The Schengen Area currently consists of 27 countries in Europe. Of these, 23 are European Union member states, plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
You can visit any of the Schengen countries for a duration of up to 90 days within a 6-month period, or visa-free if you’re a citizen of one of the countries that has visa agreements with the EU.
Three EU member states - Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus - are not yet part of the Schengen Area, although they may allow travellers with multi-entry Schengen visas to enter.
If you require a Schengen visa, please keep the following points in mind:
- You need to apply to the embassy of the country where you will spend the most amount of time/nights. If there are two or more countries which have an equal number of ‘most nights’, you must apply to the embassy of the country you will visit first (see our list below for which embassy to apply to). Please Note: If you are travelling in Europe before and/or after your Expat tour, or are taking a one-way Expat tour, you may need to apply at a different embassy to the one listed. Please check which country in which you will spend the most amount of time and confirm to us which embassy you are applying to when you request your visa support documents).
- Your tour must be paid in full before we are allowed to release visa support documents.
- To request visa support documents once your tour is paid in full, email us at customerservice@travelchasers.com
- Booking appointments can be tricky as the embassies can get busy, particularly in the run-up to the peak summer travel season. Please allow plenty of time for your appointment, which must be made prior to your departure date.
- We cannot give a full refund if visas are rejected. Refund amounts will be based on the number of days remaining, prior to departure, as per our Terms & Conditions.
- With certain UK visas, you are not permitted to travel on a Schengen Visa within the last 3 months prior to expiry. Please be sure to check the details of your specific visa.
More information on the Schengen Area and Schengen visas, including the application process, is available here.