The visa policy of the Schengen Area is a component within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union. It applies to the Schengen Area and Cyprus, but not to EU member state Ireland. The visa policy allows nationals of certain countries to enter the Schengen Area via air, land or sea without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. Nationals of certain other countries are required to have a visa to enter and, in some cases, transit through the Schengen area.
The Schengen Area consists of 25 EU member states and four non-EU countries that are members of EFTA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. It also applies de facto to the four European microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City, as well as to the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, which have open borders with Schengen countries.
Cyprus, while an EU member state, is not yet part of the Schengen Area but, nonetheless, has a visa policy that is partially based on the Schengen acquis.
Ireland has opted out of the Schengen Agreement and instead operates its own visa policy, as do certain overseas territories of Schengen member states.
Nationals of EU single market countries are not only visa-exempt but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries. However, their right to freedom of movement in each other's countries can be limited in a reserved number of situations, as prescribed by EU treaties.
Visa policy map
Visa exemptions Freedom of movement
citizens Citizens of EFTA member states
Rules for freedom of movementDirective 2004/38/EC defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the European Union (EU) and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.Summary of the Directive 2004/38/EC Switzerland, which is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA, is not bound by the Directive but rather has a separate multilateral agreement on the free movement with the EU and its member states. Freedom of movement between Switzerland and the other EFTA countries happens in accordance with the EFTA convention. All of these countries comprise the EU single market. Andorra and San Marino citizens, upon accession to the Single Market, will hold the same work and travel freedom rights as the European Union citizens as outlined in the Association Agreement.
Nationals of all EU single market states holding a valid passport, passport card, or national identity card can enter, reside and work in each other's territory without a visa. If they are unable to present a valid passport or national identity card at the border, they must nonetheless be afforded every reasonable opportunity to obtain the necessary documents or have them brought to them within a reasonable period of time or corroborate or prove by other means that they are covered by the right of free movement.Article 6.3.2 of the Practical Handbook for Border Guards (C (2006) 5186)Judgement of the European Court of Justice of 17 February 2005, Case C 215/03, Salah Oulane vs. Minister voor Vreemdelingenzaken en Integratie,
However, EU single market states can refuse entry to any EU single market national on public policy, public security or public health grounds where the person presents a "genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society".Article 27 of Directive 2004/38/EC (). If the person has obtained permanent residence in the country where entry is sought (a status which is normally attained after 5 years of residence), the member state can only expel the person on serious grounds of public policy or public security. Where the person has resided for 10 years or is a minor, the member state can only expel the person on imperative grounds of public security (and, in the case of minors, if expulsion is necessary in the best interests of the child, as provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child).Article 28 of Directive 2004/38/EC (). Expulsion on public health grounds must relate to diseases with 'epidemic potential' which have occurred less than 3 months from the person's date of arrival in the member state where entry is sought.Article 29 of Directive 2004/38/EC ().
Nationals of 'Annex II' countries and territories (visa waiver countries) Since 2001, the European Union has issued a list of countries whose nationals need visas (Annex I) and a list of those who do not (Annex II). The two lists are also adopted by Cyprus, despite not being part of the Schengen Area yet.
Nationals of the following countries and territories holding ordinary passports may enter the Schengen Area and Cyprus without a visa, for short stays (90 days within any 180-day period):
Europe
South AmericaNorth America
AfricaAsia
Oceania
Date of visa changesNationalities exempt from visas in all EU member states at the time, for holders of ordinary passports for short stays not including study or work (additional nationalities were exempt for only some EU member states): Before 1 July 1996: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom; Andorra, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City 1 July 1996 to 15 April 1997: Brazil, Mexico; removed Vatican City 5 February 1998 to 1 May 1999: Australia, Paraguay, Singapore; removed Slovakia 1 May 1999 to 1 August 2000: Costa Rica, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; removed Australia Nationalities exempt from visas in all EU member states at the time, except Ireland and the United Kingdom, and in non-EU states part of the Schengen Area (exemptions were harmonised): 1 August 2000 to 10 April 2001: Australia (resumed), Bolivia, Brunei, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Panama, Slovakia (resumed), Vatican City (resumed), Venezuela 1 January 2002: Romania 1 June 2003: removed Ecuador 19 January 2007: British Nationals (Overseas) 1 April 2007: removed Bolivia 28 May 2009: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles 19 December 2009: Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia), Montenegro, Serbia 15 December 2010: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina 11 January 2011: Taiwan 28 April 2014: Moldova 9 June 2014: all other British nationals 6 May 2015: United Arab Emirates 26 May 2015: Timor-Leste 28 May 2015: Dominica, Grenada, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu 21 November 2015: Tonga 3 December 2015: Colombia 8 December 2015: Palau 15 March 2016: Peru 24 June 2016: Kiribati 28 June 2016: Marshall Islands 2 July 2016: Tuvalu 20 September 2016: Micronesia 8 October 2016: Solomon Islands 28 March 2017: Georgia 11 June 2017: Ukraine 4 May 2022: removed Vanuatu 1 January 2024: Kosovo, EUR-Lex, 25 April 2023. The regulation specified that the visa exemption would apply from the date when ETIAS started operations or from 1 January 2024, whichever came first. ETIAS did not start operations before that date. 13 October 2024: holders of Serbian passports issued by the Coordination Directorate for Kosovo and Metohija
Rules for Annex II nationalsTo be able to enter the Schengen Area or Cyprus, the above Annex II nationals are required to: have a travel document which is valid for at least 3 months after the intended date of departure and which has been issued in the previous 10 years; have sufficient funds for their stay and onward/return journey; justify the purpose and conditions of their stay; not be listed in the Schengen Information System as someone to be refused entry and not be considered as a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any Schengen country.Article 6 of the Practical Handbook for Border Guards, European Commission. Part II, section I, point 3.1.
The above Annex II nationals can enter the Schengen Area as a whole for pleasure or for business without the need to apply for a visa for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period (which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay). Any time spent by an Annex II national in the Schengen Area on a long-stay visa or a residence permit does not count towards the visa exemption period limit of 90 days.Article 1(5)(b) of . Prior to Regulation (EU) No 610/2013, in response to an Ad-hoc Query by the European Migration Network), the national agencies responsible for border control in 9 Member States confirmed that Annex II nationals holding residence permits or long-stay visas would be entitled to stay for a further period of three months without a visa upon the expiration of the residence permit/long-stay visa. However, following the entry in force of Article 1(5)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 610/2013 on 18 October 2013, all Annex II nationals holding residence permits or long-stay visas issued by a Schengen member state are entitled automatically to stay for a further period of three months without a visa upon the expiration of the residence permit/long-stay visa (the conditions of a visa-free stay would apply to this period of three months after the expiration of the residence permit/long-stay visa, rather than the conditions of stay associated with the residence permit/long-stay visa).
Time spent in Gibraltar also counts as time spent in the Schengen Area for the purpose of visa-free stays.
All Annex II nationals can also enter Cyprus without a visa for a maximum of 90 days in a 180-day period. The visa-free time restriction for entering and staying in Cyprus is calculated separately from the one for the Schengen Area.
According to a table compiled by the European Commission, some Schengen countries permit certain nationals to work during their visa-free stay:Information on national derogations from the visa requirement, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania: none Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden: all visa-free nationals France: all visa-free nationals, except of Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, United States and Venezuela Greece: all visa-free nationals not working as intellectual creators Spain: nationals of Andorra not working in an independent profession Switzerland: nationals of Andorra, Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, San Marino, Singapore, United Kingdom and Vatican City
Residents and holders of visas of Schengen states Holders of a long-stay visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen state, Gibraltar, or Monaco may also travel to other Schengen states, without an additional visa, for a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Short-stay visas issued by a Schengen state are also valid for all other Schengen states unless marked otherwise.
Holders of a double or multiple-entry visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen state, Gibraltar, or Monaco may also travel to Cyprus without an additional visa, for a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, except nationals of Turkey and Azerbaijan, who still need a Cypriot visa. However, visas and residence permits issued by Cyprus are not valid for travel to the Schengen Area.Practical Handbook for Border Guards, European Commission, 28 October 2022. Page 80, footnote 83, and page 91, paragraph 9.
Family members of EU single market nationals