What is Schengen?

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

Schengen short stay visa

It is an authorisation issued by one of the Member States of the Schengen Area with a view to transit through or an intended stay in the territory of the Member States of duration of no more than 90 days (short stay) in any 180 day period.

The processing of visa applications is based on the VISA CODE Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009, last amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of 20 June 2019. Information given below is also based on this Regulation.

Which countries issue schengen visa?

There are currently 26 European countries in the Schengen Area, 22 of which are Member States of the European Union (below with *). These 26 countries share a common legal framework and there are no checks on the borders between them.

The countries issuing Schengen visas are: Austria*, Belgium*, the Czech Republic*, Denmark*, Estonia*, Finland*, France*, Germany*, Greece*, Hungary*, Iceland, Italy*, Latvia*, Liechtenstein, Lithuania*, Luxembourg*, Malta*, the Netherlands*, Norway, Poland*, Portugal*, Slovakia*, Slovenia*, Spain*, Sweden* and Switzerland.