How to Travel in Europe Legally with Bilateral Agreements
The Schengen rules have certain exemptions for citizens of countries which have visa-free agreements before the Schengen Treaty took place, which is called bilateral agreements. If you are from one of these countries, you are one lucky person when it comes to traveling Europe.
You can enjoy extra time in Schengen by benefiting from these agreements, but remember that while you’re anywhere in Schengen, the ‘Schengen clock’ never stops for all the other countries.
But bilateral travel agreements are weird. Mostly because there is little to no official information about them available for travelers! This is most likely because countries want them to be forgotten since they all date back to before the Schengen Treaty came into action for them (in the 90’s most likely). It is very meticulous work that goes into hunting down who can stay where for how long, so this post is a work in progress.
Most government websites caution that immigration officers may be unaware of these agreements. The advice was to contact the relevant embassies and get confirmation that the agreements are still recognized in the countries you plan to visit. That way you get it in writing for an angry border guard.
Bilateral Agreements
Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Norway
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- The Netherlands
- Sweden
United States
- Poland
- Germany
- Denmark
- Other Scandinavian countries
New Zealand
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Iceland
- Luxembourg
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Canada
- Denmark
- The Netherlands (not confirmed)
Denmark has bilateral agreements with Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and USA.
Do you know of other bilateral agreements? I am compiling an ultimate list! Please comment below.
Scott Drescher
June 27, 2022I have done extensive research and have so far uncovered many existing bilateral visa waiver treaties between the U.S. and Schengen countries: Austria, Denmark, France (90 days), Greece, Iceland, Italy (90 days), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (60 days) and Spain (180 days). Those in the list without a number of days are those that I didn’t read the treaties themselves because I was only personally interested in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. You can research the treaties in force at https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TIF-2020-Full-website-view.pdf and its supplement for 2022 at https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TIF-Supplement-2022.pdf. For the record, even the U.S. Embassy in Paris states that all these countries prefer to rely on the Schengen program instead of the bilateral treaty; however, the U.S. is not a party to a Schengen treaty (it’s a European invention for its members) and if you follow the rules of leaving the above country directly out of the Schengen zone, you should not have a problem upon departure. I have not tried it myself yet (hence the research) but expect there to be no problems because I will follow the rule that I can travel within Schengen countries outside the one which will use the bilateral visa waiver treaty provisions and make my final stop in excess of the 90/180 Schengen limits in the country of choice from which I will fly directly out of the Schengen zone without a stopover anywhere in it.
Lindsey
April 23, 2023Hey Scott – totally agree with you. Countries really don’t think about bilateral agreements. You gotta be careful when you pull that card at the border. My suggestion is to always email the embassy to ask about this just in case.
Barry
June 22, 2020Hi Lindsay, thanks for the informative blog. I am from Singapore and contacted the Polish embassy in my country about this and here is the reply:
Yes – as you are a Singaporean the 180 days limit does not apply to you. As I mentioned before – in general you can stay in the Schengen zone for 90 days altogether. You will be however entitled to recounting this 90 days period from 0, just for your stay in Poland if you prove that you crossed the Polish border on a specific day. It is tricky because in general there are no border controls and border stamps on internal Schengen zone border. When leaving the Schengen zone the immigration (not necessarily Polish one) can ask you why more than 90 days since your last passport’s stamp passed. It is difficult sometimes to prove that you had a right to do that. I actually do not recommend this regulation as it is not clear (it derives rather from what is not prohibited than from what is allowed), the final decision is always taken by an immigration officer and it will be safer if you have a chance to secure your stay there in another way. If you really want to use it – collect the bills, tickets and so on. Please also print and have for your records.
I am at two minds about this because apparently there is official recognition regarding bilateral agreements but immigration officers seem to have the discretion whether to respect it or not. They seem to be unable to make up their minds! May I know if you have ever been questioned by an immigrations officer about this at customs?
Barry
Lindsey
July 7, 2020Hey Barry! Thanks for the info! Bilateral agreements are quite odd because it seems they are very hush hush or unknown to even officials. I have been questioned before in Spain and France, but with positive results. I haven’t met too many others who have had to talk bilaterally with agents yet…
Fulltimingfelines
October 14, 2019US has a bilateral agreement with France: https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/how-to-legally-stay-in-europe-for-more-than-90-days/
Nicole
April 10, 2019Does the bilateral agreement between U.S. and “other Scandinavian countries” include Sweden?
Lindsey
April 10, 2019Hey Nicole – I believe so, but as I mention, this topic is very on the fence. I suggest contacting your embassy in Sweden and asking directly. Best of luck! ✌🏼
Pedro
March 14, 2019Hi Lindsey,
I appreciate the information. I’m from the US and currently in Europe for an extended stay, looking to stay in a couple Schengen countries as long as possible.
I have heard elsewhere of bilateral agreements between the US and Poland and Denmark, and that the Denmark agreement is actually duplicated with other Nordic countries (though 90 days in any of those countries counts against time in any other Nordic countries.)
However, your post here is the first I have heard of a bilateral agreement between Germany and the US. How did you determine there is a bilateral agreement between these two countries, and where did you find information on it? Also, can you please post some links to the information where you verified that each of the above agreements is in effect.
Finally, I have come across information stating that there is an agreement between the US and France that is viewed by France similarly to how Poland views the US-Poland agreement, but I am having difficulty confirming this so far.
Lindsey
March 18, 2019Hello! American citizens can actually just roll into Germany and apply for a residence card within the first week of arrival. That will grant you extra days beyond your 90 days tourist visa. Register at the local Standesamt – Einwohnermeldeamt (Registration Office). The thing with bilaterals is they are a well-kept secret with how countries acknowledge and even support bilaterals. That’s why I have a disclaimer on my page. There is rarely any information on them unless you contact embassies and push them for answers. Bilaterals are also risky because sometimes officers are not aware that’s how it works. However, if you give yourself enough time in your 90-day tourist visa when you visit Germany, you may end up with a residence visa instead! More info here: https://de.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/living-in-germany/
Anonymous
February 20, 2019Hi Lindsay my family and I want to travel to Europe mid next year. We are Australian citizens and want to spend 6 weeks in the Uk, then travel to france, Spain, as well as canary islands, Portugal & Italy -we wanted to stay over 90 days (if possible?) but I’m finding it tricky to contact embassies and when I do they keep saying there’s no bilateral visa waiver agreements..it’s very frustrating and disheartening! I wonder if you know exactly who o contact or the information I need to print to prove these waivers when crossing borders. I CAN NOT risk any dramas when traveling as we have 3 small children. We also wanted to go to Croatia for 2 weeks. We only want to outstay the 90 days for about 3-4 weeks in total, but don’t want to spend 90 days in the UK waiting for our next 90 days to begin….any ideas….
Is
So am I correct in saying my options would be UK then Spain/Portugal/islands then Croatia then Italy and France (finishing on either) OR UK then Croatia then Spain, Portugal then France/Italy. As do France and Spain have bilateral agreements? Do I actually need to apply for these waivers and get approval?! Or is it just given? I’m So confused!
Thank you for your time
Paula
October 31, 2018Hello Lindsey,
I found this information on the US-Greek embassy website which does in fact state that they have a bilateral agreement.
Political Relations
Print
Greece – Greece and the USA
Greek-U.S. bilateral relations are founded on long-term cooperation and go back to the philhellene movement that was prevalent in Europe and America in the early 19th century, in support of the Greek people’s struggle for independence. The two countries’ common values – freedom and Democracy – and their fighting together in the two World Wars, as well as their participation in NATO, the OSCE and other international organizations and treaties, form the strong foundations of Greek-U.S. strategic cooperation.
The U.S. maintains Naval Support Activity in Souda Bay, Crete.
Greek citizens may visit the U.S. for tourism or professional reasons without a visa, following Greece’s inclusion in March 2010 in the Visa Waiver Program. Greek citizens wishing to visit the U.S. need only apply for authorization on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) web portal.
Frequent contacts, exchanges of visits and an extensive institutional framework contribute to the positive development of bilateral relations and enhanced cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including the political, economic, commercial, business and cultural sectors.
EU-U.S. relations within the framework of the Transatlantic Dialogue cover a wide range of political, economic and commercial issues, as well as security issues and institutionalized contacts and coordination on many levels.
Related links:
Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Foreign Policy
Lindsey
November 5, 2018Hey Paula! Yes, but this does not mean an American citizen can spend 90 days in Europe + an additional 90 days in Greece 🤔
Sid
September 2, 2018Thanks again, Lindsey. As it turns out, I was just able to plumb the depths of the collective knowledge of humanity… and it seems that indeed, the Schengen Visa Agreement was designed with very loose legal terminology regarding prior bilateral visa arrangements specifically to allow each country to support the general agreement. It thus passed to each signatory country to enforce prior bilaterals as they saw fit… which is where we are today.
Thanks very much for the information. I currently have French long-term visa (Titre de Sejour) as an American citizen, and my own needs don’t fit into a mix and match visa strategy, but I know many others that it suits to the ground… so thanks again. This is well hidden info.
Lindsey
September 2, 2018Thanks for further research! This topic is so loose and I am not an expert on it by any means due to lack of info out there- just posting what I have found and my conversations with embassies. If you discover anything else, please check back or email me via my contact page! Thanks, Sid! ☺️
Sid
September 2, 2018Thanks Lindsey for your update… but I’m still not buying it on general principles as I’ve explained in my first post. However, I will get some expert opinions on this and let you know. As to ‘embassy’ personnel… they are famous know-nothings. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been told, asking embassy people, what visa’s may be needed to visit country x from y… and found the truth at the border to be very different. In any event, I’ll let you know what I find.
All the best
Sid
Lindsey
September 2, 2018I think you just need to do some research. But I have ran into border guards who are clueless as well. It really is a weird topic, but, for example, some country official websites clearly state they support it: http://australien.um.dk/en/travel-and-residence/short-stay-visas/bilateral-visa-agreements/
Sid
August 19, 2018I heard about this idea from an Aussie friend who basically follows the red colored text shown at this website; https://aussieeuropeantour.com/home/australian-bi-lateral-visa-agreements-with-schengen-countries/. However, another read of the original text would grant an Australian citizen… or American, for that matter, as they were for decades given visa free entry into all european countries… the right to stay virtually indefinitely in Europe, spending only three months in any single country and then moving to another as pre Schengen law would have allowed.
However, I actually do not believe that that’s how it works, as one of the oldest rules in law is that superseding law renders null and void old law when it conflicts with it. One cannot simply do things that were permitted in another time and point to the old law as proof of ‘legality’. This idea is certainly not mentioned by any current national state visitation information site that is a member of Schengen. It is also not mentioned by any other nations sites when discussing rules of visiting Schengen countries.
Lindsey
September 2, 2018Hey Sid! Thanks for writing in. However, bilateral agreements do in fact exist. We know how they work because if you contact the embassies to ask, they will inform you they allow extra time in their countries for certain nationalities.
Mark Phillips
August 6, 2019This commentary from the EU appears to confirms the existence of the bilateral agreements and their priority over Schengen http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/secretariat_general/relations/relations_other/npo/docs/latvia/2014/com20140163/com20140163_saeima_reply_en.pdf
Sid
August 6, 2019Excellent, thanks Mark. Yes, there’s no question that many of the pre-schengen bilaterals are still valid. Also, I see no sign that the proposed long stay visa made it through the EU parliament.
Thanks again
Sid
Scott
November 7, 2022If anything these bilateral agreements actually over ride the Schengen agreement, these are legally binding agreements with nothing to do with any discretion of the border gaurds.
Clara
June 4, 2018I was told by a lawyer in Greece that Greece and the US have a bilateral agreement.
Lindsey
June 5, 2018Hey Clara, did you ask your lawyer to provide you with the source of that information? I have emailed the Greek Embassy in DC to ask about this, and their response sent me here: https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/visas.html?mission=was
It looks as though there is no supporting information supporting that Greece recognizes bilateral travel agreements with Americans other than basic tourist visa of 90 days (in all of Schengen).