What is Schengen?

The Schengen Area is a group of 26 European countries that have abolished passport and immigration controls at their common borders. It functions as a single country for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy.

With a Schengen visa, you can travel to any of the 26 European countries during the validity of your visa.

Note: First time travelers are to travel to the issuing European country first before traveling to others.

List of current 26 Schengen countries, which include 22 EU countries and four non-EU countries:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France and Monaco
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

Note: A Schengen visa’s validity may be limited to only one country (for instance the Netherlands) or a specified number of countries (for instance Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). In such cases, the visa holder may visit only the countries for which the Schengen visa is valid.