There are so many visas that you can obtain as Australian passport holders, including the Schengen Visa. But what exactly is a Schengen Visa?

A Schengen Visa is a short-term visa that allows travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 within any 180-day period. It is a single visa that grants access to all 26 countries which is included as a part of Schengen Area.

The Schengen Area is a unique political agreement between 26 European Countries where the core principle is to give each of their citizens free movement within the borders of those participating countries. It means that there are no passport controls at the internal borders between these countries, allowing citizens to travel freely between them without any checks.

Here are the countries that become part of the Schengen Area.

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Italy

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

The Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Australian citizens are given the privilege of freely travelling to the Schengen Area without a visa for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.

Who applies for Schengen Visa for Australian passport Holder:

Exception:

Schengen Visa only covers a stay in one of the countries which is part of the Schengen Area, up to 90 days. If your travel plans exceed the 90-day limit or if you are travelling for purposes other than tours or short-term business, like for work, study, or long-term residence, you might need to apply for a specific visa.

As has been mentioned before, the Schengen Area allows visa-free travel for Australian citizens for up to 90 days within any 180 days. It means you can stay in the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days within a rolling 180-day window.

How it Works:

1. 180-Day Window: First of all, just imagine you have a total of 180-day periods moving forward in time.

2. 90-Day Limit: Within that 180-day Windoe, you can only spend a maximum of 90 days within the Schengen Area.

And once you step into one of the countries within the Schengen Area, the 180-Day Window moves forward with you.

Example:

If you entered a Schengen country on July 1st, 2024, the 180-day window would start from December 27th, 2023.

Once you have already spent 90 days within that period, you cannot enter the Schengen Area again until you’ve been outside the area for long enough to bring your total days spent below 90 within the 180-day window.

Even though it is a visa-free travel country, there are still some terms and conditions as well as documents that you need to bring during your visit.

The first and the most important one is a valid passport.

Prepare yourself with a valid passport and make sure that the passport has validity for at least 3 months after the date of you getting out from the Schengen area.

Also, be reminded that some countries need you to register within 3 days of your arrival, so make sure of that point and the terms and conditions that are available in each of the countries that you plan to visit.

Another thing that you need to know if you plan to use the Schengen Visa for your next trip is the European Entry/Exit System (EES). EES is a new automated system designed to register travellers from non-EU countries who are entering or exiting the Schengen Area, which also includes Australia.

Travellers from visa-extemp countries will have their biometric data like fingerprints and facial images, and travel document information recorded electronically at the border. The information will be stored in the central database, and when exiting the Schengen Area, the system will automatically register the traveller’s departure.

Benefit:

Automated checks should streamline border crossing procedures, and also provide more accurate data on travel patterns, which can be used for analysis and to improve border management strategies.

There are still many other European countries where you can visit with a visa-free. Most of them also let you up to 90 days, and some of them are longer, so make sure of each country's availability and detailed border rules.

Here are all the available European countries that you can visit visa-free,

Albania

Armenia

Belarus

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Cyprus

Georgia

Ireland

Kosovo

Moldova

Montenegro

North Macedonia

Serbia

United Kingdom

Here is the list of countries that are not considered to be a part of the Schengen Area, where they have their own border rules. These countries include:

United Kingdom

Ireland

Albania

Armenia

Belarus

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Cyprus

Georgia

Kosovo

Moldova

Montenegro

North Macedonia

Russia

Serbia

Terkiye

Ukraine

And so, here are all of the things that you need to know about Schengen Visa Australia, along with the countries which serve as Schengen Area and outside Schengen Area along with the visa each of the countries provides.

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