Schengen visas can be issued by any member state of the Schengen Area. Travellers must apply to the embassy or consulate of the country which they intend to visit. In cases of travellers visiting multiple countries in the Schengen Area, travellers must apply to their main destination's embassy or consulate. If the main destination cannot be determined, the traveller should apply for the visa at the embassy of the Schengen member state of first entry. All countries' embassies may require applicants to provide biometric identifiers (ten
fingerprints and a digital photograph) as part of the visa application process to be stored on the
Visa Information System (VIS). Biometric identifiers are not collected from children under the age of 12. Travellers applying for a Schengen visa for the first time must apply in person and are subject to an interview by the consular officers. If biometric identifiers have been provided within the past 59 months, the applicant may not be required to provide biometric identifiers again. Providing that the visa application is admissible and there are no issues with the application, a decision must be given within 15 calendar days of the date on which the application was lodged. The standard application fee for a Schengen visa is
EUR 90. There is a reduced fee of EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 12, and no fee for children under age 6, for applicants intending to undertake study, educational training or scientific research, and for applicants under age 25 representing non-profit organisations. In some cases the visa fee may be waived for children under age 18, for holders of diplomatic and service passports, and for applicants under age 25 participating in events by non-profit organisations, and may be waived or reduced in order to 'promote cultural or sporting interests, interests in the field of foreign policy, development policy and other areas of vital public interest, or for humanitarian reasons or because of international obligations'. If the applicant's country of nationality is considered not to be cooperating on the readmission of irregular migrants, the visa fee may be increased up to EUR 180, except for children under age 12. If a visa application is submitted to an external service provider, an additional service fee up to EUR 120 may be required. Schengen visas are valid for any country in the
Schengen Area unless marked otherwise. This requirement varies by country and can usually be performed by hotels instead. Since the global loosening of
COVID-19 lockdown rules and the rebound in travel demand, Schengen nation embassies have come under immense criticism for long visa processing times and unavailability of visa appointments. The general lack of competition for visa outsourcing contracts, which are dominated by companies such as
VFS Global, BLS International and TLScontact, has also been blamed for the poor service. This has partly spurred the EU to further digitalise the process. It is planning to introduce a unified online visa application platform named EU VAP (EU VAP: European Union Visa Application Platform) at the EU and Schengen level, replacing the separated national platforms. The platform will be built by
eu-LISA and is scheduled to be introduced in 2026. A transition period for all member states to migrate to the single platform is scheduled to last until 2031. The European Parliament voted on 18 October 2023 to introduce the digital application system and for cryptographically signed visas. In almost all cases, applications for Schengen visas will be made through a single website.
Number of entries and validity period Schengen visas may be issued for one, two or multiple entries, with a validity period up to five years. Under the standard rules, new applicants are granted visas valid only for their intended trips, then after using three visas in the previous two years they qualify for a multiple-entry visa valid for one year, then for two years, then for five years. However, applicants who justify their need for frequent travel may be granted a multiple-entry visa with a longer validity without satisfying the previous requirements. The EU Commission may set different rules about multiple-entry visas for specific countries. For example: • The maximum validity of multiple-entry visas is two years if issued in
Algeria and
Iran, and three years if issued in
Ghana. • Nationals of
Bahrain,
Belize,
Kuwait,
Oman,
Qatar and
Saudi Arabia are granted multiple-entry visas valid for five years even if applying for the first time. • Nationals of
India who used two visas in the previous three years qualify for a multiple-entry visa valid for two years, then for five years. • Nationals of
Indonesia who used a visa in the previous three years qualify for a multiple-entry visa valid for five years. • Nationals of
Russia who do not justify their need for frequent travel are granted multiple-entry visas only if they are spouses, children or parents of EU citizens or residents, valid for one year, or if they are transportation workers, valid for nine months. • Nationals of
Turkey who used a visa in the previous year qualify for a multiple-entry visa valid for six months, then for one year, then for three years, then for five years. •
Permanent residents of the United States who used a visa in the previous three years qualify for a multiple-entry visa valid for one year, then for two years, then for five years.
Visa facilitation agreements The EU has concluded visa facilitation agreements with several countries, which allow facilitated procedures for issuing visas for both EU citizens and nationals of partner countries. The facilitated procedures include faster visa processing times, reduced or no fees, and reduced list of supporting documents. These agreements are also linked to readmission agreements that allow the return of people irregularly residing in the EU.
Working holiday visas Many Schengen countries have signed bilateral agreements for
working holiday visas with other countries, which allow their nationals to travel and work in each other's country for up to one year. These visas are for individual countries and not for the whole Schengen Area. All Schengen countries have working holiday visa programs except Bulgaria and Liechtenstein.
At the border In exceptional cases, single-entry Schengen visas valid for up to 15 days may be issued on arrival at the border. These visas are reserved for individuals who can prove that they were unable to apply for a visa in advance due to time constraints arising out of 'unforeseeable' and 'imperative' reasons as long as they fulfil the regular criteria for the issuing of a Schengen visa. However, if the individual requesting a Schengen visa at the border falls within a category of people for which it is necessary to consult one or more of the central authorities of other Schengen states, they may only be issued a visa at the border in exceptional cases on humanitarian grounds, on grounds of national interest or on account of international obligations (such as the death or sudden serious illness of a close relative or of another close person). People trying this way to travel to the Schengen Area can be denied boarding by the airline because of the
carrier's responsibility, which penalises airlines if they carry passengers who do not have the correct documentation.
Visas with limited territorial validity In exceptional cases, Schengen states may issue visas with limited territorial validity (LTV), either specifically naming the state(s) for which it is valid or, inversely, the state(s) for which it is not valid. According to the Schengen Visa Code, member states may issue LTV visas when a consulate deems it justifiable to overcome the three-month limitation in six months, when a member state considers it necessary due to pressing circumstances to derogate from entry conditions as set by Schengen Borders Code, to overcome objections of other member states, or in cases of urgency.
Unrecognised travel documents Schengen visas are only issued on travel documents of
UN member states,
Kosovo,
Palestine,
Taiwan,
Vatican City, the
Order of Malta, and certain international organisations (
Council of Europe,
EU,
NATO,
Red Cross,
UN). Belgium and France also accept the passport of
Somaliland. Passports of
Abkhazia,
Northern Cyprus,
South Ossetia,
Transnistria and
Western Sahara are not accepted.
Statistics Most Schengen visas, including visas with limited territorial validity, were issued at consulates of Schengen states located in the countries listed below. Visas issued in a country were not necessarily for nationals of that country. ==Proposed changes==