Who needs 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 Schengen visa when traveling to Europe?". This page provides answer to who needs Schengen visa.

Below you can find a list of countries whose citizens are required to obtain Schengen visa before entering any state in the Schengen zone. (Note, Schengen zone is not the same area as Europe or European Union. See a list of European Union member states here - EU members - and compare it to the list of Schengen zone members.)

The "yes" in the second column named Who needs Schengen visa of the TABLE provided below means that a citizen of this country is required to obtain a visa to enter the Schengen zone. The entry "no" in the Who needs Schengen visa column means that citizens of the corresponding country do not require a visa to enter a Schengen state.

Important note, if Schengen visa is not needed, it does not mean you can stay for as long as you like in a Schengen member state. Without a visa, you may not stay longer than three months out of every half-year. Also, the posession of Schengen visa does not allow you to work in the zone. See here for more details: Schengen visa.

Country	Who needs Schengen visa no/yes
Afghanistan	yes
Albania	yes
Algeria	yes
Andorra	no
Angola	yes
Antigua and Barbuda	yes
Argentina	no
Armenia	yes
Austria	no
Australia**	no
Azerbaijan	yes
Bahamas	yes
Bahrain	yes
Bangladesh	yes
Barbados	yes
Belarus (see also White Russia)	yes
Belgium	no
Belize	yes
Benin	yes
Bermuda	no
Bhutan	yes
Bolivia (as of 1 April 2007)	yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	yes
Botswana	yes
Brazil	no
British Virgin Islands	yes
Brunei	no
Bulgaria	no
Burkina Faso	yes
Burundi	yes
Cambodia	yes
Cameroon	yes
Canada**	no
Cape Verde	yes
Cayman Islands	yes
Central African Republic	yes
Chad	yes
Chile	no
China	yes****
Colombia	yes
Comoros	yes
Congo	yes
Costa Rica	no
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	yes
Croatia	no
Cuba	yes
Cyprus	no
Czech Republic	no
Denmark	no
Djibouti	yes
Dominica	yes
Dominican Republic	yes
Ecuador	yes
Egypt	yes
El Salvador	no
Equatorial Guinea	yes
Eritrea	yes
Estonia	no
Ethiopia	yes
Falkland Islands	yes
Fiji	yes
Finland	no
France (including French Guyane, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion, St Pierre and Miquelon)	no
Gabon	yes
Gambia	yes
Georgia	yes
Ghana	yes
Greece	no
Grenada	yes
Guatemala	no
Guinea	yes
Guinea-Bissau	yes
Guyana	yes
Haiti	yes
Honduras***	no
Hongkong	see China
Hungary	no
Iceland**	no
India	yes
Indonesia	yes
Iran	yes
Iraq	yes
Ireland	no
Israel**	no
Italy	no
Jamaica	yes
Japan**	no
Jordan	yes
Kazakhstan	yes
Kenya	yes
Kiribati	yes
Korea (South)**	no
Korea (North)	yes
Kuwait	yes
Kyrgyzstan	yes
Laos	yes
Latvia	no
Lebanon	yes
Lesotho	yes
Liberia	yes
Libya	yes
Liechtenstein**	no
Lithuania	no
Luxembourg	no
Macao	no
Macedonia	no (from 01/01/2010)
Madagascar	yes
Malawi	yes
Malaysia	no
Maldives	yes
Mali	yes
Malta	no
Marshall Islands	yes
Mauritania	yes
Mauritius	yes
Mexico	no
Micronesia	yes
Midway Islands	yes
Moldova	yes
Monaco***	no
Mongolia	yes
Montenegro	no (from 01/01/2010)
Montserrat	yes
Morocco	yes
Mozambique	yes
Myanmar (Burma)	yes
Namibia	yes
Nauru	yes
Nepal	yes
Netherlands	no
New Zealand (including the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau)**	no
Nicaragua	no
Niger	yes
Nigeria	yes
North Korea	yes
Northern Mariana Islands	yes
Norway	no
Oman	yes
Pakistan	yes
Panama	no
Papua New Guinea	yes
Paraguay	no
Peru	yes
Philippines	yes
Pitcairn	yes
Poland	no
Portugal	no
Qatar	yes
Romania	no
Russia	yes
Rwanda	yes
Saint Christopher and Nevis	yes
Saint Helena and Dependencies	yes
Saint Lucia	yes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	yes
Samoa	yes
San Marino***	no
São Tomé and Principe	yes
Saudi Arabia	yes
Senegal	yes
Serbia	no (from 01/01/2010)
Seychelles	yes
Sierra Leone	yes
Singapore	no
Slovak Republic	no
Slovenia	no
Solomon Islands	yes
Somalia	yes
South Africa	yes
Spain	no
Sri Lanka	yes
Sudan	yes
Suriname	yes
Swaziland	yes
Sweden	no
Switzerland**	no
Syria	yes
Taiwan	yes
Tajikistan	yes
Tanzania	yes
Thailand	yes
Timor-Leste (East Timor)	yes
Togo	yes
Tonga	yes
Trinidad and Tobago	yes
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands	yes
Tunisia	yes
Turkey	yes
Turkmenistan	yes
Turks and Caicos Islands	yes
Tuvalu	yes
Uganda	yes
Ukraine	yes
United Arab Emirates	yes
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	no*****
United States of America (including Virgin Islands of the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico)**	no
Uruguay	no
Uzbekistan	yes
Vanuatu	yes
Vatican City	no
Venezuela	no
Viet Nam	yes
Western Samoa	yes
White Russia (see also Belarus)	yes
Yemen	yes
Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo)	yes
Zambia	yes
Zimbabwe	yes

Note, this table has been last reviewed in January 2010. Schengen visa requirements frequently change. Contact Embassy or Consulate of the state to which you wish to travel for up-to-date information related to your situation.

Who needs Schengen visa exceptions

Countries marked with:

**: Citizens of the European Economic Area member states may obtain a residence and/or work permit after entry.

***: Citizens of Honduras, San Marino, and Monaco may obtain any residence permit required after entry provided that they do not intend to enter into employment.

****: Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports are exempt from the Schengen visa requirement.

*****: British nationals with special BN(O) passports are also exempt from the visa requirement.

Questions about who needs Schengen visa

You are welcome to ask your questions and discuss who needs Schengen visa in our discussion forum. You can find two threads related to who needs Schengen visa for example here: Can I work in Germany with the Schengen visa? or here Need Schengen visa to travel from UK to France? (I am from India)

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