Moldova visa and entry requirements

The allowance is not your Schengen one

• Moldova is outside the Schengen area and outside the EU. Its 90 days in 180 are counted separately.
• Days spent here do not consume your Schengen allowance - which makes the region genuinely useful if you are close to your 90-day Schengen limit and want to stay in Europe.
• Your passport is stamped on entry and exit. This country is outside EES, so the stamps are the record and you should keep the passport pages readable.
• Crossing back into the EU re-enters Schengen and is an external border: expect the EES biometric check, and a longer queue than the drive suggests.

Transnistria

• Transnistria is a breakaway region along the Ukrainian border, outside Moldovan government control and recognised by no UN member state.
• Entering it is not crossing an international border, but you will be stopped and issued a paper entry slip by its own authorities.
• Keep the slip. Losing it causes trouble on the way out.
• Consular assistance there is severely limited. Your embassy has very little reach.
• Most travel insurance excludes it. Check your policy before going rather than after.
• Check current advice before travelling there at all, given the region's position next to Ukraine.

Practicalities

• Most Western passports get 90 days in 180, on Moldova's own clock.
• Your passport is stamped; Moldova is outside EES.
• Entering from Romania is leaving Schengen - Romania joined in 2025 - so expect an EES check on the way back.