What Is Schengen Visa And How To Apply For it

Schengen Visa Information

What is Schengen?

Schengen refers to the EU passport-free zone that covers most of the European countries. It’s the largest free travel area in the world.

What is a Schengen Visa?

A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any members of the Schengen Area, per stays up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes.

The Schengen visa is the most common visa for Europe. It enables its holder to enter, freely travel within, and leave the Schengen zone from any of the Schengen member countries. There are no border controls within the Schengen Zone.

However, if you are planning to study, work, or live in one of the Schengen countries for more than 90 days, then you must apply for a national visa of that European country and not a Schengen Visa.


Over 14.2 million people used their Schengen visa in 2018 to travel around Europe.

Who Needs a Visa to Enter Europe?

All nationals of third countries, which have yet not reached a visa-liberalization agreement with the Schengen member states, need to obtain a visa prior of their arrival in Europe.

Which Europe Countries issue Schengen Visas?

The Schengen zone includes the 26 countries that have signed the Schengen agreement, which allows citizens of member countries to travel within the zone freely, without passing through passport and border control.
Each member country of the Schengen zone can issue Schengen visas.

Schengen Countries

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein

There are another 19 other countries that are not part of the Schengen Zone, yet they allow foreign citizens of other non-Schengen countries to enter and stay in their territories, only by showing a valid multiple-entry Schengen Visa. You do not need a national visa issued from these countries to enter, transit or stay in their territory temporarily.

List of Non-EU countries where you can GO with a Schengen Visa

• Albania

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Belarus

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Bulgaria

• Colombia

• Costa Rica

• Croatia

• Cyprus

• Georgia

• Gibraltar

• Kosovo

• Mexico

• Montenegro

• North Macedonia

• Panama

• Romania

• Sao Tome and Principe

• Serbia

• Turkey

What Documents are Required When Applying for a Tourist Schengen Visa?

When applying for a Tourist Schengen Visa, you must submit the following documents:

(must read it carefully for your own sake)

Visa application form. Fully completed with correct information, printed and signed at the end.

Two recent photos. Taken within the last three months, in compliance with the Schengen visa photo criteria.

Valid passport 

Not older than ten years and with a minimum validity of three months beyond your planned stay in Schengen. It must have at least two blank pages in order to be able to affix the visa sticker.

Roundtrip reservation or itinerary.
A document that includes dates and flight numbers specifying entry and exit from the Schengen area. Find out how to get flight reservation for tourist visa application.

Travel Health Insurance
Evidence that you have purchased health insurance that covers medical emergencies with a minimum of €30,000, for your whole period of stay. The Insurance policy can easily be purchased online from Europ Assistance or AXA Schengen.

Evidence that shows where you will be staying throughout your time in Schengen. 

This could be a:

Hotel/hostel booking. With name, complete address, phone and e-mail, for the entire time you will be in the Schengen area.

Rent agreement. If you have rented a place, in the country you will be staying.

Letter of tour organizer. If you will be traveling with a tour agency.

Proof of financial means

Evidence that shows you have enough money to support yourself throughout your stay in Schengen. This could be a:

Bank account statement.Sponsorship Letter. When another person will be financially sponsoring your trip to the Schengen Zone. It is also often called as an Affidavit of Support.A combination of both.Evidence of employment status.

If employed:Employment contract,Leave permission from the employerIncome Tax Return

 If self-employed:A copy of your business license,Company’s bank statement of the latest 6 months Income Tax Return (ITR)

If a student:

Proof of enrollment &No Objection Letter from University

Travel Itinerary  A description of your trip to Europe, your purpose of travelling, which places are you going to visit in Europe, the time frame and all the personal data.

For Minors:

Either birth certificate / proof of adoption / custody decree if parents are divorced / death certificate of parent

Letter of consent from parents, including passport copies of both parents/ legal guardian

How to Apply for a Tourist Schengen Visa?

To complete your Tourist Schengen visa application successfully, follow these steps:

Make sure you qualify for a Tourist Schengen Visa. Due to the fact that there are a several Schengen visa types, you must make sure that the visa you need is this one.

• Find out where you need to apply.
• Figure out the best time to lodge your tourist visa application.
• Collect the required documents for a Tourist Schengen Visa.
• Make an appointment at the embassy of your destination country. You may have to make this appointment online or in-person at the embassy / consulate / visa center.
• Attend the visa interview.
• Pay the tourist visa fee.

Now you have to Wait for a response on your visa application.

When to Apply for a Tourist Schengen Visa?

Submit your Tourist Schengen Visa application at least 15 calendar days prior to your planned journey to the Schengen Area. This is the latest you can file your application. On the other hand, the earliest you can apply for a Tourist visa to the Schengen Zone, is three months before your trip.

How long does it take to receive the visa?

It is advisable to apply for a Schengen Tourist Visa at least 2 weeks prior to the planned trip. The Embassy Consulate will then reply in 10 working days as common (or less as usually occurs), the time taken to proceed all the documentation and the travelers request. Depending on the situation, proceeding time might take up to two months if there is something unusual or extraordinary with the individual case or any unusual political situation is on the go. Depending on the situation which is currently going on.

Where to Submit the Tourist Schengen Visa Application?

You will have to lodge your Tourist Schengen Visa application at the embassy / consulate / visa center of your main destination in the Schengen Area.

By main destination, we mean:

When visiting only one Schengen state, submit your application at the embassy / consulate / visa center of that country.

When visiting more than two Schengen states, submit your application at the embassy / consulate / visa center of the country:

In which you will be spending more days

In which you will step in first, since you plan to spend an equal amount of days in each.

Pay attention to how the authorities of your main destination have regulated visa submission in your country. In bigger countries, visa submission is regulated through jurisdictions. Make sure to apply at the embassy, consulate or visa center of your destination country, under the jurisdiction of which the area where you live falls.

HOW MUCH Schengen Visa Fees COST ?

When applying for a Schengen visa there is a non-refundable mandatory visa fee every applicant must pay.

The Schengen visa costs vary depending on the type of visa and age of the applicant as well as some other exceptions stated below in the text. The Schengen visa fee can be paid in the designated consulate/embassy via cash, debit or credit card. However, some consulates may not allow you to pay by credit card.

Schengen Visa Category

fee in EUR

Fee in USD$

Adult

80€

90$

Child between 6-12 years of age

40€

45$

Child younger than 6 years of age

Free

Free

Holders of diplomatic, or service passports traveling for official Work	Free	Free
Family member of a EU/EEA national	Free	Free
Pupils, students and accompanying teachers during a school trip	Free	Free
Researchers traveling to perform scientific research	Free	Free
Nationals from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.	35€	39$

* The applicable visa fee in USD (US Dollar) is as per the current exchange rate. It is subject to change without notice.

Despite of the fact that these fees are static and unchangeable until the Schengen members decide otherwise altogether, there are some categories exempt from paying this amount.

The visa fees may also be waived for participants aged 25 years or less in seminars, conferences, sports, cultural or educational events, organized by non-profit organizations. The decision will be made case by case according to the relevance of the event.

Again, in case the visa is denied there is no refund of the money paid.

How long is the visa valid for?

Tourist visa is commonly valid for stays no more than 90 days. If you will be traveling a lot and not only in one Schengen country it’s recommendable to fill in the “multiple entry” gap in the application form. This way you will be able to enter and leave Schengen Zone as you please for the amount of time allowed on your visa issued.

Can I extend a Tourist Schengen Visa?

A Tourist Schengen visa can be extended only in some very specific occasions, as:

• Late Entry

• Humanitarian Reasons

• Force Majeure

• Important Personal Reasons

However, remember that the chances to extend your Schengen visa are very low. In order to get a tourist visa extension for any of the reasons given above, your application needs very strong arguments.

Why are Schengen or Europe visas rejected?

Is Travel History Important?

so from my point of view travel history has some significance .So lets say you want to go to europe but before that you went any other country lets say thailand,hong kong,dubai,qatar etc ,where everyone gets visa easily.so if

you haven't been to such country and want to go europe the visa officials think that this person is just taking a long jump. 

They usually look people who have been to such countries st least 2-3 times which increase your credibility as a genuine traveller ,so a little factor that adds up in your application. But this does not mean that,people who haven't been anywhere before,cant get a schengen visa.So this way travel history will help you in your application for schengen visa. And if you don't have a travel history, I would recommend to explore these countries first. You'll get an idea and also some help and also get understanding about international travel. And then go to such place where you have to spend a lot of money.

For more further details you can also visit to this website given below:

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/tourist-schengen-visa/

specially for indians who want to know all details in hindi they can visit to this website given below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIad8O11NWU&t=322s




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