Can you enter the Schengen area with a residency visa from another country?
The Schengen area has an Annex II list of countries, which grants passport holders the right to enter the Schengen area visa free. In addition, this right is present for citizens of non-Schengen members of the EU (Ireland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria). Does this right also extend to any residents of these countries?
In other words, is there a residency permit issued by any non-Schengen state that would enable its holder to enter the Schengen area visa free?
Definition of "residency permit/visa" for the purposes of this question: any identity document issued by a given nation to non-nationals who reside in its territory. I.e. an I-571 refugee document might not strictly speaking be a "residency permit" but lets consider it such for the purposes of a canonical answer.
NB: this is intended as a canonical question to cover all possible variations of this question
Best Answer
No, since Ireland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Cyprus do not fully implement the Schengen acquis and are therefore not considered a Contracting Party.
The Schengen Border Code uses the term Member States, but doesn't define exactly what that means.
Article 2(16)(a) of the Schengen Borders Code defines a residence permit as
all residence permits issued by the Member States according to the uniform format laid down by Council Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 (1) and residence cards issued in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC;
The Practical Handbook for Border Guards, Point 2.8, Page 22 gives samples when a visa is needed or not.
A Slovak citizen resides with his Chinese spouse in Ireland. The Chinese spouse holding a residence card, issued by Ireland under Article 20 of the Directive, travels alone to France. As she travels alone, she needs to apply for a visa to enter France.
Article 19/20 resident cards, that are not issued by Member States [of the Schengen acquis] are not considered residence permits, but only as proof that they are a family member of an EU Citizen and can cross an external border with or to join the EU-Spouse. Travelling alone, they require a visa.
Since family members of EU-Citizens may require a Schengen Visa, when they reside in a non-Schengen EU Member state, to enter the Schengen Area, one can assume that Member States of the Schengen acquis. is meant.
Article 21(1) of the The Schengen acquis - Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985...: Aliens who hold valid residence permits issued by one of the Contracting Parties may, on the basis of that permit and a valid travel document, move freely for up to three months within the territories of the other Contracting Parties, provided that they fulfil the entry conditions referred to in Article 5(1)(a), (c) and (e) and are not on the national list of alerts of the Contracting Party concerned.
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Can I travel to other Schengen countries with residence permit?
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