Bulgaria and Romania Join Schengen Zone, Abolish Checks at Internal Land Borders

Bulgaria and Romania have fully joined the Schengen area as of 1 January. The countries have cancelled checks at their internal land borders with the rest of the Schengen area, the Council of Europe has announced.

‘A warm welcome to Bulgaria and Romania as full Schengen members. Bulgarians and Romanians can now enjoy freedom of movement within the Schengen area. This step benefits not only the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania, but also the EU as a whole,’ the Council of Europe said in a statement.

From now on, tourists and truck drivers entering these two countries through Hungary or Greece no longer need to undergo mandatory checks. No documents are required at the six official Bulgarian-Greek border crossings. However, it is specified that unannounced random checks will be carried out on the 30-kilometre stretch of border on the Romanian side.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, who overrode the veto for the two countries, explained the change as ‘a large-scale reduction in illegal border crossings.’

Together with Romania and Bulgaria, the Schengen area now includes 29 countries. Of these, 25 are EU members, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, and negotiations on their accession to the Schengen area began in 2011.

In December 2023, the Council of the EU abolished controls on Romania and Bulgaria's sea and air borders with other EU countries that are part of the Schengen area, a decision that came into force on 31 March 2024.

And in early December 2024, Austria lifted its veto on Romania and Bulgaria's accession to the visa-free Schengen area. After that, EU interior ministers decided that Romania and Bulgaria would finally join the Schengen area.