Although not a member of either the European Union or the European Economic Area, the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

maintains an open border with Italy and is treated as part of the Schengen Area. Since the

is only accessible via

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, entering the Vatican City is not possible without entering the Schengen Area first; hence Schengen visa rules apply ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

''. The Vatican City does not allow any foreign accommodations, and the residence is restricted only to citizens.

Bilateral agreements

signs independent visa-free agreements which are of symbolic value for foreign citizens but do have effect on

Vatican passport A Vatican passport is a passport issued by the Holy See or by Vatican City State. The state can issue normal passports for its citizens; the Holy See (see Legal status of the Holy See) issues personal, diplomatic and service passports. Of the ...

holders.

References

Foreign relations of the Holy See

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

{{VaticanCity-stub

Bilateral agreements

See also

References