No visa needed

Do citizens of the United States need a visa for the Vatican City?

Citizens of the United States don’t need a visa for the Vatican City and can stay up to 90 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of the United States: the passport opens 112 countries visa-free; Washington, D.C. — Vatican City: ≈ 7,210 km, about 9.5 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 90 days

Can I travel to the Vatican City without a visa on a United States passport?

Yes, citizens of the United States don’t need a visa for the Vatican City for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Vatican City visa rules at a glance

With a United States passport you can visit 112 countries visa-free, 32 with a visa on arrival and 35 with an e-visa; 19 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the United States passport ranks 39th of 199.
United States passport: visa-free access to 112 countries; Vatican City passport: 92.
Citizens of the United States and the Vatican City can travel together visa-free to 88 countries, for example: Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Costa Rica, Panama, Grenada, and Colombia.
Citizens of the Vatican City, in turn, need an embassy visa to travel to the United States. United States visa for citizens of the Vatican City

Travelling to the Vatican City: good to know

Washington, D.C. — Vatican City: about 7,210 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 9.5 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +11 hours.
Local time: Washington, D.C. 12:00 — Vatican City 23:00.
Local currency: Euro.
Languages: Italian and Latin.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ €0.88.
Vatican City is the 66th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of the United States.