The countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement constitute the Schengen Area. All residents of these countries enjoy the right of free movement within the Schengen area, and the list of states included in it is constantly expanding. As of April 2014, the Schengen Agreement has been signed by 26 countries, although in fact it includes 30 states.
Schengen countries
A feature of the Schengen area is the complete absence of passport control. Selective control is acceptable, but in reality, it is practically never used anywhere. Residents of Schengen countries have the right to cross borders anywhere, not just where official border crossings are located. The same goes for travelers staying in Schengen countries on visas.
Among the 30 states to which the agreement applies, 26 exercise border control at the external borders and at the air gates of the countries, and the remaining 4 enter the Schengen zone automatically, although they have not signed the agreement.
26 countries that signed the Schengen Agreement (as of July 2014): Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia.
Four countries that are members of Schengen, although they did not sign the Schengen agreement: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican. These countries do not have external borders or international airports, so they do not exercise border controls.
Two more countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, but have not abolished passport controls: Great Britain and Ireland. To visit these countries, tourists still need to apply for separate visas, EU citizens can visit them freely.
The territory of Denmark is not fully included in the Schengen zone. You can visit Greenland and the Faroe Islands only if you obtain a special Danish visa, which must contain a note stating that these territories are also allowed to visit.
Countries that partially apply the Schengen Agreement
There are four more countries that want to join the Schengen zone, but have not yet met all the conditions, and their visa is not Schengen: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Croatia. These countries lack practical measures to strengthen and properly protect their external borders, therefore, the EU states cannot yet cancel their internal borders with them. Schengen legislation is not fully applied by these countries.
Russian citizens should specifically clarify the situation for each of the countries that do not fully apply the Schengen Agreement, because all of them have different conditions of stay. These countries issue tourist visas. But some of them are allowed to visit without a visa if you have a valid Schengen visa.
