Nationals of certain countries do not require to apply for or secure a Schengen Visa to enter Schengen Area legally. However, citizens of the remaining countries will have to undergo a hectic process of meeting all requirements and appearing for interviews, if they want to obtain a visa that allows them to roam in the Schengen Area freely. These countries, whose nationals need to apply for a visa, are called visa nationalities.
Read Also: How to Apply Finland Schengen Visa in India?
If you hail from any of these countries, then you need to apply for a Schengen Visa:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominion Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eretria, Ethiopia, Fiji, North Korea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana’s, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Russia, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timore-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Citizens of Which Countries Need an Airport Transit Schengen Visa?
The list of the countries which are subject to the airport transit visa in the Schengen Area goes as following:
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Congo (Drc)
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Iran
- Iraq
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Somalia
- Sri Lanka
Citizens of Which Countries Don’t Need a Schengen Visa to enter Europe?
- Albania*
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Bosnia and Herzegovina*
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Georgia
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Holy See (Vatican City State)
- Honduras
- Hong Kong S.A.R***
- Israel
- Japan
- Kiribati
- Macao S.A.R***
- Malaysia
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova*
- Monaco
- Montenegro*
- Nauru
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- North Macedonia*
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent
- Samoa
- Serbia*
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Taiwan**
- Timor Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
If you have any ambiguity regarding the first point of entry, read official instructions here.
