengen countries where you can travel freely, there are few countries which don’t belong to Schengen Area yet still allow Schengen Visa holders to visit their country on certain conditions
Why do they do it?
There are mainly three reasons why Non-Schengen countries will allow Schengen Visa holders to enter their country:
- The country which will soon be joining the Schengen Area, so they starting honouring the Schengen Agreement beforehand
- Countries which not have enough infrastructure or strong and thorough visa screening process
- Countries which trust Schengen Visa screening process
Please note that only Short Term Type “C” visa holders are allowed in such countries and the majority of these countries have a prerequisite that you should have a Multiple Entry visa and should have used at least once to enter the Schengen Area.
In total, as of now there are 39 additional countries which allow you to enter as long as above conditions are meant. The duration for stay is different for each country:
North America
- Mexico
Central Ameria
- Belize
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
Caribbean
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Curaçao
- Haiti
- Jamaica (Applies to passport holders of few countries)
- Sint Maarten
South America
- Argentina (Applies to passport holders of certain countries)
- Colombia
- Peru
Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Georgia
- Kosovo
- Macedonia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Romania
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Turkey
- Vatican City
Middle East
- Oman
- Qatar
Africa
- São Tomé and Príncipe
Asia
- Philippines
- Taiwan
Important Note
At any point of time when you’re about to apply for Schengen visa, you must check first with the official website if the particular non-Schengen country is allowing Schengen visa holders to enter because the conditions keep on changing. These countries are not bound to allow you to enter their country. This is optional for them, so they can deny your entry if the conditions are not suitable.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is the UK part of Schengen Area?
No, United Kingdom is not part of Schengen Area so you are not allowed to enter on a Schengen Visa.
What is the Schengen Border Agreement?
Schengen Agreement permits people to travel freely between the Schengen States and cross external borders during regular hours of operation.
Can I travel to any Schengen country on Schengen Visa?
Yes, as long as you don’t exceed the timeframe you’ve been granted.