Extending Schengen Visa, Didn't Give Long Enough

[stevehaigh]

my wife just got a schengen visa from the swiss embassy but they only gave her 24 days which was the duration of the first europe trip. on the application, i wrote that we are staying in the UK for 2-3 months and plan several trips to europe and want at least 60 days schengen on the visa.

i assumed that would be no problem since she got 180 days on the UK visa without a asking.

now i'm stuck because we have more trips to europe planned but the 24 day visa will not cover it.

do you think the swiss embassy will extend the visa if i go in with proof of dates for the second set of trips?

i'm a UK citizen so i don't know why i have to prove any dates really, but them seem to require it!

thx steve

[stevehaigh]

we went back to the swiss embassy with proof of the 2nd euro trip and begged them to extend the visa but they refused to do anything. they said we need to make an appointment and start over again with a new application but the appointments are in 3 weeks plus and we leave for UK in 2 weeks.

fortunately, we were able to get an appointment in the french embassy next week and since the 2nd trip is mostly France, i assume we can work it out.

one quick question, since she has a valid schegen visa now, will there be any problem applying for another one at a different embassy?

thx steve

[CharlieB]

we went back to the swiss embassy with proof of the 2nd euro trip and begged them to extend the visa but they refused to do anything. they said we need to make an appointment and start over again with a new application but the appointments are in 3 weeks plus and we leave for UK in 2 weeks.

fortunately, we were able to get an appointment in the french embassy next week and since the 2nd trip is mostly France, i assume we can work it out.

one quick question, since she has a valid schegen visa now, will there be any problem applying for another one at a different embassy?

thx steve

I think you'll find that the first schengen visa has to be cancelled by the embassy that awarded it before you can apply for a second one. I think someone else asked about this before and you can only have one active schengen visa in the passport at one time.

[stevehaigh]

we went back to the swiss embassy with proof of the 2nd euro trip and begged them to extend the visa but they refused to do anything. they said we need to make an appointment and start over again with a new application but the appointments are in 3 weeks plus and we leave for UK in 2 weeks.

fortunately, we were able to get an appointment in the french embassy next week and since the 2nd trip is mostly France, i assume we can work it out.

one quick question, since she has a valid schegen visa now, will there be any problem applying for another one at a different embassy?

thx steve

I think you'll find that the first schengen visa has to be cancelled by the embassy that awarded it before you can apply for a second one. I think someone else asked about this before and you can only have one active schengen visa in the passport at one time.

hum, better go back to the swiss embassy first and tell them what i'm doing i suppose

thx

[Maestro]

...do you think the swiss embassy will extend the visa if i go in with proof of dates for the second set of trips?

i'm a UK citizen so i don't know why i have to prove any dates really, but them seem to require it!

It is always a good idea to enclose a travel itinerary when applying for a visa, regardless of nationality.

The visa section of the Swiss embassy in Bangkok is a pain in the rear side. If the arrogant Thai staff there give you grief, ask to speak to the head of the visa section, Mr. Roland Walker.

--

Maestro

[stevehaigh]

...do you think the swiss embassy will extend the visa if i go in with proof of dates for the second set of trips?

i'm a UK citizen so i don't know why i have to prove any dates really, but them seem to require it!

It is always a good idea to enclose a travel itinerary when applying for a visa, regardless of nationality.

The visa section of the Swiss embassy in Bangkok is a pain in the rear side. If the arrogant Thai staff there give you grief, ask to speak to the head of the visa section, Mr. Roland Walker.

--

Maestro

i talked to him when i visited last week, he told me to make a new appointment and start over with a new application. he had the original application in his hand at the time, could see i brought the new itinerary and insurance cover with me, could see i wrote 60 days on the original app but refused to do anything. he said it wasn't possible, i know he just had to hit a few buttons on a computer and would have been fine, but no can do!

anyhow, i'm a bit nervous about cancellng the visa she already has and starting over at the french embassy. its close to the travel date and the bird in the hand, 2 in the bush thing.

do you would i could extend the visa at the swiss embassy in the UK. Mr. Volker at the swiss embassy here said give it a try but would not commit.

the other idea is, is it possible for her to apply for a schengen visa in the UK after the first euro trip/schengen visa used up.

[connel707]

...do you think the swiss embassy will extend the visa if i go in with proof of dates for the second set of trips?

i'm a UK citizen so i don't know why i have to prove any dates really, but them seem to require it!

It is always a good idea to enclose a travel itinerary when applying for a visa, regardless of nationality.

The visa section of the Swiss embassy in Bangkok is a pain in the rear side. If the arrogant Thai staff there give you grief, ask to speak to the head of the visa section, Mr. Roland Walker.

--

Maestro

i talked to him when i visited last week, he told me to make a new appointment and start over with a new application. he had the original application in his hand at the time, could see i brought the new itinerary and insurance cover with me, could see i wrote 60 days on the original app but refused to do anything. he said it wasn't possible, i know he just had to hit a few buttons on a computer and would have been fine, but no can do!

anyhow, i'm a bit nervous about cancellng the visa she already has and starting over at the french embassy. its close to the travel date and the bird in the hand, 2 in the bush thing.

do you would i could extend the visa at the swiss embassy in the UK. Mr. Volker at the swiss embassy here said give it a try but would not commit.

the other idea is, is it possible for her to apply for a schengen visa in the UK after the first euro trip/schengen visa used up.

Once you are in Europe, you are in, who cares how long you stay.. You cannot travel to UK on the Shengen Visa... but once in Europe, no-one will ever look at her passport untill she leaves, and there is no overstay charge there... and almost no border checks anywhere on mainland Europe... life is for living... be a wee devil....

[stevehaigh]

Once you are in Europe, you are in, who cares how long you stay.. You cannot travel to UK on the Shengen Visa... but once in Europe, no-one will ever look at her passport untill she leaves, and there is no overstay charge there... and almost no border checks anywhere on mainland Europe... life is for living... be a wee devil....

because there are separate trips from the uk and they do check at the airport. and she doesn't want to get caught on an overstay and get black listed for next time.

steve

[alyx]

Once you are in Europe, you are in, who cares how long you stay.. You cannot travel to UK on the Shengen Visa... but once in Europe, no-one will ever look at her passport untill she leaves, and there is no overstay charge there... and almost no border checks anywhere on mainland Europe... life is for living... be a wee devil....

Ooops that is a silly advice

This is not Thailand where one pays overstay, leaves the country and comes back by the next plane

Overstay with a Schenghen visa (without a valid and proven reason) and I can promise you that you will not ovestay again in any part of the area covered by Schenhen as you will not be granted aven a transit visa by any consular section (but I guess the OP was aware of it considering the answer he has made)

Regarding the option of cancelling: I wouldn't

Don't think that the person in charge agt the Embassy has just to enter some new dates in the computer to modify anything

. I am sure the guy would if he could but visa laws are quite intricate.

The thing is that I think that Switzerland doesn't have the same status as the other EU countries and are therefore limited (the fact that you had asked for 60 days didn't go unnoticed and the only gave you 24 days) or the status of your partner only allows that period of time to be granted

Some years ago the same thing happened to my partner and I provided the Embassy (not the Swiss one) with a letter that exceptional circumstances forced us to ask for a longer visa: it was done swiftly

So put things under perspective and next time ask for a visa to the country where you are making the most of your time

I hope this has helped

[alyx]

anyhow, i'm a bit nervous about cancellng the visa she already has and starting over at the french embassy. its close to the travel date and the bird in the hand, 2 in the bush thing.

the other idea is, is it possible for her to apply for a schengen visa in the UK after the first euro trip/schengen visa used up.

Two more things:

1) If you decide not to go for the cancellation and thereforewill not apply at the French Embassy don ot forget to go back on their site and cancel the appointment

2) Then again I do not know your friend's status but I am not sure she is allowed to apply for a visa in the UK. Furthermore six months have to elapse between the first visa and the day you want to apply

[stevehaigh]

anyhow, i'm a bit nervous about cancellng the visa she already has and starting over at the french embassy. its close to the travel date and the bird in the hand, 2 in the bush thing.

the other idea is, is it possible for her to apply for a schengen visa in the UK after the first euro trip/schengen visa used up.

Two more things:

1) If you decide not to go for the cancellation and thereforewill not apply at the French Embassy don ot forget to go back on their site and cancel the appointment

2) Then again I do not know your friend's status but I am not sure she is allowed to apply for a visa in the UK. Furthermore six months have to elapse between the first visa and the day you want to apply

it is only about 5 days between returning to the UK and next planned euro trip. i thought the limit on re-applying was 90 days max in 180, i wonder where its written that you can't re-apply right away if you are within the 90 day/180day limit?

i'm going to ask the french embassy tomorrow to see if they can help, if not, i guess i'll just leave it as is and hope the swiss embassy has a cancellation and can squeeze her in at short notice.

[stevehaigh]

finally some good news on my wife's visa saga. after calling the swiss embassy appointment line every day, we just got an appointment on the 14th which i hope is enough time to get a new visa to fly on the 19th.

i'll update on how it goes with the visa extension next week.

By the way, i contacted several euro embassies in the UK to see if there is anything we can do in the UK for a second trip to Europe, and they all said no way they will give a schengen visa to someone in the UK on a 180 day tourist visa. so if it can't be fixed in Thailand, its not fixable.

Edited May 7, 2009 by stevehaigh

[stevehaigh]

ok, final update on my saga for anyone interested. my wife just got the passport back with the new 60 day schengen visa. they drew a big red 'X' on the old 24 day one. thank you Swiss embassy.

so the moral of the story is:

1) apply the the right number of days in the first place

2) if you need more time after the visa is issued, you need to apply at the same embassy that issues the visa in the first place

3) if you can't get an appointment in time, call every day, don't believe it if they say they will call you back if there is a cancellation

4) if you need to re-apply, make sure your insurance covers the new longer trip and re submit all the original support info, bank books, etc.

5) i also usually write a simple 1 page summary, summarizing amounts in banks, jobs and other reasons to return to Thailand.

good luck if you find your self in the same spot as us, clearly it is possible to get an extension if you need one but only in Thailand (or your home country), not in Europe.

steve

[alyx]

Congratulions

Have a nice trip