Your cart is currently empty!
by
Tags:
Here’s my second attempt at answering some of my readers and (YouTube) viewers questions about the Schengen Visa. These questions focus mainly on entry and stay within the Schengen Area. You can read part 1 of the Schegen Visa FAQs here.
Aside from your Schengen Visa, if you need one, you will need to present the following documents as listed in the Schengen Borders Code (2019).
Once your visa is valid.
On the visa vignette on the right, the visa validity starts on 14 October 2020. You cannot travel before this date.
Follow-up Question: My flight leaves on 13 October and arrives at 12:01 AM of 14 October, will I be allowed to board my flight?
Believe it or not, I have received this question AND the answer lies on the airline. I have always traveled on the eve of my visa validity and have not encountered any problems from NAIA (Philippines) BUT I have heard (read) of other travelers being denied boarding at different ports (and countries).
Yes, IF your visa sticker has the words “Schengen States” in the valid for portion of the visa.
In this old Schengen Visa Sticker, the area of validity is the whole Schengen State which means the holder can travel to all 27 Schengen Member-States upon the visa validity.
Please check your visa sticker before booking your flight to be sure that your Schengen Visa is not a limited territory visa (LTV). Aside from that, make sure that you have all the necessary entry documents with you.
Yes, IF you were granted with either a double (02) or multiple (MULT) entry visa AND you have not used up the visa duration.
The visa duration determines the TOTAL number of days you can stay in the Schengen Area. Make sure you do not go beyond that number.
In the visa vignette at the left, you are allowed to stay a total of 90 days .
The visa validity determines the start and end date of your visa. You can travel and stay in the Schengen Area within the validity period provided.
In the visa vignette at the left, you can travel from 13 April 2021 to 01 August 2021 for 90 days.
Your stay must follow the visa validity and visa duration on your visa sticker.
For individuals with longer visa validity, your intended stay in all of the Schengen Member States must not exceed the allowed 90 days in any 180-day period.
Whether you have a single entry or multiple entry visa, you can use any of the available Schengen Visa Calculators online to calculate your allowed stay. Remember that day 1 is when you first enter the Schengen Area.
I prefer to use the one from the European Commission website since it’s more official.
Let’s say you have a planned entry from 08 October 2023 to 05 December 2023 for 59 days and you have previously stayed in the Schengen area from 01 July 2023 to 29 August 2023 for 60 days.
To check if you have exceeded the allowed 90/180 days, count 180 days backwards from 05 December 2023, this means the start of your 180-day period is 09 June 2023. Within that 180-day period, you can also stay for a total of 90 days. You can only stay until 06 November 2023 so that you won’t exceed the allowed limit.
You MUST be able to show proof why it is not possible for you to leave the Schengen Area before the expiry of your visa. This can be due to force majeure, humanitarian reasons, or serious personal reasons. Make sure that you contact migration authorities competent on extending visas.
Follow-up Question: Have you tried extending your visa?
Yes, during the pandemic when flights to my home country were cancelled 2 days before my return flight. I requested that my visa be extended and I received an additional 1.5 months on top of my visa validity. So contact the migration office if ever you need your stay extended.
YES! The long-stay visa or residence permit allows you to travel within the Schengen Area. Keep in mind that you MUST follow the 90/180 day rule as well.