Over 2.7 million Moldovans benefited from visa-free travel to EU and Schengen area

Over 2.7 million Moldovans have benefited over 12 years from visa-free travel regime in the European Union and the Schengen Area. During this period, citizens of our country have made almost 21 million trips to the Schengen Area.

Between 2014 and 2019, the number of beneficiaries who traveled to the Schengen Area grew steadily, from about 158,000 in 2014 to approximately 891,000 in 2019. According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), only 0.3–0.4% of trips in that period resulted in refusal of entry, while 0.5–0.7% concerned cases of illegal stay.

In 2020 - 2021, travel restrictions imposed by the member states of the European Union in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced movement. In 2020, the number of beneficiaries decreased 2.4 times compared to 2019 (from 890,974 to 366,254), and the number of trips fell 2.9 times (from 2,322,787 to 793,243). In 2021, the situation gradually improved, but remained below the 2019 level: 614,873 beneficiaries and 1,297,528 trips. During the same period, the rate of refusals of entry and of illegal stays increased, reaching 1.1% and 2.6% respectively in 2020. In 2021, refusals fell to 0.6%, while illegal stays rose to 2.78%.

Over 2022–2025, the use of the visa-free regime returned to pre-pandemic levels. The number of beneficiaries stabilized at around 1 million per year, and the number of trips at about 2.5 million annually. At the same time, the rate of refusals of entry and of illegal stays gradually returned to values comparable to those before the pandemic. Refusals of entry recorded a slight increase (from 0.2% in 2022 to 0.44% in 2025), while cases of illegal stay decreased steadily (from 1.63% in 2022 to 0.74% in 2025).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that free movement requires compliance with the rules on entry and stay in the Schengen Area, including those laid down in Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code. Thus, respecting these rules helps avoid problems at the border and preserve the visa-free regime for Moldovan citizens.


“The large number of beneficiaries of the visa-free regime, in relation to the population of the Republic of Moldova, confirms the usefulness of free movement in the Schengen Area. It facilitates maintaining ties with relatives and friends, especially from the diaspora, and provides access to tourism and business opportunities. The national authorities continue to ensure the implementation of the conditionalities that formed the basis of the visa liberalisation regime, and to take into account the recommendations in the annual reports of the European Commission on the European Union’s Visa Suspension Mechanism,” the institution announced.


Also, starting from 10 April 2026, the European Union introduced the Entry/Exit System (EES) at its external borders. This does not change the rules on entry and stay in the Schengen Area, but it may extend the time needed for checks and data collection. In this context, it is recommended to allow additional time for completing border-crossing procedures and to avoid overly short stopovers.

The Schengen Area includes 26 of the 27 member states of the European Union, with the exception of Ireland, as well as Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.