Information about Schengen Visa Countries
26 countries in total form the Schengen Area by entering into a mutual agreement to allow the free movement of all Schengen nationals, remove internal borders and strengthen the external ones. 22 of those countries are European Union members, while the other 4 are part of the EFTA (European Free Trade Association).
- The Vatican
- Monaco
- San Marino
Schengen Area
Currently, there are 22 European countries that
form part of the Schengen Area:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Germany
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Finland
- Denmark
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Estonia
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Slovenia
- Italy
- Greece
- Czech Republic
- Malta
Non-EU Member States:
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- Switzerland
Micro-States de facto part of Schengen Area:
- Monaco
- San Marino
- Vatican City
Border crossing
The ETIAS will only pre-screen travelers not needing a Schengen Visa. The screening would pertain to terrorism or migration related risks. The objective is to identify individuals who pose security threats before they are able to travel to the Schengen area.
Smart Borders
ETIAS is not a visa; it is a visa waiver, similar to the U.S. ESTA and Canadian eTA. Travelers currently visiting European Member countries visa-free will require an ETIAS from 2021 onwards. Passport holders of the EU single market are exempt from ETIAS.
Short-stay 90 Days visa
Convenience – Reduce border wait-times for travelers and streamline entry into EU member states.
Border efficiency - Improve border management for security personnel screening travelers upon arrival and departure from EU member states. Transparency - Help the EU toward achieving its goal of a visa liberalization policy that would enable citizens of more countries to enter the EU without the need of a Schengen Visa.
Airport Transit visa
Immigration - Enable border authorities to spot migration irregularities and abuse of visa-free EU travel.
Security – Help EU member states strengthen their border security processes and procedures against crime and terrorism.
Funding – Provide an additional source of revenue for the EU budget as well as for managing visa-free travel of business, tourism and transit visitors.
Long-stay visa
ETIAS is only relevant to travelers who travel visa-free to EU member states. The application process is aimed at taking approximately 10 minutes or less. The website processing ETIAS applications will support mobile, desktop and mobile devices. The types of information requested include: Biometric and personal data such as name, date of birth and gender Applicant contant details such as home address email address
