What the visa actually is
A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa issued by one member state that lets you move between all of them without further border formalities. The member list runs to 27 states, including Croatia and Switzerland.
The application must be filed with the country that is your main destination — measured by nights spent, not by which appointment is easiest to get. Filing with the wrong mission is a common and avoidable refusal.
- Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France
- Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania
- Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia
- Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Non-Schengen Europe on the same visa
This second list is what makes the visa worth more than a single trip, and it includes the Balkans and the Black Sea.
- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia
- Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus
- Georgia, Kosovo, and the micro-states of Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City
Africa, the Americas and the Gulf
The same document also opens a short list outside Europe, including a genuine Caribbean option.
- Egypt, Morocco, São Tomé & Príncipe
- Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama
- Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius, St Maarten
- Qatar (electronic visa) and Saudi Arabia
Practical cautions
Most of these countries expect a tourist-category Schengen visa, several expect a multiple-entry visa, and some require that you have entered the Schengen area on it first. Entry fees payable on arrival are common and move with exchange rates.
We confirm the rule on the destination's own immigration source for your travel dates before anything is booked on a non-refundable basis.
Turn this briefing into a journey
Our travel architects apply this thinking to your dates, budget and passport.