Travelling within the Schengen Area

The Schengen Area

The Schengen Area is a common territory of countries on the borders of which there is no border control of persons.

The members of the Schengen Area are:

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The remaining EU and EEA Member States, i.e. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania are not Members of the Schengen Area.

For up-to-date information on entry and movement in Ireland please contact directly with the corresponding Irish authorities.

Residence permits issued by AndorraSan Marino and the Vatican do not allow you to enter the Schengen countries. Residence permits issued by Monaco, on the other hand, do.

VISA-FREE TRAVEL

VISA REQUIRED

CHILDREN AND SCHOOL TRIPS

Under what conditions can you travel in the Schengen Area and the EU?

As citizens of third countries for which a visa requirement was waived, you can stay in the countries applying a common visa policy for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. The day of entry is considered as the first day of your stay and the departure day as the last day. In order to enter, you do not need to apply for a visa beforehand, you will just be checked on the border of the first Schengen country you enter.

This way you can stay and move freely in the countries that apply a common visa policy. These countries include all the Schengen countries. On the other hand, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Ireland do not apply a common visa policy.


Can you combine a long-term stay with a short-term one?

If you are a citizen of a third country for which a visa requirement for short-term stays was waived and if the validity of your long-term visa or a residence permit expires, you can stay in the Schengen Area without a visa for a maximum of 90 more days within every 180-day period. Only after then you must leave the Schengen Area. However, if you have just applied for a residence permit, you cannot exceed the maximum time limit of 90 days within any 180-day period.


What documents do you need to travel if you hold a residence permit in the Czech Republic?

If you reside in the Czech Republic with a residence permit or a long-term visa, when traveling in the Schengen Area you must always carry with you a valid travel document as well as a valid residence permit document (or visa in your passport). A residence permit document itself, however, is not a travel document.