Schengen Visa Information

What is Schengen?

Schengen refers to the EU passport-free zone that covers most European countries. It’s the largest free travel area in the world.

What is a Schengen Visa?

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen Area, per stay up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes.

The Schengen visa is the most common visa for Europe. It enables its holder to enter, freely travel within, and leave the Schengen zone from any of the Schengen member countries. There are no border controls within the Schengen Zone.

Which European Countries issue Schengen Visas?

The Schengen zone includes the 27 countries that have signed the Schengen agreement, which allows citizens of member countries to travel within the zone freely without passing through passport and border control.

Each member country of the Schengen zone can issue Schengen visas.

Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Croatia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia

Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Liechtenstein

There are another 18 other countries that are not part of the Schengen Zone, yet they allow foreign citizens of other non-Schengen countries to enter and stay in their territories only by showing a valid multiple-entry Schengen Visa. You do not need a national visa issued from these countries to enter, transit, or stay in their territory temporarily.