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Schengen visas are made up of four elements - The validity of the visa, the number of days you are allowed to stay in the Shengen States, the number of entries and the embassy to which you have to apply.
The visa can be issued for literally one day, or one, two, three, six months up to one year.
During the life of the visa you will only be allowed to spend so many days in the Schengen states. The maximum is 90 days in any six month period. The shorter the visa the less days you are likely to get.
Visas can be single, double or multiple entry. An entry/exit is defined as when you enter or leave the Schengen States. However you can go from one Schengen State to another as many times as you like eg France to Spain. This is not classed as an entry/exit.
The obvious advantage of having a multiple Schengen visa is that you can travel whenever you want to different European countries without having to obtain separate visas. This means that you can make that urgent business meeting in Paris or take advantage of a great deal on the internet.
A Schengen Visa is applied for at the Embassy or Consulate of the Schengen country where you will be spending the most nights on your trip (this is especially important if you are going on a tour such as Contiki) If you are only visiting one country on your trip then you apply for your visa through that country.
If you go to France for one night then go straight to another Schengen state, say Spain where you spend two nights then you would have to apply for a Spanish Schengen as you are spending the majority of nights in Spain.
If you are spending the same number of nights in two countries, i.e. two nights in France first and then two in Spain, you would apply to the country which you go to first, in this case France.
Embassies are very strict about this and were you to get a Schengen visa from, say, France and then use it to go straight to Spain, you could find it difficult to obtain a visa in the future, as you will have "misused" the visa.
To apply for a schengen visa please check the country details on our website to ensure we are able to assist you or alternatively complete our online application form.
Please note these are general guidelines. Requirements of each individual embassy can and do vary so please check the country information brfore applying. Also bear in mind that nationality, UK leave to remain, type of passport and previous Schengen history can effect what sort of visa you get if indeed you get one at all. All embassies reserve the right to refuse or limit visas. Finally, embassies can, and frequently do, change their requirements often without giving any prior notice.
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