TL;DR: Bulgaria and Romania joined Schengen fully on 1 January 2025. Once ETIAS launches (no official date yet; reports point to 2027), visa-free travellers such as Americans, Canadians and Australians will need an ETIAS to visit either country. It costs €20, lasts three years, and your days there now count under the shared Schengen 90/180 limit. You cannot apply yet.

For years, Bulgaria and Romania sat in an odd halfway house: EU members, but outside Schengen, with passport queues at their borders. That ended in 2025. If you want the broader context, our guide to ce qu'est ETIAS et le Liste complète des pays ETIAS cover the whole zone. This article zooms in on the two newest members.

Do you need ETIAS for Bulgaria and Romania?

You need ETIAS for Bulgaria and Romania if you hold a passport from a visa-exempt non-EU country and plan to travel once ETIAS launches. That covers US, UK, Canadian, Australian and dozens of other nationalities. EU and EEA citizens are exempt, as are holders of a valid Schengen residence permit or long-stay visa.

Because both countries are now inside Schengen, they belong to the 30 states covered by ETIAS (Pages ETIAS de la Commission européenne, accessed 8 July 2026). A single authorisation works for both, and for the rest of the zone. Confirm your nationality first: our guides for Citoyens américains et Citoyens du Royaume-Uni lay out each case, and the liste des nationalités éligibles shows who qualifies for visa-free travel in the first place.

Worth stressing: ETIAS is not a visa and not a reaction to the accession. It is a pre-travel check that every visa-exempt visitor to the zone will complete, whether they land in Sofia, Bucharest or Berlin. The accession simply means Bulgaria and Romania now fall inside that single system rather than running their own entry rules on the side.

What changed: Bulgaria and Romania joined Schengen

Bulgaria and Romania lifted air and sea border checks on 31 March 2024, then removed land-border controls on 1 January 2025, completing their entry into Schengen. That makes them the newest full members of the zone and pulls them squarely under the ETIAS rules once the system launches.

The change was a long time coming. Both joined the EU back in 2007, then waited more than 17 years for full free movement (Affaires intérieures de l'UE sur l'espace Schengen, accessed 8 July 2026). Croatia had already joined in January 2023, so the 2025 step left Cyprus and Ireland as the only EU countries still outside the zone.

What does that mean on the ground? At Sofia and Bucharest airports, flights from other Schengen countries now arrive without passport control, the same as a flight from Madrid to Amsterdam. Land crossings from Hungary or Greece no longer stop for checks. The practical upshot for non-EU visitors is simple: once ETIAS is live you clear one check before you travel, then move freely once you are inside.

Not keen on wrestling with the online form when it opens? You can apply directly on the official EU portal for €20, or let our team check and submit your answers for you. Both routes lead to the same authorisation.

How the shared 90/180 day count now works

Now that Bulgaria and Romania are inside Schengen, your time there counts against the same 90-days-in-180 limit as France, Germany or Spain. This differs from before 31 March 2024, when each country ran a separate count. Plan a long Balkan trip carefully so you do not overstay the shared allowance.

Conseil de pro : Say you spend 40 days touring Romania and Bulgaria in spring, then want three weeks in Italy that autumn. All of it now draws from the same 90-day pot. Keep a running total from your first Schengen entry, not per country.

Our guide to the Règle des 90/180 jours walks through the maths with examples, and the ETIAS versus Schengen guide explains where the borders sit. Touring wider? The Balkans route guide maps a sensible itinerary.

Cost, validity and how to apply for ETIAS

ETIAS costs €20 and covers both Bulgaria and Romania on one application, valid for three years or until your passport expires. Under-18s and over-70s pay nothing. Applying online will take 10 to 20 minutes, with most approvals arriving within minutes of payment.

1. Attendez le lancement. The portal is not live and the EU has not yet announced a launch date — see our guide de date de lancement. No genuine site accepts applications yet.
2. Ready your passport. A biometric passport valid for the trip, plus the documents you’ll need.
3. Fill in the form. Passport data, your first country of entry, and background and security questions (criminal record, conflict zones, past removal orders) (qui doit faire une demande, Commission européenne, consulté le 8 juillet 2026).
4. Payez 20 €. The fee was fixed by the Commission in July 2025 (fee announcement). Children and older applicants are exempt.
5. Watch your inbox. Approval is usually instant; some cases take up to 30 days. Track a slow one via the calendrier d'approbation.

For the numbers in detail, see our guide des tarifs et les modes de paiement. Worried your passport runs out mid-window? The guide de validité covers it.

Practical tips for a Bulgaria and Romania trip

Un voyage combiné en Bulgarie et Roumanie est facile à organiser maintenant que les frontières internes sont ouvertes. Demandez l'ETIAS rapidement, comptabilisez vos jours Schengen à partir de la première entrée, et souscrivez une assurance voyage séparément, car l'autorisation ne couvre pas les soins de santé.

• Une autorisation, deux pays : vous n'avez pas besoin d'un ETIAS distinct pour chacun. Une approbation de 20 € couvre Sofia, Bucarest et au-delà.
• Voyage par voie terrestre : les ponts du Danube entre les deux sont maintenant sans contrôle, donc un bus Bucarest-Sofia ne s'arrête plus pour les passeports.
• Lacune d'assurance : ETIAS n'est pas une couverture santé. Consultez notre guide d'assurance avant de réserver.
• Rappel des conditions requises : vous ne savez pas ce dont vous avez besoin ? The guide des exigences énumère toutes les conditions.
• Haute saison : Les plages de la mer Noire en août et la Transylvanie en automne attirent les foules. Demandez ETIAS une ou deux semaines à l'avance afin qu'une demande signalée ne déraille jamais un voyage réservé.

Un point supplémentaire pour tous ceux qui ont voyagé ici avant 2024 : les anciens timbres de passeport séparés ont disparu. Un timbre d'entrée roumain ne se distingue plus de votre dossier Schengen, donc le seul décompte de 90/180 est la seule limite qui compte désormais. Le mal compter est l'erreur la plus facile à commettre lors d'une longue tournée régionale.

Vous préférez ne pas remplir le formulaire vous-même ? Nous pouvons examiner et soumettre votre demande, ce que les voyageurs plus âgés disent souvent soulager concernant les questions de sécurité. Nous sommes un service d'assistance indépendant, pas un organisme gouvernemental — demander directement sur le portail officiel de l'UE reste toujours une option.

Questions fréquemment posées

Do I need ETIAS for Bulgaria and Romania as a US citizen?

Yes. Once ETIAS launches (no official date yet), US citizens and other visa-exempt travellers need an ETIAS to visit Bulgaria or Romania. One €20 application covers both, lasts three years, and takes minutes online.

When did Bulgaria and Romania join Schengen?

They lifted air and sea checks on 31 March 2024 and land-border checks on 1 January 2025. That completed full Schengen membership, roughly 17 years after both joined the EU in 2007.

Does one ETIAS cover both countries?

Yes. A single ETIAS covers Bulgaria, Romania and every other country in the zone. You do not apply separately for each. One approval, valid up to three years, works for the whole area.

Do my days in Bulgaria count towards the Schengen 90-day limit?

Yes, now that both are full Schengen members. Time in Bulgaria and Romania draws from the same 90-days-in-180 allowance as the rest of the zone. Keep one running total.

Puis-je poser ma candidature à l'ETIAS maintenant ?

No. The portal has not opened. No launch date has been announced yet; the EU has dropped its earlier last-quarter-of-2026 target. Sites claiming to take applications today are not legitimate, so wait for the official europa.eu launch.

How much does ETIAS cost for children?

Nothing. Applicants under 18 and over 70 are exempt from the €20 fee. They still need their own approved ETIAS tied to a valid passport before crossing the border.

Is Croatia also covered by ETIAS?

Oui. La Croatie a adhéré à Schengen en janvier 2023 et figure également sur la liste ETIAS. Si votre voyage combine la Croatie avec la Bulgarie ou la Roumanie, une seule autorisation couvre le tout.

Anna Reinholt est rédactrice de la documentation de voyage chez europe-visa.eu et a écrit sur les documents de voyage européens depuis 2017. Ce guide a été vérifié par rapport aux sources officielles de l'UE avant sa publication.

Dernière mise à jour : 2026-07-08 — vérifiée par rapport aux sources officielles de l'UE.

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