Schengen Area countries: the 2026 business travel list

The complete list of Schengen member states, how to handle nearby microstates, and the countries most often wrongly assumed to be included.

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The short answer

As of 2026, the Schengen Area consists of 29 member countries. Schengen membership is not the same as EU membership: some Schengen members aren't in the EU, and some EU members aren't in Schengen. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City are nearby microstates, but none is a formal Schengen member and they should not be presented as four extra members of the area.

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Full Schengen member states (29)

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Four of these — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — are Schengen members but not EU members. Days spent in any of them count fully toward the 90/180 allowance in exactly the same way as an EU Schengen country.

Romania and Bulgaria have two dates that are easy to confuse. The remaining Schengen rules applied and uniform Schengen visas began from 31 March 2024, when air and sea internal-border checks were also removed. Internal land-border checks were removed on 1 January 2025, which is the date the European Commission describes them as fully joining the border-free area. For 90/180-day history, ComplyEur counts presence in both countries from 31 March 2024.

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How to handle the four nearby microstates

Andorra, Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino are not Schengen members. Their border arrangements differ, so a blanket statement that all four legally count as Schengen presence is misleading.

• Andorra is outside the Schengen Area. Do not automatically count the days spent there as Schengen presence, but record any calendar days spent travelling through France or Spain.
• Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino have accessible borders with neighbouring Schengen states and no routine immigration control on those boundaries. ComplyEur therefore treats time there conservatively as Schengen presence while the policy awaits specialist review.

The conservative treatment of Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino is an operational safeguard, not a statement that the territories are Schengen members. If excluding one of those days would decide whether a traveller can proceed, confirm the position with the relevant border authority or an immigration adviser.

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The three countries people often assume are included (but aren't)

• Ireland — an EU member state that opted out of Schengen. Trips to Dublin or Cork do not draw down the Schengen 90-day allowance at all (though Ireland has its own separate entry rules for UK nationals under the Common Travel Area).
• Cyprus — an EU member state that has not yet implemented the Schengen border framework. Like Ireland, time spent in Cyprus is not counted against the Schengen 90/180 limit.
• United Kingdom — obviously not Schengen, but worth stating plainly for any policy document: UK travel days are never part of this calculation.

Getting this wrong in either direction causes problems. Wrongly counting Irish, Cypriot or Andorran days makes a travel plan look artificially risky. Automatically excluding Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City without checking the travel route can create false headroom under a conservative employer policy.

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Why the EU/Schengen distinction matters for policy

A UK company writing an internal travel policy that says "no more than 90 days in the EU" is already wrong in two directions: it would incorrectly restrict travel to Ireland and Cyprus, and it could miss non-EU Schengen countries like Switzerland and Norway. Compliance policy should start with Schengen membership, then handle the nearby microstates as a separate documented rule.

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Key takeaways

• The Schengen Area has 29 member countries; the four nearby microstates are not additional members.
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland are Schengen but not EU — days there fully count.
• Romania and Bulgaria count toward the shared short-stay allowance from 31 March 2024; their internal land-border checks ended on 1 January 2025.
• Andorra is outside Schengen. ComplyEur temporarily treats Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino conservatively and flags the distinction for manual review.
• Ireland, Cyprus, and the UK are the three countries most often wrongly assumed to be in scope — none of them are.

Sources and review date

• European Commission overview of the Schengen Area (opens in a new tab)
• GOV.UK guidance on travel to the EU and Schengen Area (opens in a new tab)
• Council decision applying the remaining Schengen rules to Bulgaria and Romania from 31 March 2024 (opens in a new tab)
• Council decision removing internal land-border checks from 1 January 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources last checked: 2026-09-07.

Recheck membership quarterly.

Membership only tells you whether a trip counts. To work out how much allowance a set of trips actually consumes, see the complete guide to the 90/180-day rule, or put your dates into the free calculator — it applies the membership list above automatically, including the Romania and Bulgaria effective date. Definitions of the terms used here are in the glossary.

ComplyEur applies the current membership list to every trip record, so nobody has to check country-by-country before approving travel. See how it works, compare the alternatives, or read the FAQ.