Cruise passengers on a German cruise ship with a Schengen visa can visit the other countries that belong to the Schengen agreement (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg , Malta , Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Slovakia , Slovenia , Spain and Sweden ) for an unlimited amount of time during the sixty-day visa period. Passengers staying longer than 90 days have to register when they arrive in any country of the Schengen agreement.

Cruises are a fabulous vacation, however they often require being out of the country for up to five days. If your cruise originates from a Schengen Country, it is possible to make side trips in other Schengen countries either before or after your cruise, without having to get a new visa. The following article discusses requirements for citizens of certain nations who intend to embark on cruise vacations heading from a port in Europe.

Schengen Visa For Cruise Passengers

A Schengen Visa is an international visa allowing its holder to visit, travel to and reside in the countries that have signed and ratified the Schengen Agreement for a period of up to 90 days within a 6 month period.

Schengen Area – The World’s Largest Visa Free Zone

Schengen Area signifies a zone where 26 European countries, abolished their internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strengthening the common judicial system and police cooperation.

Schengen Area covers most of the EU countries, except Ireland and the countries that are soon to be part of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus. Although not members of the EU, countries like Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are also part of the Schengen zone.

Schengen Area Countries

The 26 Schengen countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Currently, the Schengen Area consists of 26 member countries. All of these countries are located in Europe, from which:

• 22 members fully implement the Schengen acquis,
• Four of them – members of the EFTA, implement Schengen acquis through specific agreements related to the Schengen agreement.
• Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are associate members of the Schengen Area but are not members of the EU. They are part of the EFTA and implement the Schengen acquis through specific agreements related to the Schengen agreement.
• Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have opened their borders with, but are not members of the visa-free zone.
• The Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands are special members of the EU and part of the Schengen Zone even though they are located outside the European continent.
• There are five more EU members, that have not joined the Schengen zone: Ireland – which still maintains opt-outs and Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Cyprus – that are seeking to join soon.

The external borders of the Schengen Zone reach a distance of 50,000 km long, where 80% of it is comprised of water and 20% of the land. The area counts hundreds of airports and maritime ports, many land crossing points, an area of 4,312,099 km2, and a population of 419,392,429 citizens.

Visa Information for Schengen countries

A holder of a Uniform Schengen visa can travel to all 26 member countries of the Schengen Area:

Austria	Hungary	Norway
Belgium	Iceland	Poland
Czech Republic	Italy	Portugal
Denmark	Latvia	Slovakia
Estonia	Liechtenstein	Slovenia
Finland	Lithuania	Spain
France	Luxembourg	Sweden
Germany	Malta	Switzerland
Greece	Netherlands

Austria

One of the richest countries in the world by per capita GDP terms, Austria, has an area of 83,871km2 and is inhabited by 8,712,137 residents. The country signed the Schengen agreement on 28 April 1995. However, it started its implementation more than two years later on 1 December 1997.

Austria is located in central Europe and is bordered by 8 countries, more than most of the other European countries. Its capital, Vienna, remains one of the top European destinations for travellers.

In 2017 alone, the Austrian embassies around the world received a number of 304,556 visa applications.

Requirements to apply for a visa to Austria

Belgium

Belgium is one of the five first countries that signed the Schengen agreement on 14 June 1985 and started its implementation on 26 March 1995. It is a small and densely populated country, with an area of 30,528km2 and a number of 11,358,379 residents.

Located in Western Europe the country is bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. Its capital, Brussels, is the administrative centre of the European Union, which is often referred to as the EU’s capital city.

A number of 231,437 travellers from all around the world applied for a visa to Belgium in 2017.

Requirements to apply for a visa to Belgium

Czech Republic

Shortly known as Czechia, the country was founded as late as 1993, with the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The central European country has an area of 78,866km2 and is bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast.

It has a population of 10,610,947, 64.3% of which are Czechs while the rest are Slovaks, Moravians, Ukrainians and others. The country has a considerable income from tourism, with Prague listed as the fifth most visited cities located in the old continent.

The Czech Republic signed the Schengen agreement on 16 April 2003 and started its implementation years later, on 21 December 2007.

Last year, 623,255 foreigners in need of a visa, applied for one at the Czech embassies around the world.

Requirements to apply for a visa to the Czech Republic

Denmark

Denmark is the southernmost country of the Scandinavian countries. It has an area of 43,094 km2 and is located in the southwest of Sweden and south of Norway. Whereas, to the south, it is bordered by Germany.

The Danish government signed the Schengen agreement on 19 December 1996 and started its implementation on 25 March 2001. However, Denmark is currently one of the six Schengen countries with reintroduced border checks due to the security situation in Europe and threats resulting from the continuous significant secondary movements.

The Nordic country has a population of 5,785,864 residents who have one of the highest standards of living, not only in Europe but in the whole world as well.

In 2017, it received 152,467  visa applications. Figures show that Denmark has received 1 million more tourists in 2017, in comparison to 2014.

Requirements to apply for a visa to Denmark

Estonia

The northern European Republic of Estonia is bordered to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, to the north by the Gulf of Finland and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. With an area of 45,338 km2 and 1,312,442 residents, it is one of Europe’s least crowded countries. This flatland country also consists of 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea.

Throughout the centuries, the territorial area of today’s Estonia has been ruled by the Danish, the Swedish and recently by the Soviet Union. Its government signed the Schengen agreement on 16 April 2003 and started its implementation on 21 December 2007.

In 2017, the country received 138,249 visa applications. However, figures show that 3.54 million foreigners stayed overnight in Estonia, 6.6% more than in the previous year.

Requirements to apply for a visa to Estonia

Finland

Officially known as the Republic of Finland, the Nordic country is bordered by Norway to the north, Sweden to the northwest, and Russia to the east. It is famous for its educational system, and for being one of the safest and most eco-friendly countries on earth. Its 5,503,132 residents populate the happiest country in the world.

Finland has an area of 338,145 km2. It signed the Schengen agreement on 19 December 1996 and started its implementation on 25 March 2001.

It remains one of the most visited Schengen countries, since last year alone, it received 827,520 visa applications. Statistics show that out of around 3,1 million tourists that entered Finland in 2017, 1,5 million of them were from the EU states.

Requirements to apply for a visa to Finland

France

The most visited country in Europe, France, is not all about the Eiffel Tower. Known for its fine wine, sheer diversity, heritage sites and luxury skiing resorts, the country lured 85.7 million foreign tourists in 2013, the highest number ever.

The 551,695km2 country borders eight European countries: Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany and Switzerland in the east, Italy and Monaco in the southeast, and Andorra and Spain in the south and southwest.

It is home to 64,720,690 residents, who can move freely within the Schengen Area, since the country is one of the five founding countries of the Schengen Zone on 14 June 1985. The implementation of the agreement in France started on 26 March 1995.

Requirements to apply for a visa to France

Germany

The land of invention and innovation and the second most visited Schengen country, Germany, consists of an area of 357,386km2 and 16 constituent states. The most populous EU member is also the European country that borders most other countries.

It is located in Western and Central Europe, with Denmark bordering to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east. It has Austria to the southeast, Switzerland to the south-southwest, France, Luxembourg and Belgium lie to the west, and the Netherlands to the northwest.

The German passport is amongst the top three most powerful passports in the world, since its 81,914,672 residents can visit 188 countries visa-free.

Germany is one of the five founding countries of the Schengen agreement, signed on 14 June 1985. It started its implementation ten years later on 26 March 1995.