The world’s largest visa-free zone – Schengen Area

Schengen Area marks a region where in 26 European countries eliminated their internal borders for the unrestricted movement of people. However, they follow the common rules for controlling external borders by strengthening the common judiciary system and police cooperation.

Schengen Area consists of most of the EU countries except the UK, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus. Countries like Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are also part of the Schengen Area. However, they are not members of the EU.

Countries in Schengen Area:

As quoted by the Schengen visa info, most of the Schengen countries are in the European Union. Originally, the idea was to enable the European population to freely travel and settle in any EU State. The implementation of the Schengen Agreements commenced in 1995. Initially, it involved only seven EU States. Now it incorporates most, except for Croatia, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and the United Kingdom. Bulgaria and Romania are currently seeking to join the Schengen Area. Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, being non-EU states, have joined the Area.

Out of the 26 member countries:

• 22 members fully execute the Schengen Aquis
• Four of them implement Schengen Aquis through Specific Agreements
• Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are not members of the EU
• Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have opened their borders but are not included in the visa-free zone
• The Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands are non-EU states but are part of this Area
• Ireland and the United Kingdom are not part of the Schengen Area
• Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Cyprus are required to and are seeking to join soon

 The external borders of the Schengen Zone cover a distance of 50,000 km. 80% of this area is water and 20% is land. It encompasses hundreds of airports and maritime ports, an area of 4,312,099 million km2 and a population of 419,392,429 million citizens.

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If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Travel to Schengen talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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