Valid Shengen visa in old passport

[raygino]

Hi all

I have a valid shengen visa( applied from French embassy) in old thai passport. I am travelling to Paris next week. Is it possible to enter France with 2 passports? The visa expires on 1.4.2015. thanks

[Basil B]

A quick Google on the subject indicate you would have no problem.

There is a suggestion this is a grey area and subject how different countries interpret the rules, I would have thought the French to be sticklers but have read a number of posts stating this is not a problem, one suggestion is to put a sticky notes book mark in the expired passport to mark the visa page.

[raygino]

A quick Google on the subject indicate you would have no problem.

There is a suggestion this is a grey area and subject how different countries interpret the rules, I would have thought the French to be sticklers but have read a number of posts stating this is not a problem, one suggestion is to put a sticky notes book mark in the expired passport to mark the visa page.

Hi Basil B. Are you in Thailand? I have asked a few people in the TSL and have conflicting replies. One says what you have posted while the other says you have to apply for a new visa on the new passport. That is the reason i am asking on the forum as i did not get a clear cut reply. Thank you again for your input.

[Donutz]

TLS and VFS are quite useless exept for questions they can read up from the Q&A on their own webpage... which means they are totally useless. Questions are best directed at comptent embassy staff. Or officialsources such as the EU.

You should be alright, the Schengen handbook says:

In principle a person should travel with a valid visa affixed in a valid travel document.
However, when all the blank pages of the Schengen visa holder's travel document have been
used for affixing visas or entry/exit stamps, he may travel on the basis of the "full" but
invalidated travel document containing the valid visa, and a new travel document.
In order to prevent possible difficulties, notably at the moment where border checks are
carried out, the person may apply either for a new visa to cover the remaining period of
validity of the existing visa or for a new multiple entry visa.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy/index_en.htm

Note that you cannot have two visa;s overlapping (not that you need a second visa in your case).

A holder of a multiple-entry visa may apply for a new visa before the expiry of the validity of
the visa currently held. However, the validity of the new visa must complement the current
visa, i.e. a person cannot hold two uniform visas valid for the same period in time.
Example: A Moroccan lawyer representing a gender equality NGO who frequently
participates in meetings in various Member States holds a multiple-entry-visa which expires
on 31.5. She applies for a new visa on 15.4.
If a new visa is issued, it should be valid from 1.6. and in such a case the visa holder would be
entitled to enter the territory of the Member States on the basis of the first visa that will expire
during the stay and leave on the basis of the new visa.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Donutz

[raygino]

TLS and VFS are quite useless exept for questions they can read up from the Q&A on their own webpage... which means they are totally useless. Questions are best directed at comptent embassy staff. Or officialsources such as the EU.

You should be alright, the Schengen handbook says:

In principle a person should travel with a valid visa affixed in a valid travel document.

However, when all the blank pages of the Schengen visa holder's travel document have been

used for affixing visas or entry/exit stamps, he may travel on the basis of the "full" but

invalidated travel document containing the valid visa, and a new travel document.

In order to prevent possible difficulties, notably at the moment where border checks are

carried out, the person may apply either for a new visa to cover the remaining period of

validity of the existing visa or for a new multiple entry visa.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy/index_en.htm

Note that you cannot have two visa;s overlapping (not that you need a second visa in your case).

A holder of a multiple-entry visa may apply for a new visa before the expiry of the validity of

the visa currently held. However, the validity of the new visa must complement the current

visa, i.e. a person cannot hold two uniform visas valid for the same period in time.

Example: A Moroccan lawyer representing a gender equality NGO who frequently

participates in meetings in various Member States holds a multiple-entry-visa which expires

on 31.5. She applies for a new visa on 15.4.

If a new visa is issued, it should be valid from 1.6. and in such a case the visa holder would be

entitled to enter the territory of the Member States on the basis of the first visa that will expire

during the stay and leave on the basis of the new visa.

Hi Donutz..thank you for your input. The thing i still have blank pages in my old passport but made a new one as i planned to travel in Dec( now i am traveling next week) and according to Thai law the passport must be valid for atleast 6 months( my old one expired in May 2015) before leaving the country, thus the situation.I even called the TSL before i applied for the new passport and they said no problem. So today i called again just to confirm and they say they dont know! i have tried to contact the French embassy all day but no luck. So i called my travel agent friends , all 4 of them and they all said the same thing. Take both passports and present them both at the Immigration in Paris Airport. I am just nervous and dont want to face the deportation situation. Now i am in a bind...do i apply for a new visa or just fly with 2 passports?

[Donutz]

I'd travel with both passports.

Optionally you can any or all of these:

- Print out these pages from the Embassy Schengen visa processing handbook (see the PDF file on the EU webpage I linked to)

- Look up the same item in the border staff handbook (elsewhere on the EU webpage there should be one with instructions for border staff) and print it

- E-mail the embassy, ask if they can confirm that as per the Schengen Handbook you can travel with your new passport and old passport (including the Multiple Entry Visa -MEV- sticker).

[raygino]

I'd travel with both passports.

Optionally you can any or all of these:

- Print out these pages from the Embassy Schengen visa processing handbook (see the PDF file on the EU webpage I linked to)

- Look up the same item in the border staff handbook (elsewhere on the EU webpage there should be one with instructions for border staff) and print it

- E-mail the embassy, ask if they can confirm that as per the Schengen Handbook you can travel with your new passport and old passport (including the Multiple Entry Visa -MEV- sticker).

hi..can u please point me to the pdf handbook.? thank you.. i will print and carry with me just incase.

[Basil B]

No I am in the UK, I know that this would not be a problem with a UK visa but could not answer your question, but did search Google, and as I said above there are many web pages on the subject, but I got the impression that it was not a problem with France, the only quoted problem I found was Finland who would not accept a visa in an expired/cancelled passport but now seem to have relaxed the rules in line with other Schengen countries.

But for France:

If you are holding a valid Schengen visa in an expired Indian passport, you may carry both your expired and new Indian passports together and travel between India and the Schengen countries until the visa expires. You do not need to obtain a new visa.

This from VFS Global (France) in India but this will be valid information for all nationalities that require a Schengen Visa for France http://www.vfs-france.co.in/FAQ.html

[Donutz]

I'd travel with both passports.

Optionally you can any or all of these:

- Print out these pages from the Embassy Schengen visa processing handbook (see the PDF file on the EU webpage I linked to)

- Look up the same item in the border staff handbook (elsewhere on the EU webpage there should be one with instructions for border staff) and print it

- E-mail the embassy, ask if they can confirm that as per the Schengen Handbook you can travel with your new passport and old passport (including the Multiple Entry Visa -MEV- sticker).

hi..can u please point me to the pdf handbook.? thank you.. i will print and carry with me just incase.

The PDF is called "Operational instructions for the application of the Visa Code are further specified in the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas" and can be found on the EU Home Affairs webpage on visa. Here is a direct link to the PDF, see page 29:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/visa-policy/docs/20140709_visa_code_handbook_consolidated_en.pdf

No I am in the UK, I know that this would not be a problem with a UK visa but could not answer your question, but did search Google, and as I said above there are many web pages on the subject, but I got the impression that it was not a problem with France, the only quoted problem I found was Finland who would not accept a visa in an expired/cancelled passport but now seem to have relaxed the rules in line with other Schengen countries.

But for France:

If you are holding a valid Schengen visa in an expired Indian passport, you may carry both your expired and new Indian passports together and travel between India and the Schengen countries until the visa expires. You do not need to obtain a new visa.

This from VFS Global (France) in India but this will be valid information for all nationalities that require a Schengen Visa for France http://www.vfs-france.co.in/FAQ.html

The best sources are EU sources, followed by national sources (embassy, ministry, both of which sometimes make mistakes or give false information though), and at the very bottom third parties, who sadly sometimes have wrong, incorrect, misleading or incomplete information. Since they do not actually process visas they are even less likely to spot errors or know all the ins and outs as layed out in EU documentation on Schengen visa and EU directives regarding freedom of movement etc. In this case the information is correct though.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Donutz