Schengen Area

The Schengen Area takes its name from the village in Luxembourg where the original agreement was signed in 1985. It now covers most European Union member states plus four non-EU countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Travellers can normally cross internal borders without passport checks, although countries can temporarily reintroduce controls. Membership is not the same as the EU: Ireland, for example, is in the EU but outside Schengen. Travellers from outside are checked when they first enter the area, and common rules govern short-stay visas and external border controls.

For non-EU nationals, the central rule is that visitors can generally stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole area, whether or not they need a visa, and time spent in different Schengen countries counts towards the same total. A residence permit from one Schengen country, including one obtained through a golden visa, typically lets the holder live in that country and make short visits to the others, but not live or work in them. The EU has also been introducing digital entry and exit records and a pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors. Rules change, so check official sources before relying on them.