Liechtenstein and the European Union, what it is and isn't

Liechtenstein isn’t in the European Union, yet in many ways it looks as if it were. It belongs to the European Economic Area and to Schengen, and still pays in Swiss francs and shares a customs area with Switzerland. It’s an odd arrangement with very real consequences for travellers, and a few of them matter more to a British visitor since Brexit.

Not the EU, but almost everything else

The Office of Statistics sums up the country’s European path in its yearbook. Council of Europe in 1978, EFTA in 1991 and the European Economic Area in 1995. The European Commission, for its part, counts it among the four non-EU countries in Schengen, alongside Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, in an area of 29 countries.

What it has never done is join the European Union. I haven’t found an explanation for that in the official sources I’ve read, so I won’t invent one. What you can see is a country choosing agreement by agreement, with Switzerland for customs and currency and with the EU for the single market through the EEA. If you’re still wondering whether it counts as a state at all, is Liechtenstein a country? gives the short answer.

Nor is it isolated. The Office of Statistics notes membership of the Council of Europe since 1978, the United Nations since 1990, where the tourist board adds that it joined as the 160th member, the World Trade Organization since 1995 and the International Monetary Fund since 2024. That’s quite a web of agreements for a country of 41,228 people.

It also explains a detail that matters to British travellers. Because Switzerland handles immigration and customs for Liechtenstein, gov.uk suggests contacting the Swiss Embassy in the UK if you’re unsure how the entry rules apply to you.

The EEA, and what it means for your phone

The European Economic Area came into force for Liechtenstein on 1 May 1995, after a second referendum passed with 55.9% in favour. There’s an irony there, because Switzerland, its customs partner, had turned the EEA down in 1992. According to the Historisches Lexikon, Liechtenstein negotiated a special arrangement allowing it to limit immigration.

For EU phone contracts, the EEA brings roam-like-at-home, as the EU extends it to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For a UK contract the picture is different, because since Brexit British networks set their own roaming terms, and no official source I’ve found lists them. Check with your provider before you go, and watch out near the Rhine, where your phone can latch on to a Swiss mast. I cover it in phone and roaming in Liechtenstein.

Schengen since December 2011

Full application of Schengen in Liechtenstein began on 19 December 2011, following an EU Council decision of 13 December. Since then there’s been no fixed passport control with Switzerland or Austria.

For a British visitor, that has a practical side. gov.uk says Liechtenstein follows Schengen rules, so every day you spend there counts towards your 90 days in any 180-day period, together with any days in France, Switzerland or Austria on the same trip. Your passport also has to pass the Schengen date checks, set out in Liechtenstein entry requirements.

Switzerland for money and customs

This is the part that confuses people most. In 1923 Liechtenstein signed its customs treaty with Switzerland, in force from 1924, and that same year adopted the Swiss franc as its official currency. There has been no customs border between the two ever since, and in 1980 a currency treaty was added.

In practice that means two things. First, you pay in francs rather than euros, although the tourist board says euros are accepted in most places; how to pay without losing out is in currency and payments in Liechtenstein. Second, the border with Austria is a customs frontier between the EU and the Swiss customs area, so at the Schaanwald crossing your luggage may be checked, as detailed in Liechtenstein borders and customs.

So what changes for a British visitor?

You arrive with a passport that meets the Schengen rules, your days count towards the 90, and crossing to Switzerland or Austria involves no fixed check, although you should always carry your passport. You pay in francs, or euros where accepted, and roaming depends on your UK network rather than on the EEA. For me it’s the neatest example of how little Europe’s political map resembles the practical map a traveller actually needs.