Who needs a Schengen visa is a question that many people ask because they are not sure if the Schengen visa applies to them. In other words: "Do you need a Schengen visa when traveling to Europe?".

Visa (an entry visa)

A visa is an entry permit for a short, temporary stay of less than three months. Using this entry permit as a foreign national requiring a visa you are allowed to enter and stay in the Schengen area once certain other preconditions have been met.

Despite possessing a visa these requirements for entry into the country are checked at the border. If the entry requirements are not fulfilled, the passport inspector of the Border Guard Service may refuse you entry. 

Who needs a visa?

The Schengen countries have agreed on what countries are free of visa requirements and what countries are under visa obligations.

Unless you are a resident of one of the Schengen countries, you need a Schengen visa if you are a national of one of the following countries :

AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ALGERIA ANGOLA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELARUS BELIZE BENIN BHUTAN BOLIVIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BOTSWANA BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENS BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CITIZENS BRITISH PROTECTED PERSONS BRITISH SUBJECTS BURKINA FASO BURMA/MYANMAR BURUNDI CAMBODIA

CAMEROON CAPE VERDE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHAD CHINA COLOMBIA COMOROS CONGO COTE D'IVOIRE CUBA DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO DJIBOUTI DOMINICA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ECUADOR EGYPT EQUATORIAL GUINEA ERITREA ETHIOPIA FIJI MACEDONIA (FRY) GABON GAMBIA GEORGIA GHANA GRENADA GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAU GUYANA

HAITI INDIA INDONESIA IRAN IRAQ JAMAICA JORDAN  KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KIRIBATI KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LAOS LEBANON LESOTHO LIBERIA LIBYA MADAGASCAR MALAWI MALDIVES MALI MARSHALL ISLANDS MAURITANIA MAURITIUS MICRONESIA MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA NAURU

NEPAL NIGER NIGERIA NORTH KOREA NORTHERN MARIANAS (ISLANDS) OMAN PAKISTAN PALAU PAPUA NEW GUINEA PERU PHILIPPINES QATAR RUSSIA RWANDA SAMOA SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SERBIA SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SOLOMON ISLANDS SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SRI LANKA ST KITTS AND NEVIS ST LUCIA ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES SUDAN

SURINAME SWAZILAND SYRIA TAIWAN  TAJIKISTAN TANZANIA THAILAND TIMOR-LESTE TOGO TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TUNISIA TURKEY TURKMENISTAN TUVALU UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UZBEKISTAN VANUATU VIETNAM YEMEN ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE

 

If you are a foreign national requiring a visa, you must always have one when entering the Schengen area. If you would ordinarily need a visa but have a residence permit valid in one of Schengen countries, you do not need a visa to enter another Schengen country if the intended duration of your stay is less than three months.