Visa requirements for European Union citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the European Union. They differ among countries. The European Union has achieved full reciprocity with certain countries.
Current member states of the European Union are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Member states' citizens enjoy freedom of movement in each other's territories. European Union citizens and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) nationals are not only visa-exempt but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries. British citizens who are not nationals of the United Kingdom for the purposes of EU law, however, are exempted.
The freedom of movement provisions do not apply to the overseas countries and territories (except Saint Barthélemy) and the Faroe Islands.
Video Visa requirements for European Union citizens
Visa requirements map
Maps Visa requirements for European Union citizens
Visa free access
This table lists all countries, with source information as it is cited inline, for which citizens of at least one EU member state may enter without a visa on an ordinary passport. Information regarding visas on arrival and on exit fees is not listed in the table, regarding which, see the relevant section below.
All European Union citizens can visit the following partially recognised countries or territories with autonomous immigration policies without a visa -- in Europe: Kosovo, Transnistria, in Asia: Hong Kong, Macau, Palestine, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia, Taiwan.
All European Union citizens always must arrange the visa prior to travel to (as of March 2018) Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China (except short term visits in transit and Hainan), Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba (can be obtained in travel agencies or airlines), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea, India, Iraq (outside Iraqi Kurdistan), North Korea, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
Reciprocity
As per Regulation No 539/2001 (amended by Regulation No 1289/2013) reciprocity is required from all Annex II countries and territories. That means that these countries must offer visa-free access for 90 days to all EU citizens (except citizens of Ireland and the United Kingdom) and to the citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. When this is not the case, the affected EU or Schengen member state is expected to notify the European Commission. Starting six months after the notification, the Commission may adopt an implementing act to suspend the visa-free regime for certain categories of nationals of the third country concerned, for a period of up to six months, with a possible prolongation by further periods of up to six months. If the Commission decides not to adopt such an act, it has to present a report explaining the reasons why it did not propose the measure. If after two years from the notification the third country is still requiring visas from citizens of one or more Member States, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act to re-impose the visa obligation on all citizens of the third country, for a period of 12 months. Either the European Parliament or the Council could oppose the entry into force of the delegated acts. All of the states that implement the common visa rules - including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania - may notify the European Commission about non-compliant third states.
The EU has achieved full reciprocity with the following countries (meaning the citizens of those countries may travel to all EU member states visa-free) -- Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Kiribati, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu.
Following countries are not implementing visa reciprocity fully:
- Japan: For Romanian citizens a temporary waiver is in effect until 31 December 2018. The new policy also allows holders of temporary or provisional passports to travel to Japan without a visa.
- United States: Bulgarian, Croatian, Cypriot, Polish and Romanian citizens are still required to apply for a visa to enter the US. Nonetheless, U.S refuses to lift the requirements. On 3 March 2017, the European Parliament voted in favor to impose visa requirements on U.S. citizens in the future.
According to a report from April 2015, the Commission dismissed notifications by both Bulgaria and Romania of a general visa requirement by Australia. It concluded that the Australian electronic visa 'manual processing' treatment should not be considered as equivalent to the Schengen visa application procedures and consequently will not be covered by the reciprocity mechanism. In its previous report the Commission also committed to assessing certain provisions of the US ESTA system -- such as the application fee -- and the Australian eVisitor system.
In October 2014, it was reported that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada might not be ratified by Bulgaria and Romania unless visa requirements were lifted for their citizens. In November 2014 Bulgarian Government also announced that it will not ratify the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership unless the United States lifted visas for its citizens.
Special requirements
The following countries require electronic registrations for all citizens of the European Union who don't need a visa:
- Australia requires EU citizens to obtain an eVisitor, which is issued free of charge.
- Canada requires EU citizens to obtain an eTA. The application fee is 7 CAD.
- United States requires eligible EU citizens to obtain an ESTA. The application fee is 14 USD.
Visa on arrival
The following countries provide visa on arrival to the citizens of the European Union. Some of these countries may be available for visa free access to some (*) or all other EU nationals (**) - for details see above. Some countries may not provide visa on arrival facilities at all entry points.
Limited visa on arrival
- Burundi - Visas are issued on arrival if an Entry Authorisation letter was issued by the authorities of Burundi.
- Belarus - Visas are issued on arrival at the Minsk International Airport if the support documents were submitted not later than 3 business days before expected date of arrival.
- Iraq - Holders of ordinary passports of all EU member states may obtain a visa on arrival for Iraqi Kurdistan valid for 15 days when arriving through the Erbil International Airport or Sulaimaniyah International Airport.
- Pakistan - All EU nationals except those from Bulgaria and Croatia may obtain visa on arrival when travelling on business. They must have a local sponsor who must obtain an approval from the immigration authorities at the port of arrival (Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta or Karachi airports) and a recommendation letter from country of residence or invitation letter from Pakistan. Nationals of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom may obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 30 days, if they are travelling as part of a group through a designated tour operator.
- Vietnam - Visitors can obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 1 or 3 months if they are holders of an approval letter issued and stamped by the Vietnamese Immigration Department (obtainable online through travel agencies for a fee) and if arriving only at airports in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang. All travellers can visit Phú Qu?c without a visa for up to 30 days.
Online visas
The following countries provide electronic visas to the citizens of the European Union.
Other
- China - As of 2013 all EU citizens transiting through People's Republic of China at one of the following airports may leave the terminal and visit the city for up to 72 hours - Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Guilin, Shanghai, Dalian, Shenyang, Xi'an. Visa-free access to Hainan Island as long as the visit lasts 15 days or less and is part of a tour group organised by a National Tourism Administration of China-approved travel agency based in Hainan is granted to the following EU nationals - Austria, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
- Zambia / Zimbabwe - a universal KAZA visa that is valid for both countries can be issued on arrival to citizens of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
- Kenya / Rwanda / Uganda - an East Africa Borderless Visa: Travelers from any country can obtain a multiple entry visa that allows entry to these three countries for tourism over period of 90 days. Visa must be first used in the country that issued it.
Non-ordinary passports
In addition to visa requirements for normal passport holders certain countries have specific visa requirements towards diplomatic and various official passport holders:
Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Mali and Zimbabwe grant visa-free access to holders of diplomatic or service passports issued to nationals of any country. Mauritania and Senegal grant visa-free access to holders of diplomatic passports issued to nationals of any country (except Italy for Mauritania). Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia and South Sudan allow holders of diplomatic, official, service and special passports issued to nationals of any country to obtain a visa on arrival.
Non-visa restrictions
Passport validity length
Many countries require passports to be valid for at least 6 months upon arrival. However, some countries have bilateral agreements with other countries to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens or even accept passports that have already expired (but not been cancelled).
In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid at least 6 months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain, Bhutan, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq (except when arriving at Basra and Erbil or Sulaimaniyah), Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Somaliland, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.
Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include European Union countries (except Denmark, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom), and always excepting EU/EEA/Swiss nationals); Albania; Belarus; Georgia; Honduras; Iceland; Jordan; Kuwait, Lebanon; Liechtenstein; Moldova; Monaco; Nauru; Panama, Saint Barthélemy; San Marino; Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.
Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month on arrival include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Macao, New Zealand and South Africa.
Other countries require either a passport valid on arrival or a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.
Blank passport pages
Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages in the passport being presented, generally one or two pages. Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being available.
Vaccination
Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia, require all incoming passengers to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination.
Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has recently visited one.
Israeli stamps
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.
To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel. Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport, giving passengers a card instead that reads: "Since January 2013 a pilot scheme has been introduced whereby visitors are given an entry card instead of an entry stamp on arrival. You should keep this card with your passport until you leave. This is evidence of your legal entry into Israel and may be required, particularly at any crossing points into the Occupied Palestinian Territories." Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017) stamped at Erez when travelling into and out of Gaza. Also, passports are still stamped (as of 22 June 2017) at the Jordan Valley/Sheikh Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin/Arava land borders with Jordan.
Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.
Armenian ethnicity
Due to a state of war existing between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the government of Azerbaijan not only bans entry of citizens from Armenia, but also all citizens and nationals of any other country who are of Armenian descent, to the Republic of Azerbaijan (although there have been exceptions, notably for Armenia's participation at the 2015 European Games held in Azerbaijan).
Azerbaijan also strictly bans any visit by foreign citizens to the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh (the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh), its surrounding territories and the Azerbaijani exclaves of Karki, Yuxar? ?skipara, Barxudarl? and Sofulu which are de jure part of Azerbaijan but under control of Armenia, without the prior consent of the government of Azerbaijan. Foreign citizens who enter these occupied territories will be permanently banned from entering the Republic of Azerbaijan and will be included in their "list of personae non gratae". As of late 2017 the list contains 699 persons.
Upon request, the authorities of the largely unrecognized Republic of Artsakh may attach their visa and/or stamps to a separate piece of paper in order to avoid detection of travel to their country.
Criminal record
Some countries (for example, Canada and the United States) routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have a criminal record.
Persona non grata
The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning their entry into that country. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity. Attempts to enter the Gaza strip by sea may attract a 10-year ban on entering Israel.
Fingerprinting
Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, be fingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest those travellers that refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to quickly change planes rather than go landside.
Fingerprinting countries include Afghanistan, Argentina,Brunei, Cambodia, China when entering through Shenzhen airport, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Japan, Malaysia upon entry and departure, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.
Additionally, the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors that need to apply for a visa.
Passport rankings
Passport rankings by the number of countries and territories their holders could visit without a visa or by obtaining visa on arrival in May 2018 according to the Henley Passport Index were as follows: German -- 188 countries and territories (ranked 2nd); Finnish, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish -- 187 (3rd); Austrian, British, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Portuguese -- 186 (4th); Belgian, Danish, Irish -- 185 (5th); Greek -- 183 (6th); Czech, Maltese -- 182 (7th); Hungarian, Slovenian -- 180 (9th); Latvian, Lithuanian, Slovak -- 179 (10th); Estonian -- 178 (11th); Polish -- 175 (12th); Cypriot -- 171 (14th); Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian -- 169 (16th). All EU passports are ranked within the top 20 positions. Passports of the European Free Trade Association countries rank similarly, Norwegian -- 186 (4th); Swiss -- 185 (5th); Icelandic -- 181 (8th) and Liechtenstein -- 178 (11th), while the passports of the candidate states rank lower Serbian -- 130 (36th); Macedonian -- 125 (41st); Montenegrin -- 123 (43rd); Turkish -- 111 (49th) and Albanian -- 114 (48th). European microstates rank high: Monaco -- 174 (13th), Andorra, San Marino -- 168 (17th) and Vatican City -- 148 (26th).
Future
European Commission proposed a visa-free travel for 16 island nations in 2012. This proposal foresees that the visa exemption will be reciprocated through visa waiver agreements, ensuring a visa free regime for all EU citizens who wish to travel to these countries. The island nations in question are Caribbean island nations - Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, and Pacific island nations - Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The list was expanded in 2013 with Colombia, Peru and the United Arab Emirates. Most of these countries already provide visa-free or visa on arrival access in some form to the EU citizens.
Freedom of movement within the EU
Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 recognises the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the European Union (EU) and the three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Switzerland, which is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA, is not bound by the Directive but rather has a separate bilateral agreement on the free movement with the EU.
Citizens of all European Economic Area (EEA) member states and Switzerland holding a valid passport or national identity card enjoy freedom of movement rights in each other's territory and can enter and reside in the each other's territory without a visa.
If EU, EEA and Swiss nationals are unable to present a valid passport or national identity card at the border, they must nonetheless be afforded every reasonable opportunity to obtain the necessary documents or have them brought to them within a reasonable period of time or corroborate or prove by other means that he/she is covered by the right of free movement.
However, EU, EEA member states and Switzerland can refuse entry to an EU/EEA/Swiss national on public policy, public security or public health grounds where the person presents a "genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society". If the person has obtained permanent residence in the country where he/she seeks entry (a status which is normally attained after 5 years of residence), the member state can only expel him/her on serious grounds of public policy or public security. Where the person has resided for 10 years or is a minor, the member state can only expel him/her on imperative grounds of public security (and, in the case of minors, if expulsion is necessary in the best interests of the child, as provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child). Expulsion on public health grounds must relate to diseases with 'epidemic potential' which have occurred less than 3 months from the person's the date of arrival in the Member State where he/she seeks entry.
A family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen who is in possession of a residence permit indicating their status is exempt from the requirement to hold a visa when entering the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland when they are accompanying their EU/EEA/Swiss family member or are seeking to join them. However the UK requires family members to obtain a special permit in order to enter the United Kingdom. Non-EU family members will need a Schengen Visa before they travel to Switzerland even if they possess a UK residence permit that clearly mentions that they are the family member of an EEA Citizen.
Right to consular protection
When in a non-EU country, EU citizens whose country maintains no embassy there have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present there.
As of 2014, there are 16 non-EU countries where there is only one embassy of an EU country: Antigua and Barbuda (United Kingdom), Barbados (United Kingdom, EU delegation), Belize (United Kingdom, EU office), Central African Republic (France, EU delegation), Comoros (France), Gambia (United Kingdom, EU office), Guyana (United Kingdom, EU delegation), San Marino (Italy), São Tomé and Príncipe (Portugal), Solomon Islands (United Kingdom), Somalia (United Kingdom), Timor-Leste (Portugal, EU delegation), and Vanuatu (France, EU delegation).
As of 2014, the following 18 non-EU countries have no embassy of an EU country: Bahamas, Bhutan (Denmark Liaison office), Dominica, Grenada, Kiribati, Lesotho (EU delegation), Liechtenstein, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa (EU office), Swaziland (EU office), Tonga, and Tuvalu.
Brexit
On 23 June 2016, the British electorate voted to leave the European Union in a nationwide referendum in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. The UK sent notification of their intention to leave the EU to the European Council through Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. After notifying the European Council, the UK has two years to negotiate with other member states until it leaves, and British citizens will only then cease to be citizens of the European Union. British citizens will still have the right of freedom of movement until the UK formally leaves. It has since been suggested that British citizens wishing to travel to EU countries may have to apply for a visa or apply online for an American-style ESTA visa waiver and pay a fee in order to enter the country of destination.
Concerns have been raised by UK citizens who live in other EU countries, and by citizens from those countries who live in the UK. In May 2017, Michel Barnier stated: "Currently around 3.2 million EU citizens work and live in the UK, and 1.2 million British citizens work and live in the EU."
Issues include rights of movement, citizenship, abode, education, social support and medical treatment, and the payment of pensions; and the extent to which these rights apply to family members. Considerations for UK citizens resident in an EU27 country include their rights to work or live in a different EU27 country. Beyond the 27 EU countries, workers have certain freedom of movement rights to/from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
These issues will be a major topic of discussions taking place between the British government and all leaders of the 27 European Union countries during the two-year-long Brexit negotiations.
See also
References and Notes
- References
- Notes
External links
- Timatic service giving subscribers up-to-date information on visa requirements(subscription required)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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