Short stay visa in The Schengen

The Schengen short-stay visa

The Schengen visa is a short-stay visa which is issued by all countries in the Schengen area.

Possibilities allowed to do with Schengen visa 

With a Schengen visa one can travel to any or all of the 26 Schengen area countries for the period of validity of one's visa, but maximum period is three months within a six-month period. It is not necessary to obtain an individual visa for each country, and one do not have to show one's passport when crossing borders between countries within the Schengen area. Only at the Schengen area's external borders - the borders with non-Schengen area countries - all travel documents are carefully checked.

Other conditions of entry into the Schengen area are

- You must be able to explain why you want to enter the Schengen area and to prove the conditions of your stay. You must also be able to show that you have sufficient financial means for the duration of the stay and for your return;
- You must not be considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Schengen area countries;
- You must not have an alert issued in the Schengen Information System* for the purposes of refusing entry.

If you hold a residence permit or a long-stay visa issued by a Schengen area country, you will have the same freedom of travel as a Schengen short-stay visa holder.
If you have a Schengen visa and you wish to visit any of the five EU countries which are outside the Schengen area (Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Ireland, the United Kingdom), you will need to apply for a separate national visa for each country. These 5 countries have different rules on immigration.

* An information system for the EU and the EU countries that enables the relevant authorities to have access to notifications on persons and property via an automated search procedure. It is mainly used for the purposes of border checks and other police and customs checks. In some cases, it is also used for issuing visas, residence permits and for the administration of legislation in the context of the Schengen Convention.
More information you can read in section on Immigration.