Who Needs a Schengen Visa to Travel to Europe in 2024?

Schengen Area, which consists of 29 countries, represents the largest borderless zone in the world that permits unrestricted movement of people from one country to another.

However, not everyone is as lucky as just packing their luggage and travelling to Europe without worrying about the Schengen visa application process.

A Schengen visa is a travel permit that allows all its holders to enter and stay in the Schengen Area/European Union for short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period.

At present, nationals of 104 countries worldwide need a Schengen visa to travel to Europe.

The full list of countries whose nationals need a Schengen visa to travel to Europe in 2024 is as follows:

• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Angola
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Belarus
• Belize
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Burkina Faso
• Burma/Myanmar
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• China
• Comoros
• Congo
• Côte d´Ivoire
• Cuba
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Djibouti
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• Fiji
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Guyana
• Haiti
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Jamaica
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Maldives
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Mongolia
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Niger
• Nigeria
• North Korea
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Russia
• Rwanda
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Sudan
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Syria
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Togo
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Uganda
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu*
• Vietnam
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

* Visa-free travel for Vanuatu is temporarily suspended until August 3, 2024.

Passport holders of countries not on the above list can travel to the Schengen Area visa-free and stay for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.

What Is a Schengen Transit Visa & Do I Need It?

A Schengen transit visa is a type of permit that allows travellers to transit through a Schengen member state to reach their non-Schengen destination country without the possibility of leaving the airport’s transit area.

Passport holders of the countries below need to obtain a transit visa for all Schengen member states, regardless of whether they leave the transit area of the airport or not:

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Iran
• Iraq
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• Sri Lanka

Nationals of several other third countries need a transit visa to pass through the airports of specific Schengen member states. Each Schengen member state has its own list of countries whose citizens need to hold an airport transit visa.

For comprehensive and up-to-date information, including application requirements, please visit SchengenVisaInfo.com.

Do I Need To Apply for an ETIAS?

If you fall under the list of foreign nationals who need to obtain a Schengen visa, you do not need to apply for an ETIAS.

Starting in 2025, applying for an ETIAS will become mandatory for nationals of foreign countries who can enter the Schengen Area without a visa.