ETIAS to EU overseas territories

Starting from early 2025 the European Union, through the Schengen Area Acquis and Frontex, will officially launch its Visa Waiver named ETIAS.
Similarly to other Visa Waiver authorizations, such as ESTA to the United States, ETIAS will be required to non-EU nationals short term visitors will to travel to any of the Schengen Area countries without obligation to hold a valid Consular Visa.
Among the 34 ETIAS destination countries many extend, through their overseas territories, far beyond what are traditionally considered the European Borders.
The aim of this article is to summarize what are the Overseas Territories linked to the European Union through one of its Member States and to understand in which cases such territories’ Visa and Entry policies do match with those in force in the Schengen Area therefore making ETIAS a requirement to non-EU short term visitors.
As a matter of fact, not all EU outer regions are part of the Schengen Area hence Schengen visa policy does not apply to all of these regions.

List of Europe’s outermost regions and territories

Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) associated with the European Union are located in the Atlantic, Antarctic, Arctic, Caribbean, Northern Africa and Pacific regions and most of them are islands. Overseas Countries and Territories are not sovereign countries but depend, to varying degrees, on the Member States they hold links with. Some of the OCTs are by all means part of the Member States’ territories and are therefore also part of EU and Schengen Area while some others are dependencies with a variable extent of independence as far as immigration policies are concerned.
EU Member Countries that are to some extent linked to OCTs are Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
These are the Regions and Territories depending on each of them.

Danish Overseas Territories

  • Faroe Islands
  • Greenland

 

French Overseas Territories

  • French Guyana
  • French Polynesia
  • French Southern and Antarctic Territories
  • Guadeloupe
  • Martinique
  • Mayotte
  • New Caledonia
  • Reunion
  • Saint Bathlemy
  • Saint-Martin
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • Wallis and Futuna

 

Dutch Overseas Territories

  • Aruba
  • Bonaire
  • Curacao
  • Saba
  • Sint Eustatius
  • Sint Maarten

 

Portuguese Overseas Territories

  • Azores Islands
  • Madeira

 

Spanish Overseas Territories

  • Ceuta
  • The Canary Islands
  • Melilla

 

Which European overseas territories are part of EU and Schengen area?

Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla

All of the previously listed Overseas Territories linked to Spain are part of both the European Union and the Schengen Area and, besides some rare exception, adopt the Spanish immigration rules in full.
As a consequence, ETIAS will soon become a requirement for visa-free visits to such Islands and Regions.

Azores islands and Madeira

Portuguese Overseas territories, just like the Spanish ones, are included in the European Border-free Travel Area also known as Schengen Area. Visa-free visitors to Madeira and the Azores will therefore, if travelling on a non-EU passport, be required an ETIAS Visa Waiver to access such territories regardless of whether their travel plans will include visits to mainland Portugal or to any other.

Faroe Islands and Greenland

Danish overseas territories are not part of either the European Union or the Schengen Area and adopt a partially independent visa policy.
This means that visitors that cannot enter Denmark without a visa would need a separate authorization, namely another visa, to enter Greenland or the Faroe Islands respectively.
On the other hand, both territories reflect the immigration policies valid for visa-free visitors to the Kingdom of Denmark and have therefore been included as part of the EU Visa Waiver protocol.
In short terms Danish overseas territories, while still being outside of Schengen Acquis, will require a valid ETIAS to non-EU short term travelers.

French overseas territories

French territories located outside of Europe have several different arrangements with mainland France as far as their autonomy is concerned.
One common trait, although is that neither of the formerly listed French Overseas Territories is part of the Schengen Area.
The requirement to hold a valid ETIAS to Visa-free travelers will hence not be enforced when visiting Guadalupe, Martinique, French Polynesia and so on.
Nevertheless, since the immigration rules in each of these territories might differ from each other and from the general French regulations, non-EU visitors to France’s Overseas Territories are recommended to ask if they are eligible for visa-free travel to the territory the wish to visit.

Dutch overseas territories

Similarly to France’s OCT, the dependencies and constituents of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located outside of geographical Europe are not part of Schengen Area or European Union.
These islands under Dutch control share a common visa policy that is not directly connected with the one in force in continental Netherlands.
As a consequence, some visitors that can enjoy visa-free travel rights to the Netherlands might need a Consular Visa to visit the Caribbean constituents of the Kingdom and vice versa.
Still, being Dutch Overseas Territories outside of the Schengen treaty, no ETIAS will be required to travelers that do not need a Visa.
It is important also to notice that while a Caribbean Visa, good to visit Aruba, Curacao and other Dutch territories, is not valid to access mainland Netherlands a valid Schengen Visa or permit of stay, issued by any Schengen Nation, is valid to visit such regions without the requirement to obtain an additional visa.