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 Apakah ETIAS dan senarai penuh negara 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 (European Commission ETIAS pages, accessed 8 July 2026). A single authorisation works for both, and for the rest of the zone. Confirm your nationality first: our guides for Warga negara AS dan Warga negara UK lay out each case, and the senarai keturunan yang layak 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 (EU Home Affairs mengenai kawasan 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.

Petua profesional: 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 Peraturan 90/180 hari 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.

Kos, kesahan dan cara memohon ETIAS

ETIAS berharga €20 dan meliputi Bulgaria dan Romania dalam satu permohonan, sah selama tiga tahun atau sehingga pasport anda tamat tempoh. Golongan di bawah 18 tahun dan lebih 70 tahun tidak perlu bayar. Memohon dalam talian akan mengambil 10 hingga 20 minit, dengan kebanyakan kelulusan tiba dalam beberapa minit selepas pembayaran.

1. Tunggu peluncuran. Portal belum aktif dan EU belum mengumumkan tarikh pelancaran — lihat panduan tarikh pelancaran. Tiada laman web tulen menerima permohonan lagi.
2. Sediakan pasport anda. Pasport biometrik yang sah untuk perjalanan, tambah dokumen yang anda perlukan.
3. Isi borang. Data pasport, negara pertama kemasukan anda, dan soalan latar belakang dan keselamatan (rekod jenayah, zon konflik, perintah pembuangan terdahulu) (siapa yang harus memohon, Komisi Eropa, diakses 8 Julai 2026).
4. Bayar €20. Yuran telah ditetapkan oleh Komisi pada Julai 2025 (pengumuman yuran). Kanak-kanak dan pemohon yang lebih tua dikecualikan.
5. Pantau peti masuk anda. Kelulusan biasanya segera; sesetengah kes mengambil masa sehingga 30 hari. Jejak satu yang lambat melalui garis masa persetujuan.

Untuk butiran nombor-nombor, lihat panduan kos dan kaedah pembayaran. Risau pasport anda akan tamat tempoh dalam masa tersebut? The panduan kesahihan menutupnya.

Petua praktikal untuk perjalanan Bulgaria dan Romania

Perjalanan gabungan Bulgaria-Romania mudah digabungkan sekarang sempadan dalaman terbuka. Mohon ETIAS lebih awal, kira hari Schengen anda dari kemasukan pertama, dan atur insurans perjalanan secara berasingan, kerana kebenaran tidak meliputi penjagaan kesihatan.

• Satu kebenaran, dua negara: anda tidak memerlukan ETIAS berasingan untuk setiap satu. Satu kelulusan €20 meliputi Sofia, Bucharest dan seterusnya.
• Perjalanan darat: jambatan Danube antara keduanya kini bebas pemeriksaan, jadi bas Bucharest-ke-Sofia tidak lagi berhenti untuk pemeriksaan pasport.
• Jurang Insurans: ETIAS bukan perlindungan kesihatan. Lihat panduan insurans sebelum anda membuat tempahan.
• Penyegaran Keperluan: tidak pasti apa yang anda perlukan? Yang panduan keperluan menyenaraikan setiap syarat.
• Musim puncak: Pantai Laut Hitam pada Ogos dan Transylvania pada musim gugur menarik orang ramai. Mohon ETIAS seminggu atau dua minggu sebelumnya supaya permohonan yang berflag tidak pernah menghalang perjalanan yang telah ditempah.

Satu perkara lagi untuk sesiapa yang pernah mengembara ke sini sebelum 2024: cap pasport yang berasingan lama sudah hilang. Setem kemasukan Romania tidak lagi terletak berasingan daripada rekod Schengen anda, jadi kiraan 90/180 tunggal adalah satu-satunya masa yang penting sekarang. Salah mengira adalah kesilapan paling mudah dilakukan pada lawatan serantau yang panjang.

Tidak mahu mengisi borang sendiri? Kami boleh menyemak dan menyerahkan permohonan anda, yang sering dikatakan oleh pengembara yang lebih tua menghilangkan kebimbangan mengenai soalan keselamatan. Kami adalah perkhidmatan bantuan bebas, bukan badan kerajaan — memohon terus di portal EU rasmi sentiasa merupakan pilihan.

Soalan Lazim

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.

Bolehkah saya memohon ETIAS sekarang?

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?

Ya. Croatia menyertai Schengen pada Januari 2023 dan juga terdapat dalam senarai ETIAS. Jika perjalanan anda menggabungkan Croatia dengan Bulgaria atau Romania, satu kebenaran meliputi semuanya.

Anna Reinholt adalah Editor Dokumentasi Perjalanan di europe-visa.eu dan telah menulis tentang dokumen perjalanan Eropah sejak 2017. Panduan ini telah disemak terhadap sumber EU rasmi sebelum penerbitan.

Dikemas kini terakhir: 2026-07-08 — disahkan terhadap sumber rasmi EU.

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