On Sunday, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen Area, but only for travel by air or sea.

Both countries will start issuing their own Schengen visas for third countries on Monday April 1. With the addition of Bulgaria and Romania, the Schengen Area now has 29 members, of which 25 are EU member states.

In Bulgaria, the four international airports – in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas – are ready to operate as part of the Schengen Zone as of midnight on March 31.

In Romania, the new external departures terminal at Timisoara Airport, named the Schengen Terminal, was inaugurated a day before Romania’s official accession to Schengen.

Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, said that major investments in the Port of Constanta and other Danube ports will follow.

In terms of land travel, however, passport control will be maintained for citizens of Bulgaria and Romania, following Austria’s veto.

Vienna is not convinced that Bulgaria and Romania can control illegal immigration, as reported by Euronews.

However, the negotiations and strengthening of the measures continue and the Bulgarian government is optimist that the controls on land movements will soon be abolished.

Also read: Historic deal | “Schengen Military Zone” established by Germany, Poland and the Netherlands