Everything You Need to Know about the Schengen Zone

But what does that even mean?

If you’re planning an extended trip to Europe, you may be in for a bit of a surprise when it comes you how long you can stay thanks to a thing known as the Schengen Zone.

If you’re wondering what that is and how it works, read on!

What is the Schengen Zone?

The Schengen Zone (or Schengen Area) is an affiliation comprised of 26 different countries of the European Union or adjacent to the E.U. If you’re a citizen of one of the Schengen nations, you are able to freely move between the different countries without worrying about borders.

For citizens of most non-Schengen countries, however, this means that once you enter one of these 26 countries, the countdown begins — you have 90 days out of 180 consecutive days to spend in any of them collectively. This is known as the 90/180 Schengen Visa Rule, and it can cause some stress for long-term travelers as they make their way through Europe.

For instance, if you spend 15 days in France, then go to another non-Schengen country (such as Romania) for a week, and then enter Germany, the clock on your Schengen Visa is still ticking and you can only spend 75 more days in any Schengen country.

List of Schengen Countries

Currently there are 26 member countries that participate in the Schengen Area as follows:

There are 22 full members that are E.U. and fully implement the Schengen Visa. These are:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

Another four countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — aren’t members of the E.U., but they do participate in the European Free Trade Association and thus entry and exit from these countries subscribe to the Schengen rules.

There are also three countries — Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City — that aren’t part of Schengen but still operate with open borders (probably for convenience).

So that’s a total of 29 countries the European traveler can visit with just one visa.

Why is there a SchEngen Zone?

The Schengen Area is a direct result of the Schengen Agreement, a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 that allowed for a Europe with open borders.

Citizens of the participating countries are free to enter, exit, move to, work in, or live in any of the other participating countries. Likewise, travelers can move from country to country without showing a passport or stopping at a border check.

If you’re from the United States, it’s very similar to traveling from one state to another.

Why is is Called the ScHengen Zone?

The Schengen Zone is named for Schengen in Luxembourg, a nice, small town in the southern part of the country. Schengen, the town, is adjacent to a point where the borders of Luxembourg, Germany, and France meet in a tripoint on the Moselle River.

It’s also the place where the Schengen Agreement was signed. Representatives from the participating countries boarded a boat on the Moselle and signed the agreement while floating on the river at this tripoint.

The town is home to the European Museum, a place where you can learn all about Europe, the Schengen Agreement, and see some old border markers, border guard uniforms, and some border contraband confiscated the pre-Schengen era.

Also, it’s a place where, if you stand on the bridge over the Moselle, you’ll be in Luxembourg and Germany at the same time.

What if I Overstay my Schengen Visa?

Like any visa for any country, you can get into serious trouble for staying in the country longer than you were allowed. Such action will have consequences including being fined, deported, and even banned from entry for a period of time.

Some Schengen countries are rumored to be more strict than others. During our travels we were told that Germany was very strict about Schengen Visas, while Spain was somewhat more lax. We were told Greece was carefully scrutinizing travelers (as they were going through a debt-crisis at the time, and the though was they didn’t want to jeopardize their E.U. status).

We also heard a persistent rumor that you could enter Norway (as they aren’t an E.U. country) with only a few days left on your Schengen Visa and still stay in the country on a Norway visa (but we had no word if this was actually the case and don’t recommend it).

We didn’t put any of that to the test though, and in the end we used 79 of our days over 109 days.

How do I count my Schengen Days?

If you’re planning on entering Europe, knociking about for less than 90 dyas, then leaving, essentially, all you need to track your days is a calendar or a notebook.

But if you’ll be leaving and re-entering different Schengen countries over a period of six months, then keeping track of the days you spend in the Schengen Zone can get a little confusing with the rolling 180-day rule.

Schengen Visa Info offers an online Schengen Calculator. It’s a very simple calculator, but its downside is you can’t really use it to plan future trips.

There are also, of course, apps that will measure your Schengen days. The apps we used aren’t available any longer, but we’ve heard good things about Schengen Stay Planner for Apple devices and 90 Days Schengen for Android devices. Both allow for calculating your days for future dates.

Header image: The European Union explained through CSS. Courtesy of CSS Puns.

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