Schegen Visa

[BIGJIMMY]

Hi, if we get a Spanish Schegen Visa for the wife, travel to Spain but then return to the UK but then fly to Italy from the UK, will there be any problems entering Italy, the wife has had seveal Schegen visas before for Spain but we only ever went to Spain, this time i'd like to go to France and Italy but using the Schegen visa obtained from the Spainish Embassy, is this possible?

Thanks

Jimmy

[theoldgit]

There should be no problem doing this providing that they issue a multi entry visa that is valid for the duration of the proposed trips.

Schengen Visas are often issued for the duration of the proposed trip and not much longer, so it might be wise to provide details of the trips with of course all the evidence and specifically request multi-entry.

[bangkockney]

You must get the Schengen visa from the Embassy of the first country you will enter in the Schengen area. You are then free to travel around the Schengen area for the duration of the visa.

Don't forget you will need a separate visa for the UK.

Edited February 20, 2011 by bangkockney

[theoldgit]

You must get the Schengen visa from the Embassy of the first country you will enter in the Schengen area. You are then free to travel around the Schengen area for the duration of the visa.

Not quite, you should actually apply at the country in the Schengen area that is your main destination.

If you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is your main destination (i.e. where you will spend the longest period of time).

[bangkockney]

Yes, but in addition:

If you intend to visit several countries but do not have a main destination, you should apply for a visa at the Embassy or Consulate of the country of your first point of entry.

Edited February 20, 2011 by bangkockney

[personchester]

You must get the Schengen visa from the Embassy of the first country you will enter in the Schengen area. You are then free to travel around the Schengen area for the duration of the visa.

Don't forget you will need a separate visa for the UK.

No, not the first country, I have gone with my wife (Thai) several times from the UK to Schengen areas and I got the Schengen visa for my wife each time from the German Embassy in London because the German Embassy was nearest to my home.

The first country to enter was mainly France, on other occasions the first country to enter was Belgium, and the Schengen visa's issued by the German Embassy as opposed to the countries one entered first never caused a problem

Edited February 21, 2011 by personchester

[7by7]

Technically one should apply to the country that is one's main, or only, destination or if touring the country that one will enter first.

In practice, it doesn't seem to matter for people married to or a family member of an EU citizen as they do not need to provide most of the evidence required from those who are not in this position.

For applicants who are not the spouse or family member of an EU citizen, who have to provide itineraries, evidence of hotel bookings etc., it does matter and they should follow the rules or risk refusal.

[bangkockney]

Good to hear personchester but my wife has had an application returned because of applying at the wrong embassy from within the UK Not a problem but she was annoyed with the stamp in her passport saying application made but no visa issued. And the inconvenienc of applying again.

Better to follow the letter of the law to avoid inconvenience.

Apply at embassy of main destination if applicable else of first entry.

[BIGJIMMY]

Thanks folks for all the replies. Our main and first destination will be Tenerife, we have no problem getting a visa for Spain as the Mrs has had a few in the past, we get the visa from the Spanish Embassy in Bangers, my only concern is the fact that after Tenerife I wanted to play it by ear regarding our destinations, I have friends in Italy and France and wanted to just 'go with the flow' and our experience of obtaining a visa from the Spanish Embassy was very strict with the dates, ie if we went for one week the visa would literally be for 7 days, if I submit an application for a multi entry Schegen starting with Spain then Italy and France but not to precise on the dates - I can only imagine that it will get refused, I hope that makes sense and doesn't sound too naive, i'm only talking about another 2 weeks after our trip to Tenerife, would I still need to provide dates, hotels, tickets etc as thats where i'm going to struggle.

I'm a UK citizen and we'll be in Kent only a stones throw from Dover so I wanted to head into France for a day trip or even Euro Disney as well, would they let the Mrs in with a Spanish Schegen visa do you think??

Thanks again in advance.

Jimmy

[theoldgit]

I'm a UK citizen and we'll be in Kent only a stones throw from Dover so I wanted to head into France for a day trip or even Euro Disney as well, would they let the Mrs in with a Spanish Schengen visa do you think??

Once you've got your multi entry Schengen Visa you're good to go, but as you say some consulates are pretty tight with the dates, and of course being in possession of a visa doesn't guarantee admission.

My partner and I did have a problem with an extremely obnoxious IO at Gare du Nord on our return to the UK from a side trip to Paris, but that's another story.

[alyx]

Hey

As other posters have stated it, main destination or first point of entry is the rule

In your case it is definitely Spain.

Even if you do not indicate other destinations you may visit any other country from the Schengen space at any time, as many times as you wish, as long as it is within the timeframe allowed. Actually I would advise against telling which countries you intend to travel to, as you might be asked more information (hotel bookings...)

Of course you have to apply for a 90 day multiple entry in order to go back and forth from the UK

Also keep in mind that only the days spent in "Europe" are counted. In short you may decide to spend 90 days over a period of 6 months, again, in any part of the space without any specified route map

Edited February 23, 2011 by alyx

[BIGJIMMY]

Thanks peeps, it all makes sense what is being said but like I said before the Spanish Embassy were very specific on dates, if I apply for a 3 month multiple entry Schegen visa for Spain but show the flight tickets for a week in and out of Spain then would that work, will that issue that, also is it possible for a 1 month multiple visa or does it have to be 3??

Thanks

Jimmy

[bkkflyer]

What about talking to your travel agent, to book an itinerary (not necessarily purchase/issue the tickets) that seems reasonable with the places you want to visit. Then of course there is not any problem to do some changes after the multiple-entry visa has been issued, I guess.