Do I need a Schengen Visa?

Who needs a Schengen Visa to Travel to Europe?

schengen visa questions

Schengen Visa required or not

It depends on your country of citizenship and your permanent residence whether you need a Schengen visa to travel to Europe or not. Some citizens of a small number of countries will also need a Airport Transit Schengen Visa, even if they only staying at the transit area of an airport.

There is also a large list of countries whose citizens don´t need an Schengen Visa.

In this article

Schengen Visa Required

If your are a citizen from one of the following countries, you need a Short Stay Schengen Visa to enter the Schengen Area:

GABON
GAMBIA
GHANA
GUINEA
GUINEA-BISSAU
GUYANA
HAITI
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRAN
IRAQ
JAMAICA
JORDAN
KAZAKHSTAN
KENYA
KUWAIT
KYRGYZSTAN
LAOS
LEBANON
LESOTHO
LIBERIA
LIBYA
MADAGASCAR
MALAWI
MALDIVES
MALI
MAURITANIA
MONGOLIA
MOROCCO
MOZAMBIQUE
NAMIBIA
NAURU
NEPAL
NIGER
NIGERIA
NORTH KOREA

AFGHANISTAN
ALGERIA
ANGOLA
ARMENIA
AZERBAIJAN
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BELARUS
BELIZE
BENIN
BHUTAN
BOLIVIA
BOTSWANA
BURKINA FASO
BURMA/MYANMAR
BURUNDI
CAMBODIA
CAMEROON
CAPE VERDE
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CHAD
CHINA
COMOROS
CONGO
COTE D’IVOIRE
CUBA
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
DJIBOUTI
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
ECUADOR
EGYPT
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
FIJI

OMAN
PAKISTAN
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PHILIPPINES
QATAR
RUSSIA
RWANDA
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
SAUDI ARABIA
SENEGAL
SIERRA LEONE
SOMALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH SUDAN
SRI LANKA
SUDAN
SURINAME
SWAZILAND
SYRIA
TAJIKISTAN
TANZANIA
THAILAND
TOGO
TUNISIA
TURKEY
TURKMENISTAN
UGANDA
UZBEKISTAN
VIETNAM
YEMEN
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE

Entities and territorial authorities not recognised as States by at least one Member State:

KOSOVO (As defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999)
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Countries exempted from the Schengen Visa requirement

Nationals from the following countries are exempted from holding a visa when crossing the
external borders of the Schengen area:

ALBANIA (1)
ANDORRA
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA
BAHAMAS
BARBADOS
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (1)
BRAZIL
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
CANADA
CHILE
COLOMBIA
COSTA RICA
DOMINICA
EL SALVADOR
FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (1)
GEORGIA2
GRENADA
GUATEMALA

HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY STATE)
HONDURAS
ISRAEL
JAPAN
KIRIBATI
MALAYSIA
MARSHALL ISLANDS
MAURITIUS
MEXICO
MICRONESIA
MOLDOVA (1)
MONACO
MONTENEGRO (1)
NEW ZEALAND
NICARAGUA
PALAU
PANAMA
PARAGUAY
PERU
SAMOA

SAN MARINO
SEYCHELLES
SERBIA (1) (2)
SINGAPORE
SOLOMON ISLANDS
SOUTH KOREA
ST KITTS AND NEVIS
ST LUCIA
ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
TIMOR-LESTE
TONGA
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
TUVALU
UKRAINE (1)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
URUGUAY
VANUATU
VENEZUELA

Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China:

HONG KONG S.A.R. (3)
MACAO S.A.R. (4)

(1) The visa exemption applies only to holders of biometric passports.
(2) Excluding holders of Serbian passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (in Serbian: Koordinaciona uprava).
(3) The visa exemption applies only to holders of a “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” passport.
(4)The visa exemption applies only to holders of a “Região Administrativa Especial de Macau” passport.

British citizens who are not nationals of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland for the purposes of Union law:

British nationals (Overseas)
British overseas territories citizens (BOTC)
British overseas citizens (BOC)
British protected persons (BPP)
British subjects (BS)

Entities and territorial authorities not recognised as States by at least one Member State:

TAIWAN (The exemption from the visa requirement applies only to holders of passports issued by Taiwan which include an identity card number.)

Airport Transit Schengen Visa

Citizens of the countries in the following list need an Airport Transit Visa in ALL Schengen Countries:

AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
GHANA
IRAN
IRAQ
NIGERIA
PAKISTAN
SOMALIA
SRI LANKA

There are also some countries, who need not an Airport Transit Visa for ALL Schengen Countries, but for SOME Schengen Members. You can find the complete list here

There are some exemptions, you may not need an airport transit visa, if you:

  • hold a valid visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen state; 
  • hold a visa valid for a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area, Canada, Japan or the United States ;
  • hold a valid residence permit issued by a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area ;
  • hold a residence permit issued by the Principality of Andorra, Canada, Japan, Republic of San Marino, or the United States, that guarantees unrestricted right of return;
  • are a family member of a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland ;
  • hold a diplomatic passport;
  • are a flight crew member national of a contracting party to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.