Schengen Area

The Schengen Area (English: /ˈʃɛŋən/ SHENG-ən, Luxembourgish: [ˈʃæŋən] ^ⓘ) is a system of open borders that encompass 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.

Of the 27 EU member states, only two, Cyprus and Ireland, are not members of the Schengen Area. Cyprus is committed by treaty to join the system and aims to do so in 2026, although its participation has been complicated by the occupation of Northern Cyprus by Turkey since 1974. Ireland maintains an opt-out in order to maintain the Common Travel Area between Ireland and non-EU member United Kingdom and operates its own visa policy.

In addition to the member states of the European Union, all member states of the European Free Trade Association, namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, have signed association agreements with the EU to be part of the Schengen Area. The microstate of Monaco is de facto part of the Schengen Area as border controls are administered as part of France. Three other microstates – Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City – have open borders with the Schengen Area due to their small size and difficulty of maintaining active border controls.

The Schengen Area has a population of more than 450 million people and an area of about 4,595,000 km² (1,774,000 sq mi). About 1.7 million people commute to work across an internal European border each day, and in some regions these international commuters constitute up to a third of the workforce. In 2015, there were 1.3 billion crossings of Schengen borders in total. 57 million crossings were due to the transport of goods by road, with a value of €2.8 trillion. The decrease in the cost of trade due to Schengen varies from 0.42% to 1.59% depending on geography, trade partners, and other factors. Countries outside of the Schengen Area also benefit. States in the Schengen Area have strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries.