Schengen Area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Schengen Area
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Map of the Schengen Area
Schengen Area Countries with open borders to the Schengen area Member of the EU committed by treaty to join the Schengen Area in the future |
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| Type | Open border area of the European Union |
| Members | |
| Establishment | 26 March 1995 |
| Area | |
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• Total
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4,595,131 km2 (1,774,190 sq mi) |
| Population | |
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• 2021 estimate
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453,324,255 |
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• Density
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98.7/km2 (255.6/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
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• Total
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 $25.926 trillion |
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• Per capita
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$56,997 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
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• Total
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$19.213 trillion |
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• Per capita
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$42,237 |
The Schengen Area ( SHENG-ən) is an area encompassing 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
Of the 27 EU member states, 25 are members of the Schengen Area. Bulgaria and Romania, the newest members, have had their air and maritime borders open since March 2024, with land border controls lifted on 1 January 2025. The only EU member states that are not part of the Schengen Area are Cyprus and Ireland. Cyprus is committed by treaty to join in the future but its participation is complicated due to the geopolitical situation prevailing since the invasion and occupation of Northern Cyprus by Turkey since 1974, while Ireland maintains an opt-out and operates its own visa policy. Denmark also maintains an opt-out from the wider AFSJ policy area, but has adopted the Schengen acquis on an intergovernmental basis. Denmark does not have voting powers for introductions and revocations of measures applied to the Schengen Area as a result of this opt-out.
In addition to the member states of the European Union, all member states of the European Free Trade Association, namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, have signed association agreements with the EU to be part of the Schengen Area. Moreover, the territory of four microstates – Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City – is de facto included in the Schengen Area due to their small size and difficulty of maintaining active border controls.
The Schengen Area has a population of more than 450 million people and an area of 4,595,131 square kilometres (1,774,190 sq mi). About 1.7 million people commute to work across an internal European border each day, and in some regions these people constitute up to a third of the workforce. In 2015, there were 1.3 billion crossings of Schengen borders in total. Fifty-seven million crossings were due to transport of goods by road, with a value of €2.8 trillion. The decrease in the cost of trade due to Schengen varies from 0.42% to 1.59% depending on geography, trade partners, and other factors. Countries outside of the Schengen Area also benefit. States in the Schengen Area have strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries.
History
European borders prior to Schengen
Before the First World War, most countries of the world, including Europe, had lax border policies, facilitating such educational trips as the Grand Tour amongst the upper classes.
Visas became commonplace during the interwar period, as did border controls. After the Second World War, however, customs unions arose between various European countries. The Nordic countries allowed free movement and residence between them in 1954, and the countries of Benelux opened their mutual borders in 1960. This reflected a greater trend towards European integration; the European Communities (EC), the predecessor of the EU, was established in the 1950s for economic cooperation, though it did not deal with border control issues.
Schengen Agreement
The first move towards the abolition of border controls between EC member states took place on 14 June 1985 with the signing of the Schengen Agreement by five EEC members - the Benelux countries as well as France and West Germany - of the then ten EEC member states. These five countries entered into the Schengen Agreement separately from the European Communities, because consensus could not be reached among all EEC member states.
The Agreement was supplemented in 1990 by the Schengen Convention, which proposed the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa policy. The Agreements and the rules adopted under them continued to be separate from the EC structures, and led to the creation of the Schengen Area on 26 March 1995.
As more EU member states signed the Schengen Agreement, consensus was reached on absorbing it into the procedures of the EU. The Agreement and its related conventions were incorporated into the mainstream of European Union law by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, which came into effect in 1999. A consequence of the Agreement being part of European law is that any amendment or regulation is made within its processes, in which the non-EU members are not participants.
The UK, the Crown Dependencies, and the Republic of Ireland have operated a Common Travel Area (CTA) since 1923 (with passport-free travel and freedom of movement with each other), but the UK would not abolish border controls with any other countries and therefore opted out of the Agreement. While not signing the Schengen Treaty, the Republic of Ireland has always looked more favourably on joining, but has not done so in order to maintain the CTA and its open border with Northern Ireland.
Common Schengen Visa Policy
The common visa policy allows nationals of certain countries to enter the Schengen Area via air, land or sea without a visa for stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period. Nationals of certain other countries are required to have a visa either upon arrival or in transit.
Current members
The Schengen Area consists of 29 countries, including four which are not members of the European Union (EU). Two of the non-EU members – Iceland and Norway – are part of the Nordic Passport Union and are officially classified as states associated with the Schengen activities of the EU. Switzerland was allowed to participate in the same manner in 2008, and Liechtenstein in 2011. Bulgaria and Romania are the newest members of the Schengen Area, with land border controls lifted on 1 January 2025.
De facto, the Schengen Area also includes four European micro-states – Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City – that maintain open or semi-open borders with other Schengen member countries.
One EU member state – Ireland – negotiated opt-outs from Schengen and continues to operate border controls with other EU member states, while at the same time being part of the open-border Common Travel Area with the United Kingdom (a former EU member that had held a similar opt-out) and the Crown Dependencies. The remaining EU member state – Cyprus – is committed by its Treaties of Accession to join the Schengen Area eventually. However, before fully implementing the Schengen rules, the state must have its preparedness assessed in four areas: air borders, visas, police cooperation, and personal data protection. This evaluation process involves a questionnaire and visits by EU experts to selected institutions and workplaces in the country under assessment.
Summary table
| State | Area (km2) |
Population (2018) |
Date signed |
Date of first implementation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
83,871 | 8,891,388 | 28 April 1995 | 1 December 1997 |
 Belgium |
30,528 | 11,482,178 | 14 June 1985 | 26 March 1995 |
 Bulgaria |
110,994 | 7,051,608 | 25 April 2005 | 31 March 2024 |
 Croatia |
56,594 | 4,156,405 | 9 December 2011 | 1 January 2023 |
 Czech Republic |
78,866 | 10,665,677 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Denmark(excluding Greenland and the Faroe Islands) |
43,094 | 5,752,126 | 19 December 1996 | 25 March 2001 |
 Estonia |
45,338 | 1,322,920 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Finland(including Åland) |
338,145 | 5,522,576 | 19 December 1996 | 25 March 2001 |
 France(excluding Overseas France) |
551,695 | 64,990,511 | 14 June 1985 | 26 March 1995 |
 Germany(including Büsingen am Hochrhein) |
357,022 | 83,124,418 | 14 June 1985 | 26 March 1995 |
 Greece(including Mount Athos) |
131,990 | 10,522,246 | 6 November 1992 | 1 January 2000 |
 Hungary |
93,030 | 9,707,499 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Iceland |
103,000 | 336,713 | 19 December 1996 18 May 1999 |
25 March 2001 |
 Italy |
301,318 | 60,627,291 | 27 November 1990 | 26 October 1997 |
 Latvia |
64,589 | 1,928,459 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Liechtenstein |
160 | 37,910 | 28 February 2008 | 19 December 2011 |
 Lithuania |
65,300 | 2,801,264 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Luxembourg |
2,586 | 604,245 | 14 June 1985 | 26 March 1995 |
 Malta |
316 | 439,248 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Netherlands(excluding Dutch Caribbean) |
41,526 | 17,059,560 | 14 June 1985 | 26 March 1995 |
 Norway(excluding overseas territories and dependencies) |
385,155 | 5,337,962 | 19 December 1996 18 May 1999 |
25 March 2001 |
 Poland |
312,683 | 37,921,592 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Portugal(including Azores and Madeira) |
92,391 | 10,256,193 | 25 June 1991 | 26 March 1995 |
 Romania |
238,391 | 19,506,114 | 25 April 2005 | 31 March 2024 |
 Slovakia |
49,037 | 5,453,014 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Slovenia |
20,273 | 2,077,837 | 16 April 2003 | 21 December 2007 |
 Spain(including Canary Islands) (special provisions for Ceuta and Melilla) |
505,990 | 46,692,858 | 25 June 1991 | 26 March 1995 |
 Sweden |
449,964 | 9,971,638 | 19 December 1996 | 25 March 2001 |
 Switzerland |
41,285 | 8,525,611 | 26 October 2004 | 12 December 2008 |
 Schengen Area |
4,595,131 | 453,234,255 | 14 June 1985 | 26 March 1995 |
| State | Area (km2) |
Population (2018) |
|---|---|---|
 Andorra |
467.63 | 77,006 |
 Monaco |
2.02 | 38,682 |
 San Marino |
61.2 | 33,785 |
 Vatican City |
0.49 | 801 |
Images for kids
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At the border crossing point in Brod na Kupi on the Croatia–Slovenia border (which at present is an external border of the Schengen Area), the Croatian border checkpoint is not staffed. Instead, Croatian border guards carry out border checks together with their Slovenian counterparts at the Slovenian border checkpoint in Petrina on the other side of the Kupa river.
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The Gibraltar/Spain border in 2004 with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background
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The border checkpoint in La Farga de Molas on the Andorra–Spain border.
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A typical Schengen internal border crossing has no border control post and only a common EU-state sign displaying the name of the country being entered, as here between Germany and Austria. The larger blue sign announces entry to the Federal Republic of Germany in German, the smaller white sign announces entry into the German state of Bavaria.
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Schengen arrival gate at the Rīga Airport (RIX)
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Temporary border controls conducted by the Danish Police in Kruså at the internal border with Germany.
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Passport control at an external Schengen border in Finland
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The Warsaw Spire, housing Frontex's headquarters
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Border checkpoint for vehicles operated by the Finnish Border Guard in Nuijamaa at the external border with Russia. The lane on the far right is for EEA (including EU) and Swiss citizens only, whereas the other lanes are for all travellers.
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Border control booths in the departures hall at Oulu Airport in Finland, which will be staffed by the Finnish Border Guard when a flight is operated to a destination outside the Schengen Area. Either the 'EU/EEA/Swiss citizens' or 'All passports' sign above the booths can be illuminated.
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EasyPASS self-service gates which eligible travellers can use to clear border control at Munich Airport, Germany.
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Fencing on the Vistula Spit marking the external border between Poland and Russia.
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Border markers and fencing demarcating the external border between Lithuania and Belarus near the village of Stakai.
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Mounted Hungarian police officers patrolling the external border between Hungary and Serbia.
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Facilitated Rail Transit Document
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Exit stamp for air travel issued at Prague airport.
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Exit stamp for rail travel, issued at Bad Schandau train station.
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Exit stamp for road travel, issued at Korczowa border crossing point.
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Exit stamp for sea travel, issued at Helsinki port.
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See also
In Spanish: Espacio Schengen para niños
- Open Balkan
- Central America-4 Border Control Agreement
- Common Travel Area
- eu-LISA
- 2015 European migrant crisis
- FADO
- Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification
- Nordic Passport Union
- Prüm Convention
- Public Register of Travel and Identity Documents Online
- Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement
- Compact of Free Association
- Southern Common Market
