Is the UK part of the Schengen area?

Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom are EU states that are not, or not yet, part of the Schengen area. This means that a flight from one of these states to a Schengen state is regarded as an external flight and is subject to border checks.



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Schengen started in 1985 with just six countries. The UK opted out of the initiative, having much less interest in scrapping border controls because of its island geography.

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Of the 27 EU member states, 23 participate in the Schengen Area. Of the four EU members that are not part of the Schengen Area, three—Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania—are legally obligated to join the area in the future; Ireland maintains an opt-out, and instead operates its own visa policy.

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The UK is part of the EU but is not part of the Schengen area, a visa to the UK does not give access tot he Schengen area. That is why you had to get a UK visa not a Schengen one to enter the UK and why a UK visa has no use to you to go to Paris. As already stated above, you need a Schengen short-stay visa from France.

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British citizens do not require a visa if spending up to 90 days over a 180 days period in the Schengen area. You may however be asked like any other third country nationals to justify your travel by the Immigration Officer (means of living, address of stay, medical travel insurance…).

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