India-EU FTA: Indian travellers may get easier visa access to these overlapping 25 Schengen nations

The India-EU free trade agreement may be grabbing headlines for its economic impact, but the deal’s momentum is also spilling into a long-standing irritation for Indian travellers, the Schengen visa process.

As New Delhi and Brussels announce a fresh phase in their partnership, the two sides have also flagged a clear intent to streamline travel access for Indians across much of Europe. The Joint India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda, endorsed at the 16th India-EU Summit on 27 January 2026 in New Delhi, is being positioned as a wide roadmap that stretches from prosperity and technology to connectivity and security. Buried within it is a travel pointer that matters to Indian tourists, students and business visitors.

In its wording, the joint statement calls on both sides to “Further modernise and simplify Schengen visa procedures through the upcoming digitalisation of visa procedures, once it enters into operation, while jointly addressing the challenges of visa fraud and document verification”.

For Indians, that “modernise and simplify” message is a signal that the EU’s planned digital visa infrastructure could eventually reduce friction in the current paperwork-heavy process — even if the agenda does not lay out a firm timeline beyond “once it enters into operation”.

Where Indians could benefit: the EU countries on the list

A key takeaway from the partnership roadmap is that smoother Schengen processing could make it easier for Indians to access a broad group of EU nations that include:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

However, it is important to note a common confusion around European travel rules: Cyprus and Ireland are EU countries but not part of the Schengen Area. That means Schengen visa benefits do not automatically apply to these two destinations, and travellers may still need separate entry permissions depending on their itinerary. However, access may be easier for these nations, as they are part of the EU. 

Digital visas, but not a free-for-all

While simplification is the headline promise, the India-EU statement ties the expected digital shift directly to stronger compliance and enforcement. It says the two sides will work together on “visa fraud and document verification”, indicating that the EU wants faster processing without loosening safeguards.

That balance matters because Europe has also been tightening its border-security posture. In November 2025, the European Union approved reformed rules that allow quicker suspension of visa-free travel for non-EU countries deemed to pose risks, according to ETIAS.

Under the revised mechanism, the EU can now act if a country sees a 30% increase in irregular indicators such as overstays or asylum applications, down from the earlier threshold of 50%.