To get into European countries for tourism, education, business activities, or even just seeing friends and family, you need a Schengen visa. This visa grants you 90-day in any of the Schengen countries. But you cannot exit the Schengen countries during the visa’s validity or else it is considered expired. If you want to be able to exit Schengen countries multiple times, there’s only one visa you need – Multi-Entry Schengen Visa. The following information is all you need to know about the multi-entry Schengen visa:
Understanding Schengen Visa?
Schengen countries are a group of European countries that are a part of the European Union that have an agreement that allows their citizens to travel anywhere in the Schengen region without the need for a visa. A part of the benefit also extended to the citizens of other countries with them only needing a Schengen visa to travel through the region. A Schengen visa gives you a period of 90 days in the country.
What is a Multi-Entry Schengen Visa
A normal Schengen visa allows you 90 days in the Schengen countries that you can avail in 180 days from the time the visa has been granted, but once, you leave the Schengen region, the visa expires and you cannot enter any of Schengen countries, without a brand-new visa.
However, there could be reasons why you have to leave Schengen countries and return later, so in such cases, you have to get the multi-entry Schengen visa that allows you to enter and leave Schengen countries as many times as you need to during the validity period of the visa.
Different Types of Multi-Entry Schengen Visa
These are the different types of Schengen visa, and you must apply for the appropriate one as per the duration of your travel.
Basic Multi-Entry Schengen Visa – This is the type of visa that allows you to enter and exit Schengen countries over a period of 90 days. Most people who apply for this type are tourists, people who have to keep travelling for business, or people who are part of a sports team, or a research group.
1-Year Multiple-Entry Schengen Visa – This type of multi-entry allows you to keep coming to and leaving Schengen countries for a period of 1 year. However, to get this visa, you need to have successfully gained 3 Schengen visas in the past 2 years. Only then will you be considered for this visa. For every visit, you cannot exceed the 90-day stay limit for the visit, meaning, you have to leave the Schengen region within 90 days of your arrival.
3-Year Multiple-Entry Schengen Visa – This type of multi-entry allows you to keep coming to and leaving Schengen countries for a period of 3 years. The special condition you need to fulfil to get this visa is that you have to successfully first get the 1-year multiple-entry Schengen visa in the past 2 years. The 90-day stay rule for every visit rule applies here as well.
5-year Multiple-Entry Schengen Visa – This type of multi-entry allows you to keep coming to and leaving Schengen countries for a period of 5 years. To get this visa, you need to have used at least 2 types of multiple-entry visas in the past 3 years. Just like the other multi-entry visas, holders of this visa also cannot spend more than 90-days at a time in a Schengen country.
Most people who go for long-period visas are students, people with family staying in Schengen countries, sportspersons, professionals who have to travel all over the world regarding their work, or businessmen who also have to travel all over in regard to their business. Following and clearing the special conditions set for each type of visa makes it easier for you to get the visa.
Multiple-Entry Schengen Visa Cost
The multiple-entry Schengen visa cost can fluctuate based on the prevailing economic, and political situations, or changes in laws. The prices keep changing periodically. There are also many special circumstances under which visa fees can be completely waived. Currently, the visa fee is capped at €80 but this price can increase or decrease in the future. This fee is used for processing the visa, so, even if for whatever reason your visa application gets rejected, this fee will not be reimbursed.
What are the Benefits of a Multi-Entry Schengen Visa?
Apart from the convenience factor, there are many benefits to holding a multiple-entry Schengen visa:
See 26 Countries – 26 countries in Europe are a part of the Schengen area. So, if you like Europe and want to see most of the countries, you can do that with a Schengen visa.
Direct Travel to Other Countries – Apart from the Schengen countries, there are a bunch of other countries that also accept the Schengen visa. You don’t need a separate visa. You will be allowed in that country for a certain number of days.
Easier Access to Other Visas – The Schengen visa is one of the most powerful visas in the world, and owing to the strict screening of European countries, if you successfully get a visa, the chances of you getting visas to other countries increase as well. The Schengen visa stamp matters a lot.
List of Schengen Countries
The following is the list of 26 Schengen countries that you can travel to after securing a Schengen visa.
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Czech Republic
- Belgium
- Austria
- Portugal
- Denmark
- Lithuania
- Finland
- Sweden
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Malta
- Norway
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Latvia
- Estonia
Apart from these countries, you can also travel to certain non-Schengen countries with a Schengen visa. The multiple-entry Schengen visa is the best and most convenient way if you have many travels to Europe. So, make sure you have documents in order. You can also take the help of professional visa companies.