Visa requirements for EFTA nationals are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states.
Current member states of EFTA are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Member states' citizens enjoy freedom of movement in each other's territories in accordance with the EFTA convention. EFTA nationals also enjoy freedom of movement in the European Union (EU). Currently, in practice, EFTA nationals and EU citizens and are not only visa-exempt but are legally entitled to enter and reside in each other's countries. The Citizens’ Rights Directive (also sometimes called the "Free Movement Directive") defines the right of free movement for citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the three EFTA members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and the member states of the EU. Switzerland, which is a member of EFTA but not of the EEA, is not bound by the Directive but rather has a separate bilateral agreement on free movement with the EU.
Visa requirements maps
Visa free access
This table lists all countries, as of this date with source information as it is cited inline, for which citizens of at least one EFTA member state may enter without a visa on an ordinary passport. Information regarding visas on arrival and on exit fees is not listed in the table, regarding which, see the relevant section below.
All EFTA nationals can visit the following partially recognised countries or territories with autonomous immigration policies without a visa:
Asia
Europe
Reciprocity
The EFTA member states are all part of the Schengen Area, an area comprising 26 European states that have eliminated border controls with other Schengen members and strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries. The Schengen area mostly functions as a single country for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy. Since 2001, the European Union has issued two lists regarding visas for the Schengen Area: a white list of countries whose nationals do not require visas (Annex II) and a black list of countries whose nationals do require visas (Annex I). As per Regulation No 539/2001 (amended by Regulation No 1289/2013) reciprocity is required from all Annex II countries and territories. That means that these countries must offer visa-free access for 90 days to citizens of the 26 Schengen member states.
When this is not the case, the affected Schengen member state is expected to notify the European Commission. Starting six months after the notification, the Commission may adopt an implementing act to suspend the visa-free regime for certain categories of nationals of the third country concerned, for a period of up to six months, with a possible prolongation by further periods of up to six months. If the Commission decides not to adopt such an act, it has to present a report explaining the reasons why it did not propose the measure. If after two years from the notification the third country is still requiring visas from citizens of one or more Member States, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act to re-impose the visa obligation on all citizens of the third country, for a period of 12 months. Either the European Parliament or the Council could oppose the entry into force of the delegated acts. All of the states that implement the common visa rules – including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania – may notify the European Commission about non-compliant third states.
According to a report from April 2015, the Commission dismissed notifications by both Bulgaria and Romania of a general visa requirement by Australia. It concluded that the Australian electronic visa 'manual processing' treatment should not be considered as equivalent to the Schengen visa application procedures and consequently will not be covered by the reciprocity mechanism. In its previous report, the Commission also committed to assessing certain provisions of the US electronic visa system — such as the application fee. In its previous report, the Commission also committed to assessing certain provisions of the US ESTA system — such as the application fee — and the Australian eVisitor system.