How to arrange a Schengen visa yourself?

Today we will tell about how to arrange a Schengen visa on their own. It is actually very simple, and even if you have never been abroad, you can do without travel agencies, thus saving money.

To begin with, let’s decide for entry into which countries we need a Schengen visa.

At the moment they include: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden and Estonia.

There are several types of Schengen visas:

• Single
• Two-door
• Multiple (for 90, 180 days stay and even 5 years)
• Visa &# 8220; limited territorial validity&# 8221;, which is valid only to visit the country that issued it. A big lover to put such a visa is the consulate of Spain, in this case the VTL abbreviation (Validez Territaal Limitada) will be visa. If it was given a consulate of Spain, then enter the Schengen and to dwell the entire validity period of the visa you should be in Spain. Flights with a change in the other countries of the Schengen agreement in this case is not your option.

A single visa is issued, as a rule, on the dates of the trip + 15 days (sometimes give a bigger corridor). The term of stay that you indicated in the questionnaire does not change.

For example: in the questionnaire, you indicated that we are going on 10 days in Paris from March 1 to March 10. Visa will be given to you with a period of stay 10 days and it is valid from March 1 to March 25. T.E. You have a small stock, in case the plans will suddenly change.

Note that this rule is not always performed, so it’s not worth counting on an additional corridor in 15 days.

Who gives a Schengen visa?

The decision on the issuance of a Schengen visa accepts a consulate, but you can submit documents through a visa center, accredited travel agency, courier service, such as PONY EXPRESS or directly to the consulate.

Inexperienced travelers should keep in mind two points:

• First, you will give you a visa or not depends on the decision of the consulate, and not a visa center, travel agency or any other intermediary.
• Secondly, to obtain a visa, you must pay the collection, and this is the fee for consideration of documents, and not the price of a visa. Visa do not buy, it is issued. Payment 35 or 60 euros does not guarantee what you get a visa.

In the consulate of which country need to open a Schengen visa?

In the Schengen Visa Code, this moment is described in detail. You have 3 options:

• If your trip is scheduled only to one country, the visa opens in the consulate of this country.

For example, when traveling for a week in Paris, a visa should be asked in the consulate of France.

• If the trip is scheduled for several countries, the visa opens to the consulate of the country where you will break up longer or depending on the main goal of the visit.

Example number 1: Your route: Germany &# 8211; 4 days, france &# 8211; 4 days, spain &# 8211; 7 days. In this case, the visa must be obtained in the Spanish consulate T.To. you will break more than a day in Spain.

Stays are considered by the number of nights.

Example number 2: Your route: Germany &# 8211; 2 days, france &# 8211; 4 days, Spain &# 8211; 4 days. In this case, you can get a visa, both at the Consulate of Spain and France.

Example number 3: Your route: 3 days in France at the conference (or on any other working case) and 3 days in Spain on the sea. In this case, you need to submit documents to the consulate of France, T.To. The prevailing goal of the trip &# 8211; Business.

If in Spain, you conducted, for example, 7 days, then then you have a complete right to request Schengen in the Spaniards, t.To. The number of days of stay is more important than the purpose of the trip.

• If it is impossible to highlight the country’s main stay, then the rule is valid &# 8220; first entrance&# 8221;. T.E. You must get a visa in the country where you enter Schengen.

For example, your route: Germany 2 days, Belgium 2 days, France 2 days. The first country of entry into Schengen will be Germany, it means to get a visa need to consulate in Germany.

If for some reason you really do not want to get a visa from the Germans, you can call the consulate of France or Belgium and clarify them. Consulates have quite a lot of opportunities for maneuvers, the code does not bind them to hand and legs, so if you can’t determine where you get a visa, it is better to clarify the information directly at the consulate.

And one more important point&# 8230;

If the country of entry into Schengen is not a country that issued you a visa, then be prepared for additional issues on the border.

rules &# 8220; first entrance&# 8221;, which implies that you need to enter Schengen precisely in the country that gave you a visa, no code. Nevertheless, airport border services belong to such passengers more carefully.

You must confirm that the main goal of your stay is a country that issued you a visa. A copy of the armor or reverse tickets will be used to confirm.

Especially strictly with this at Amsterdam Airport. And with the beginning of the ski season, tightened the requirements and at the airport of Salzburg (Austria). Now they may refuse to enter the owners of one-time Schengen visas issued by the Austrian Republic.

For how long time before the trip you can submit documents?

Your application and documents for the design of a Schengen visa will take no more than 3 months before the expected date of entry.

What is the term of consideration of documents?

Standard application should be considered no more than 15 days. In some cases, when additional verification is required, this period can be increased to 30 and even up to 60 days. But in the overwhelming majority of cases, the decision on the issuance of a Schengen visa is accepted within 3-7 days from the date of submission of documents.

We figured out questions, now we turn directly to the procedure.

How to get a Schengen visa yourself? Five simple steps.

1. Decide on the consulate of which country you will receive a visa. How to do it, we wrote a little higher.

2. Sign up for submission of documents, especially if you are planning a trip in the summer, when in many consulates and visa centers Avral. It all depends on how you will submit documents. Recording to consulates or visa centers by phone or online.

3. Collect the necessary documents. List of documents We will consider separately. If briefly, it includes:

• Documents confirming the purpose of the trip
• Documents confirming the availability of funds during the trip
• insurance
• passport

5. Submit documents to a consulate or visa center. After the interview, you will be given a coupon with the number for which you can track the readiness of your documents.