Starting today (March 31, 2024), Romania and Bulgaria have joined the EU’s Schengen Area. This means travelers arriving in these two countries by air or sea from other Schengen countries will no longer need to go through border checks. However, passport or ID checks will still remain in place at the land borders of these two countries.
Below is the EU’s statement:
The border-free Schengen Area guarantees free movement to more than 425 million EU citizens, along with non-EU nationals living in the EU or visiting the EU as tourists, exchange students or for business purposes (anyone legally present in the EU) . Free movement of persons enables every EU citizen to travel, work and live in an EU country without special formalities. Schengen underpins this freedom by enabling citizens to move around the Schengen Area without being subject to border checks.Today, the Schengen Area encompasses most EU countries, except for Cyprus and Ireland. Bulgaria and Romania became the newest Member States to join the Schengen area as of 31 March 2024, any person crossing the internal air and sea borders will no longer be subject to checks. Nevertheless, a unanimous decision on the lifting of checks on persons at the internal land borders is still expected to be taken by the Council at a later date. Additionally, the non-EU States Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein also have joined the Schengen Area.
The Schengen Area now includes most EU countries, with the exception of Cyprus and Ireland. Romania and Bulgaria are the newest member states to join the Schengen Area. However, a decision on lifting checks on people at internal land borders still requires unanimous approval by the Council at a later date.
This is good news for anyone planning a trip to Europe. We now have two more countries to consider when applying for a visa. If it’s hard to get a visa appointment at another Schengen country’s consulate, these two countries may be worth trying.