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Schengen Visa
The Schengen area comprises 26 countries that have agreed to allow free movement of their citizens within this area as a single country. Of the 26 countries bound by the Schengen agreement, 22 are part of the EU and the other 4 are part of the EFTA. Schengen Visa is the document issued by the appropriate authorities of the member countries to the interested party for visiting/travelling to and within the Schengen area.
Schengen visa requirements
The Schengen area covers the majority of European countries, except for the United Kingdom and countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Ireland soon to be part of the agreement. However, there are countries that are not part of the EU like Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein yet, do belong in the Schengen area and cherish the free movement policy.
Non-European citizens willing to travel to the Schengen Area are bound to apply for a short-term Schengen visa under “tourist” specification. Depending on the visa issued they may be allowed to enter once (single entry) or multiple times (multiple entry) and stay for no longer than 3 months 90 days per year in between the period of 6 months. Such a decision is made by the authorities depending on the nature of the applicant’s travel purpose and other relevant factors.
The applicant has to submit the application for a Schengen visa to the consulate or embassy of the country where they will be entering first or residing the most of the days in the trip. We can assist you with Schengen visas to Europe through most of the embassies and can assist clients in obtaining priority appointments much earlier than publicly available appointments through our accredited agents
How can we assist?
Our Immigration lawyers at City Legal have immense experience in assisting clients on schengen visas for all different purposes. We can assist the clients in putting together necessary supporting documents, advice on application merits and secure priority appointments for submissions cutting down the waiting times. We are a multi award winning law firm and pride ourselves in being approachable, innovative and always going that extra mile to make sure our clients receive the individual attention they deserve. Our Immigration team maintains a high reputation and is committed to provide clear, transparent and reliable advice to our clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
UK is not part of the schengen zone and any previous UK visa refusal should not impact a schengen visa application. It is ultimately up to the deciding authority to take account of what to consider when making a decision whether to grant entry or not to a particular country or visa zone.
It is possible to hold both visas at the same time, but applicants must apply separately to respective embassies. The applicants can however plan to travel within the Schengen zone to other member countries. The UK operates a British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS) under which some eligible visas issued by UK or Ireland can be used to travel between these two countries
EU Commission has confirmed that UK citizens will need to pay an ETIAS fee to visit Europe in the event of Brexit. From 2021, this will add a new requirement for British citizens traveling to the EU, that is completing an online ETIAS application form. The ETIAS visa waiver will be valid for 3-year, allowing unlimited entries into the EU for British nationals. It would act as a Schengen Visa for UK residents.
We work with accredited travel agents who may be able to secure priority appointments for schengen visa submissions, cutting down the waiting times.
The non-EEA nationals settled in the UK may apply for a Schengen visa from within the UK; but must submit an application to pay the necessary fees.UK residence permit must be valid for at least another three more months beyond the date the applicant is planning to leave the Schengen Area.