From 1 January 2025, Bulgaria and Romania are full members of the Schengen Area.1 聽This means that checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania are lifted.
In March 2024, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen Area for air and sea borders only,2 which means that the lifting of land border checks was necessary for their full membership of the Schengen Area. 聽(For prior coverage, see GMS Flash Alert 2024-072, 27 March 2024.)
The Schengen Area3 refers to the European passport-free zone covering most European countries. 聽The abolishment of internal borders allows free and unrestricted movement of people. 聽
By expanding to include Bulgaria and Romania, traveling within the Schengen Area will be easier for travelers who will not be met with border checks.
Schengen countries include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, 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.
Ireland and Cyprus are EU member states that are not party to the Schengen Area. 聽
Border controls in the Schengen Area only concern internal border crossings.聽 External border crossings will continue to be subject to border checks.聽
The combined 25 million residents of Bulgaria and Romania join nearly 450 million European citizens who already have the freedom to move around the Schengen Area.
This is ninth enlargement of the Schengen Area, and it is expected to boost travel, trade, and tourism, thereby strengthening the internal market.
Bulgaria and Romania had been negotiating to enter the Schengen Area since 2011. 聽This process has been very long.
Lastly, it is notable that the enlargement of the Schengen Area comes before the implementation of the e-Gates system in Europe.4 聽聽While it is unclear if there is any relationship 鈥� i.e., direct tie 鈥� between the delays of the e-Gates and the long-awaited enlargement of the Schengen Area, some could argue that legislators had a preference for implementing the enlargement of the Schengen Area before implementation of the e-Gates.聽
1聽 Council of European Union: , 16 December 2024.
2聽 European Commission: , 8 January 2024.
3 聽For information on the Schengen Area, see the European Commission鈥檚 Migration and Home Affairs webpage, 鈥�.鈥�
4 聽See GMS Flash Alert 2024-229, 19 November 2024.聽
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