Why do we call it the Schengen visa?

Here's a quick explainer

It’s on your mind before a trip and on your passport, but what’s the story of the Schengen visa?

The Schengen visa takes its name from the 1985 Schengen Agreement that abolished all internal borders within Europe, making the visa holder move almost anywhere in the continent.

All of the signatory countries agreed to maintain only an external border, inside which the citizens will be able to move freely.



Since the agreement was signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg; it was named after the place.



How many countries can be travelled by the Schengen visa holders?

With Schengen visa you cannot move anywhere in the European Union. That is because not all countries are part of the agreement. The countries that did not sign the agreement and hence cannot be travelled with the visa include Ireland, United Kingdom, Romania and Bulgaria.

However, there are other four countries – Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland – which are not part of the EU but still can be travelled with the Schengen visa because they had signed the agreement.



So, the countries travel-enthusiasts can travel with the Schengen Visa are:

1. Switzerland


2. France


3. Germany


4. Austria


5. Greece


6. Czech Republic


7. Belgium


8. Portugal


9. Spain


10. Sweden


11. Denmark


12. Estonia


13. Finland


14. Hungary


15. Iceland


16. Lithuania


17. Luxembourg


18. Latvia


19. Malta


20. The Netherlands


21. Norway


22. Poland


23. Slovenia


24. Slovakia

The article originally appeared on Conde Nast Traveller