Do I Need a Visa to Enter Europe? (Updated October 2026)

Check Your Visa Requirements

What is the Schengen Area?

The Schengen Area is a group of 29 European countries with no border checks between them, so once you are in, you can travel from one to the next as if it were one country. It covers 25 EU countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania (full members since January 2025), plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not fully in Schengen, so they check passports at their own borders.

Do you need a visa?

Visa-free entry

Citizens of the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and many other countries do not need a visa for a short holiday in the Schengen Area.

• You can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, and every Schengen country counts towards the same 90 days
• Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you arrive
• It must be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen Area
• Border staff can ask to see a return or onward ticket, where you are staying and that you have enough money for your trip

Need a Schengen visa?

If your nationality is not on the visa-free list, you need a Schengen short-stay visa before you travel. One visa covers all 29 countries.

The Entry/Exit System (EES)

The EU's Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps for visitors from outside the EU. The first time you cross a Schengen border you register your fingerprints and a photo, and each entry and exit is then recorded digitally, which is how your 90 days are counted. It is free, there is nothing to apply for in advance, and it applies to visa-free visitors such as UK, US, Canadian and Australian travellers. Allow a little extra time at the border, especially on your first trip.

What about ETIAS?

ETIAS is a planned online travel authorisation for visa-free visitors to Europe. It is not in operation yet and has no confirmed start date, so there is nothing to apply for, and the EU says it will announce the date several months in advance. Ignore any website offering to sell you an ETIAS now.

How to apply for a Schengen visa

1. Work out which country to apply to:

• Visiting one country: apply to that country
• Visiting several: apply to the country where you will spend the most time
• Equal time in several: apply to the country you enter first

2. Gather the documents:

• Your passport, issued in the last 10 years and valid for at least 3 months after your trip, with 2 blank pages
• The completed application form and a recent passport photo
• Your travel plans: flights and where you are staying
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 of cover, valid across the Schengen Area
• Proof that you can pay for your trip, such as recent bank statements
• Proof of your job or studies, and anything else the consulate asks for

3. Book an appointment at the consulate or visa application centre. Your fingerprints and photo are taken there.

4. Pay the fee: €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11, at the time of writing (October 2026). Children under 6 are free.

5. Wait for the decision: usually 15 days, though it can take up to 45 days if more checks are needed. You can apply up to 6 months before you travel and no later than 15 days before, so apply early.

Non-Schengen countries in Europe

Some European countries are outside Schengen and set their own rules, so check each one separately:

• The UK and Ireland
• Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia (visa-free for many nationalities)
• Ukraine, Moldova and Turkey

Days spent in these countries do not count towards your Schengen 90 days.

Visiting the UK as well?

The UK is not in Schengen and has its own system. Most visa-free visitors, including EU, US, Canadian and Australian citizens, now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before they travel to the UK. It costs £20, is applied for online or in the UK ETA app, and lasts 2 years or until your passport expires. Irish citizens do not need one. Check what applies to you at gov.uk/eta.

Official information

• European Commission: applying for a Schengen visa
• EU: the Entry/Exit System
• EU: ETIAS
• UK travellers: the entry requirements page for each country on gov.uk foreign travel advice

Rules change, so check before you travel. Ready to go? See our Backpacking Europe: By Rail trip through eight Schengen countries, read when to go, or browse all our Europe tours.