29 Non-Schengen Countries You Can Travel With a Schengen Visa
If you are planning to visit any country within the Schengen area for any reason, you may or may not have to apply for a visa depending on your nationality. Short-stay visas are called Schengen visas and they are valid for up to a maximum of 90 days. If you wish to go to the Schengen area for longer than 90 days, you would need to apply for a National visa.
If you obtain your visa for traveling within the Schengen zone, did you know that other countries that are NOT in the Schengen area ALLOW you to enter with your Schengen visa? This makes traveling around the world including countries in the European Union(EU)much easier for nationals that require a visa. So, why not make the most of these visa-free rules and travel to more countries than you had planned!
1. Albania
If you hold a multiple entry C visa (Schengen) or D visa (National) you can enter Albania for a total of 90 days. The visa must have been used at least once before entry is allowed into Albania. For further information on the rules regarding who can apply for a visa for Albania, check the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Albania.
2. Andorra
There are no visa requirements for Andorra and you only need to provide your passport or EU Identity card upon arrival. However, the only way you can enter the country is through Spain or France and you need a Schengen visa for either of these 2 countries. In order to enter Andorra, you must hold a multiple or double entry visa. You will need this multiple entry visa, not only to enter Andorra but also to re-enter the Schengen area (Spain or France) when you leave. For more information about traveling to Andorra, take a look at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Andorra.
3. Antigua and Barbuda
If you wish to travel to Antique and Barbuda you will obtain a visa on arrival as long as you hold a valid Schengen visa and wish to enter the country for tourism or you are visiting friends or family. The visa on arrival is for single entry up to a maximum of 30 days. The visa on arrival fee is $100 which will be paid upon entry to the country. See the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affair for Antigua and Barbuda for further information.
4. Argentina
Certain nationalities can apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) visa to enter Argentina for tourism purposes. To be able to do this, you must hold a B2 visa issued by the United States of America or a category C visa issued by one of the Schengen States of the EU. The visa for Argentina will be valid for 90 days from the date it is issued. See the MFA for Argentina’s website for more information.
5. Belarus
If you are a national of Gambia, Haiti, India and Lebanon, Namibia, Samoa and Vietnam you can enter Belarus without a visa for a period of up to 30 days. This is ONLY permitted if you are in possession of a multiple entry type C or type D visa and an entry stamp issued by one of the Schengen countries as well as having an air ticket confirming departure from Minsk National Airport. See the MFA for Belarus’ website for further information.
6. Bosnia and Herzegovina
If you are in possession of a multiple entry Schengen visa, you may enter Bosnia and Herzegovina for a maximum of 30 days. If you are from Kosovo, this does NOT apply to you and you must apply for a visa to be able to enter the country. See the website of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina for more information.
7. Bulgaria
If you hold a valid Schengen visa, you can enjoy visa-free entry to Bulgaria where you have the right to stay for up to a maximum of 90 days in any 180 day period. Your Schengen visa must be for double or multiple entry. There is further information about this on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Bulgaria.
8. Colombia
If you are from Cambodia, China, India, Macau, Myanmar, Thailand or Vietnam you can enter Colombia for a maximum of 90 days as long as you hold a Schengen visa valid for at least 180 days from the date you arrive in Colombia. Citizens of Macau are able to stay in Colombia for 180 days.
9. Croatia
If you hold a valid double or multiple entry Schengen (C), National visa (D) for longer than 3 months, and double or multiple entry National visa issued by Bulgaria, Cyprus or Romania you do not require a visa to be able to enter Croatia for stays of up to a maximum of 90 days in any 180 day period. See the MFA for Croatia’s website for more information.
10. Cyprus
You do NOT need to apply for an additional visa if you wish to enter and stay in Cyprus as long as you are in possession of a valid double or multiple entry Schengen visa or residence permit issued by any of the Schengen Member States. If this applies to you, you are permitted to stay for a maximum of 3 months in any 6 month period. If you come from Turkey or Azerbaijan you will need to follow the correct visa procedure.
11. Dominican Republic
You can enter and stay in the Dominican Republic if you hold a valid Schengen visa. You are permitted to stay for up to 90 days. This visa exemption also applies to residents and refugees or stateless persons with travel documents issued by Canada, the United States, and the European Union.
12. El Salvador
If you have a valid visa issued by any of the Schengen Member States as well as Canada and the United States, you may enter El Salvador for up to 90 days. However, if you are from Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cameroon, China, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, or Yemen this does not apply and your visa will need to be approved through the Embassy of El Salvador in your location.
13. Georgia
You are able to enter Georgia for 90 days in any 180 day period if you have a valid visa issued by any of the Schengen countries. Check the website of the MFA for Georgia for more information.
14. Gibraltar
If you come from Morocco, the People’s Republic of China, Mongolia, India or Russia and have a valid multiple entry Schengen visa, you are allowed to enter and stay in Gibraltar for a maximum of 21 days. However, there must be 7 days remaining on your Schengen visa in order to be able to do this. See the HM Government of Gibraltar’s website for further information.
15. Guatemala
Guatemala allows you to enter and stay for a maximum of 90 days within 180 days if you hold a valid visa issued by one of the Schengen countries. This also applies to visa holders and residents of Canada and the United States. However, this does not apply if you come from Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cameroon, China, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macau, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, or Yemen. If you are a national of any of these countries, you must apply for a visa in the normal way.
16. Honduras
If you have a valid visa issued by one of the Schengen countries, you may enter and stay in Honduras for up to 90 days. If you are a national of the following countries, you cannot do this and you must apply for a visa from your local visa office:
- Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, Vietnam, or Yemen
17. Jamaica
If you hold a Schengen visa and you wish to travel to Jamaica, certain nationalities can enter and stay in the country for a maximum of 30 days. Therefore, if you are from Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, or Serbia there is no need for you to arrange an additional visa for Jamaica. However, you need to provide a vaccination certificate and be traveling for tourist or business purposes only. Click here for further information.
18. Mexico
There is usually a visa requirement for some nationalities to be able to enter and stay in Mexico, however, this requirement is waived if you hold a valid and unexpired Schengen visa. However, this is for tourism and business purposes only. You are allowed to stay in Mexico for up to 6 months, but you need to provide your Schengen visa along with your passports upon entry to the country. In addition, this visa should be valid for the entire stay in Mexico. Take a look at the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin’s website for more information regarding this.
19. Moldova
If you come from the People’s Republic of China, the State of Kuwait or the State of Qatar, you would normally require a visa to be able to enter Moldova, however, if you hold a valid visa issued by any of the Schengen Member States, you are permitted to enter and stay in Moldova for a maximum of 90 days in any 6 month period. Click here for further information.
20. Montenegro
If you come from any country and you are in possession of a valid Schengen visa issued by any of the EU countries within the Schengen zone, you are allowed to enter and stay in Montenegro for a maximum of 30 days.
21. Nicaragua
If you are from Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cameroon, China, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, Vietnam, or Yemen you need to apply for a visa to be able to enter and stay in Nicaragua. However, if you hold a valid visa issued by the European Union, you do NOT need to arrange a visa for Nicaragua as long as you do not exceed 90 days in a 6 month period. In addition, if you come from India and you hold a valid Schengen visa, you can obtain a visa on arrival for a fee of $50.
22. North Macedonia
If you hold a multiple entry Schengen visa, type C, which is valid for at least 5 days beyond your stay in North Macedonia, you do not need to obtain an additional visa to be able to enter the country. You are allowed to stay for a maximum of 15 days. Your Schengen visa must also allow you to re-enter any of the Schengen Member States. See the MFA for North Macedonia’s website for details.
23. Oman
If you are from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Maldives, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam you can apply for an e-Visa for Oman. You must hold a valid Schengen visa in order to be able to do this. You may apply for a single entry or multiple entry e-Visa and you are permitted to stay for a maximum of 10 – 30 days depending on which visa you apply for.
24. Philippines
If you come from China and you wish to travel to the Philippines as a tourist, you may enter and stay for a maximum of 7 days providing you hold a valid visa issued by a Schengen country. The same applies if you are from India, but Indian citizens are permitted to stay in the Philippines for a maximum of 14 days.
25. Qatar
There are many nationalities who are eligible for visa-free entry to Qatar, however, if you are not among those, you can apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) visa, free of charge, if you hold a valid visit visa issued by any of the Schengen countries. You are allowed to enter and stay in Qatar for a maximum of 30 days during one visit. Click here for more information regarding visas.
26. Romania
The MFA for Romania states that if you hold a double or multiple entry Schengen (short-stay) visa or a long-stay visa issued by any of the Schengen Member States, you do NOT need to obtain a Romanian visa in order to enter and stay in the country for a maximum of 3 months. However, you must not have used up the number of entries of the Schengen visa and you will not be allowed to stay in Romania for longer than the duration of the Schengen visa.
27. Sao Tome and Principe
If you wish to travel to Sao Tome and Principe, you can do so without a visa if you hold a multiple entry short-stay Schengen visa. You can enter and stay in the country for up to 15 days.
28. Serbia
The government of the Republic of Serbia has agreed that if you have a valid Schengen visa, you are permitted to enter and stay in Serbia for a maximum of 90 days during a 6 month period. Please note, you cannot exceed the expiry dates of your original Schengen visa.
29. Turkey
If you have a Schengen visa, you may apply for a single entry e-Visa and you can stay in Turkey for up to 30 days. This does not apply for citizens of Gabon and Zambia. In addition, if you are from North Korea and you are in a possession of a valid Schengen visa you may ONLY apply for a visa upon arrival for 30 days at Istanbul Ataturk Airport (IST). See the MFA for Turkey’s website for more information.
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