Which countries can you visit with a Schengen visa? Which countries require a Schengen visa - an overview of European borders from the perspective of a Russian traveler

The Schengen Union has existed much longer than we used to think. The agreement, thanks to which Schengen visas appeared, was signed in Luxembourg back in 1985. It was then that the association arose European countries who developed uniform requirements to your visa regime.

We will talk in detail about these requirements, list the countries that comply with them, and find out where Russians can enter without a visa. We also have to understand the difference between single and multiple Schengen visas. Let's get started.

What unites the Schengen countries

Belonging to the Schengen area means compliance with a common standardized visa regime. The initiators of such standardization were five states:

• Belgium;
• Germany;
• France;
• Luxembourg;
• Netherlands.

How many countries have signed the Schengen agreement? Already in 2001, there were fifteen “Schengen” countries, and after another 10 years – 25. This is the number of countries participating in the Schengen Agreement there are today. However, there is reason to believe that this list will expand.

When we talk about Schengen visas, we mean uniform conditions for issuance. 126 states are not subject to the agreement, including Russian Federation. Schengen does not include the CIS countries, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania.

We have described the types of Schengen visas more than once, so we will not focus on this issue. Let us only note that the procedure for obtaining a visa and the list of documents may vary depending on the requirements of the embassy where you are applying for the stamp.

As we have already written, the list of documents in different countries Schengen may vary. Standardized list (excluding national characteristics) looks like that:

• color photographs;
• international passport;
• work certificate;
• questionnaire;
• a certificate confirming the fact of purchase of currency;
• a bunch of photocopies (internal and international passports, health insurance, all kinds of evidence).

Russians need a visa to travel to Schengen countries.

Schengen area - list of countries

What does the list of countries that have decided to join look like? common space Schengen? Let's arrange them in order of decreasing importance for the resort tourist:

Russians who decide to get into one of listed countries, you will definitely need a Schengen visa. What do the uniform requirements for the applicant look like?

1. Possession of a valid passport.
2. Availability of documents, confirming the nature of your trip ( tourist voucher, private or business invitation).
3. Availability financial resources sufficient for living in the chosen country (on average about 100 dollars/day).
4. Applying for health insurance.
5. Not listed on international “black lists”.
6. Don't threaten public order or national security country chosen to visit.
7. Fill out the form correctly.

Group travel is always cheaper, but to obtain a visa through a travel agency you will need to collect a bunch of documents. This pack is not as voluminous as when independent receipt Schengen, but you still have to run.

Schengen countries on the map

We have marked the Schengen countries on the map of Europe. Applying for Schengen. especially for the first time, it is better to think through your route in advance.

Exceptions to the General Rules

Some European countries are just about to join the Schengen Agreement. The corresponding petitions have already been submitted, but formally these states are outside the Schengen area legal framework.

De facto, you can enter here if you have a Schengen visa in your passport. If you have a national visa from one of the listed countries, but there is no Schengen visa, say goodbye to the idea of ​​freely wandering across the European expanses.

When planning to enter one of these states, please note: at the border you will be given a stamp indicating that you are leaving the Schengen territory. Similar picture long time observed in the Baltic countries.

In dwarf states, things are simpler. These territories have either signed the Schengen Agreement (Liechtenstein, for example) or abandoned border controls. Having received the coveted stamp, feel free to travel to San Marino, Monaco and the Vatican.

Meanwhile, a funny situation is developing in Andorra – partial control has been maintained on the borders with Spain and France. To relax at the Andorran ski resorts, you will have to work hard to obtain a multiple visa. Andorra is formally considered visa-free country, but by moving to its territory, you will leave the Schengen zone.

Ireland and Great Britain joined the agreement, but passport control was not completely abolished. Special status Denmark also has, whose customs corridors are partly regulated by the Treaty of Amsterdam. But since 2010, citizens of Macedonia and Serbia can safely travel across the expanses of Schengen.

Where a Russian citizen does not need a visa

Without visa regime Many states have introduced it for Russians. Among them there are quite exotic (Vanuatu, Guyana), native (Armenia) and revolutionary (Cuba).

Within the framework of the topic, we are primarily interested in European powers, which allow us to do without unnecessary stamps in international passports. Here is their list:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Georgia;
• Armenia;
• Moldova;
• Northern Cyprus;
• Serbia;

To enter these countries, it is enough to have an unexpired passport. “Overdue” is measured six months from the date of departure from the state in which you are vacationing. We have already written about this in one of the previous articles.

The border guards will give you a stamp, but this will be done completely free of charge when crossing the border. You will also have to apply for an immigration card and obtain health insurance.

An unmarried girl may be denied a visa.

Dangerous combinations

There are visas with which it is better not to enter “civilized” countries. For example, Americans do not like Middle Eastern cliches (Syria, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Algeria, North Korea, Cuba and Afghanistan), and they are wary of Arabs.

The situation can be called precarious South Ossetia and Abkhazia. If you intend to relax in Georgia and at the same time pass through Abkhazia, get ready for problems. Georgians (and some other Europeans) consider these territories occupied and do not recognize their sovereignty. There are known cases when Belarusians flying through Sochi ended up in a Georgian prison due to a misunderstanding - the reason for this was the Abkhaz stamps.

Some embassies may, without apparent motivation, refuse to obtain a visa to certain categories of citizens. For example, similar things are done in the consulates of France and Italy. The chances of getting a visa are reduced if you are an unmarried girl.

Let's consider another case. The same girl going on a group excursion rather than a solo trip gets a visa without any problems. The reasons for such “oddities” are obvious - the authorities of European states are suppressing immigration from “third world” countries based on marriages with local citizens.

Well, let the euro exchange rate grow, but politicians cannot agree on visa-free regime. Vacationing in Europe is still great, even if you have to be more careful about money. For everyone who wants to clarify all the subtleties for themselves, we have prepared detailed instructions on a Schengen visa. What types are there? Where is it easier to get it? What documents will be required? What do travel agencies not tell you? And many more useful tips And the necessary facts in our article.

What is Schengen?

The word “Schengen” has been around for almost 20 years, since Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France and Germany signed an agreement on a single visa area. It was then that checkpoints at the borders of European countries gradually began to be eliminated, making life easier for many travelers. Today, the Schengen zone includes 25 countries, but a Schengen visa is useful not only in them.

But first things first.

What Schengen visas can tourists obtain?

The Schengen visa is common to all Schengen countries and gives the right to freely travel within them. In this regard, all visas of Schengen countries are the same.

• The first parameter of a visa is its “multiplicity”, i.e. how many times a tourist can cross the border of the Schengen zone.
• The second characteristic of a visa is the validity period: how long the visa can be used.
• The third parameter is the length of stay in the country. Shows the total number of days you can stay in the Schengen zone.

In what combination the treasured multivisa lies will be clear from the table:

Certainly, perfect option- multiple visa. Let's look at it with an example.

So, happy tourist N left the visa center, say, Italy, unpacked the envelope and saw on the visa stamp the inscription MULT for 2 years and the number of days - 360. The latter in no way means that citizen N can whole year write a novel in a villa in Spain or search for the Higgs boson at a Swiss resort. You can move in and out as many times as you like within two years. And although there are 360 ​​days in total, for every six months there cannot be more than 90. To put it even simpler, then 3 months in Europe means 3 months at home.

Who issues multiple visas?

Having examined the theory, let's move on to practice. We will tell you which countries are included in the Schengen zone and, most importantly, where and under what conditions you can get a multiple visa. “What difference does it make where and how, because you still need to submit documents to the country where you are going?” - an amateur tourist will ask and he will be wrong. Why? We'll tell you a little later.

Important: all information is for informational purposes only and is current at the time of writing.

Where to get a Schengen visa?

The embassy is responsible for issuing visas, but many countries have opened special visa centers that are solely responsible for visa issues. The advantages of these centers are efficiency and a client-oriented approach. For example, it is unlikely that you will be able to sign up for an appointment at the embassy. convenient time, and the visa processing period is about 2 weeks.

True, in addition to the standard visa fee you will have to pay for the services of the center, but, firstly, it is not so expensive, about 30-40 €, and secondly, it is still cheaper than office services varying degrees integrity.

Most visa centers provide a delivery service ready-made passports with visas. The cost of delivery of one passport is about 500 rubles.

Visa centers of countries that issue multiple visas more often than others:

It is necessary to clarify the list of documents in advance; it differs in different countries. As a standard, except in Finland, you will need a certificate indicating income from work, an extract from bank account(financial support), confirmation of a reservation from a hotel or an invitation from a citizen of the country of entry, a receipt for air tickets or STS for a car with a green card (insurance) issued for the duration of the trip, an insurance policy in the name of the applicant, two photos. However, there are not always noticeable subtleties that we advise you to pay attention to:

• How are copies of a Russian passport made - on one or both sides of the sheet, all pages or only completed ones? The requirements are different.
• What size financial security is required for every day in a specific country? Usually it is around 60-70 €, but requirements change often.
• Photo format may vary slightly from country to country. Simply coming to a photo studio and saying “for a Schengen visa” will not work - the requirements will have to be clarified in advance.

Misconceptions about the Schengen visa

Let's start with harmless mistakes that only affect your horizons.

Firstly, a country that is a member of the Schengen Agreement is not necessarily a member of the European Union, and vice versa. For example, Great Britain or Ireland are members of the EU, but they require separate national visas. You can get to Norway or Switzerland with a Schengen visa, but they are not part of the European Union.

Secondly, currency and visa regime are in no way connected. Not all countries in the Schengen area use the euro.

And now about the myths that tourists constantly have to deal with. These arguments are especially often used by companies that, for a few thousand rubles, will kindly take documents to Visa Center.

Myth No. 1. "Country of first entry" Allegedly, it is necessary to cross the border of the Schengen zone only in the country that issued the visa. Nothing like this. Such a rule simply does not exist - it is an invention of cunning “helpers” from dubious companies. You can enter at least with Spanish visa to Estonia, even from the Czech Republic to Portugal. There is the concept of “country of primary residence”, i.e. if a tourist plans to visit Belgium for 3 days, Germany for a week and Luxembourg for 2 days in one trip, then the visa must be issued by Germany, since the tourist will spend most of the time there. But in practice, plans can always change and in fact it is simply impossible to control this; there is no responsibility for violating this norm.

Myth No. 2. “If you do not enter through the country that issued the visa, then there will be problems with new visas.” This is an outright lie. For future applications, the very fact of having a Schengen visa and the absence of violations on the lines is important. Everyone understands perfectly well that, for example, a trip to Switzerland can start by renting a car at Milan airport, if it is cheaper. There won't be any problems.

Myth No. 3. “And if the border guard starts asking why I’m with French visa flew to Vienna, but I can’t explain it clearly, and he won’t let me into Austria?” The border guard's questions are a formality. If you have a visa from any Schengen country, you can answer all questions with “tourism”, nod your head and smile. Ignorance of the language is not a reason for refusal of entry.

Myth No. 4. “Our agency officially guarantees the receipt of a visa. Put the money here." The decision to issue a visa does not depend on whether you obtain it yourself or through an intermediary. Everything depends on the reliability or at least the completeness of the information provided.

Where else can you go with a Schengen visa?

And now a surprise - with a Schengen multiple entry visa you can get into not only the 25 countries participating in the agreement.

There are a number of states, usually new members of the EU or aspiring to it, that allow entry into their territory with both a national and a Schengen visa.

Good afternoon This summer we are going to travel with my husband around Europe. And we heard that many countries have signed the Schengen Agreement, so we are closely involved in obtaining a Schengen visa, but we cannot find exact list countries is not possible. Tell me, where can I go with a Schengen visa?

Evgenia Dobrovolskaya

A Schengen visa allows you to visit various states who signed the Schengen Agreement, without taking into account its category (A ─ transit, C ─ short-term, D ─ long-term national).

Today there are 26 such countries:

• Luxembourg
• Denmark
• Belgium
• Germany
• Czech
• Netherlands
• Slovakia
• Czech
• Latvia
• Switzerland
• Spain
• France
• Liechtenstein
• Austria
• Hungary
• Greece
• Italy
• Iceland
• Lithuania
• Malta
• Norway
• Portugal
• Slovenia
• Finland
• Sweden
• Estonia

It is also possible to visit states that are about to sign the Schengen Agreement:

• Romania
• Albania
• Croatia
• Bulgaria
• Macedonia

But on national visa these countries in various countries You cannot visit the Schengen zone. If you visit one of these countries, border states of the Schengen agreement, then a stamp is placed on the Schengen visa indicating that you have left the Schengen zone. This means that according to single entry visa they won't let you back in. This situation existed before the agreement began in the Baltic countries and Poland.

With a Schengen visa, you can safely travel to dwarf countries that are members of Schengen (Liechtenstein) or have abolished border controls (San Marino, Vatican City and Monaco). However, the situation with Andorra is different, there is partial border control by Spain and France, so for legal entry and exit from Andorra you need a special multiple visa.

We hope we helped you figure it out and have a good trip!

One of the main questions that tourists ask before going to a particular consulate are the following: “How and where to get a multiple visa for at least six months?” and “Can I, having received a Schengen visa from one country, go to another?”

It would seem that the answer to the second question is clearly stated in Visa Code EU: for a visa you must apply to the consulate of the country that is the main purpose of travel. And if during the trip it is planned to visit several countries, the visa is issued at the consulate of the state in which the tourist will be located large quantity days If you plan to stay in each country for an equal amount of time, a visa should be obtained from the diplomatic mission of the first Schengen country along the route. In other words, you just need to decide on the route, collect documents, the list of which is the same for all countries participating in the Schengen Agreement, bring them along with your passport to the consulate or visa center, pay the fee and after 3-7 days pick up your passport with a visa.

In order to go to consulates for visas as little as possible - and this requires additional time and money - frequently traveling tourists try to get a Schengen multiple visa in their passport for at least six months, and better yet, for an even longer period. We will tell you below where to go and what rules you need to take into account.

Schengen visa element // FotograFFF, Shutterstock

"Unfriendly" consulates

In practice, it turns out that not all consulates of Schengen countries are “friendly” towards tourists. For example:

• Diplomatic missions, as a rule, are very picky about documents and issue visas based on the duration of the trip. It is quite difficult to obtain “long” visas from these countries;
• consulates and, although they issue multiple visas for 1 year or more, however, require you to provide confirmation of a hotel or a voucher of the host company in the original;
• Consulates are generally focused on working with applications submitted through travel companies.

Loyal consulates

Tourists who want to bypass the difficulties associated with obtaining original documents, and also save money, because the visa is under specific deadlines trips, even multiple ones, require re-applying to the consulate before each subsequent trip, go to consulates that are “friendly” towards tourists: first of all, these are representative offices, and. These consulates have a policy of issuing multiple-entry visas, valid for at least three months for the first application and from six months to three to five years for the second application.

It is worth noting, however, that the review period visa applications at the Finnish Consulate in St. Petersburg during the summer holidays increases from two weeks to one month. In other consulates, visa issuance times do not exceed, as a rule, 3-5 working days.

Stamps of Schengen countries and more // Maria Puzankova, website

The consulate can also be classified as friendly. However, it does not accept hotel confirmations received from websites international systems reservations, but allows replacement of hotel reservation confirmation detailed description route or a printout of confirmation sent by the hotel via e-mail. In most cases, multiple-entry visas are issued with a validity period of 3 months or more, with re-application- six months or a year.

However, it is worth remembering that in order to obtain a visa, even at the most loyal consulate, you still need to provide real hotel reservations, a certificate from your place of work or a bank account statement, as well as tickets and a policy health insurance(the exception is Finland, which does not ask financial documents). And then, of course, this trip to the “loyal” country must be completed using the specified tickets and reservations.

How to use the Schengen multiple entry visa

So, the “long multiple entry visa” has been received. How to use it so that representatives immigration services Schengen countries have no desire to “turn you around” when entering the country or add you to the database of violators when leaving Schengen?

Visa and boarding passes// Oleg Golovnev, Shutterstock

It's simple! Follow the rules of the Visa Code (set out at the beginning of the article) and common sense. Here are the main points that a novice tourist should understand:

• The words "main purpose of the trip" do not mean "sole".
  If your passport contains an annual Italian visa, and you go on vacation, for example, to Hungary, this in itself is not a violation. It’s just that during the validity period it is still advisable to visit Italy and stay there at least a day more than in Hungary.
• There is no “first move in” rule.
  The vast majority of travel agencies, as well as on many popular forums, often announce that you must enter Schengen through the country that issued the visa. In fact, this is just fiction, because the Visa Code does not contain such a rule. Namely, this document regulates the work of immigration and border services any country participating in the Schengen Agreement. The myth is based on the fact that since there are no border controls inside Schengen, there is no other way to prove the legality of using a visa other than to enter the issuing state from a “non-Schengen” country.
  In fact, bank statements for payment for goods and services, boarding passes from domestic flights, receipts from hotels, receipts from stores and restaurants, etc. can be used as evidence of visiting the country that issued the visa.
• When crossing the border, clearly state the purpose of the trip.
  If an employee migration service asks a question about main country stay, you must name the country that issued the visa. Even if you are not going there at this particular moment. IN the latter case The "correct answer" should sound something like this: "I have a big trip to Italy planned in a month, but now I took the opportunity to take a short trip to Hungary. In any case, my future trip to Italy exceeds the duration of my stay in your country." You can also provide (if you have) ticket or hotel reservations in the country that issued the visa.

Single entry Schengen visa

Everything written above relates only to multiple visas - that is, visas that allow multiple entry to the Schengen Commonwealth. If you have a single-entry visa, then the country that issued it should be the main one on your trip. It is not necessary to enter it exactly. For example, if you are from Austrian single entry visa If you fly to Austria with a connection in Riga, then the country of entry will be Latvia, and you will have a Latvian stamp in your passport on your visa. This is not a violation if this is the route you indicated in the visa application form. The following case would be a violation: you received a visa to Austria because it seemed convenient to you, but in fact you went to Greece, where you spent your vacation the whole time. If this becomes obvious at the border or the next time you contact the consulates of Schengen countries, there may be problems with obtaining subsequent visas.

Fraud with visas at travel agencies

Easy for tourists to take right decisions when he arranges and carries out the entire trip independently. However, for some reason, many citizens are sure that obtaining a visa without the help of a travel agency is difficult and almost impossible, and therefore they turn to specialists. Often they turn out to be "experts" in quotes.

If you intend to visit Germany and your travel agent advises you to get Italian visa, because “it’s easier this way” - run from such an office as quickly as possible. After all, first, on your behalf (the visa application form will be signed by you or for you), the agency will lie to the Italian consulate, informing it that this is where you are going to spend your vacation. And then you will need to explain to the border guards of the country of entry why your visa is Italian, you are flying in, for example, through Latvia, and you have tickets in your hands to Germany. At best, you will fray your nerves and have a long conversation at the border. At worst, the fraud will be recognized as a fraud and you will be expelled from Europe to your homeland.

The situation is even worse when the agency doesn't tell you anything. You come to a travel agent for a visa to Germany, and a couple of weeks later they call you from the Greek consulate and ask which hotel and how many days you plan to vacation. While you are figuring out what to answer, your passport is already refused, which may be accompanied by a quarantine for entry into Schengen for several months. And all because the travel agency promised you a Schengen visa, but they did not go to the German consulate, where you need to go, but to the Greek consulate, since “it’s easier” for them.

Our advice: apply for visas yourself, especially if there is a consulate in your city desired country or its visa center. . If you live far away or for some other reason consider it necessary to contact intermediaries, carefully study all the documents and information in the application form that will be submitted on your behalf to obtain a visa.

If you still have questions, please ask. We will help you understand all the nuances.

Zones require not only visas, but also knowledge of a number of rules that must be followed. Every tourist needs to know what the rules of first entry and the main country are, which are sometimes revised, so monitor changes in legislation so as not to get caught unpleasant situation and not ruining the holiday for yourself and your family members is simply necessary.

So, let's find out the essence of these concepts in order.

Changes that occurred in the code in 2013 for the first entry into Schengen

Let's look a little into recent history and see what changes this document underwent 3 years ago.

According to the new rules, the basic principle by which the days of a tourist’s stay in the state was calculated has changed. If previously a traveler could stay in a Schengen country for 90 days within 6 months, then since 2013 everything has changed.

From this period, the number of days began to be counted for the whole year. In other words, the state allows a tourist to stay in the country for 90 days for not 6 months, but 12. Let’s say the validity period of a citizen’s visa is 1 year – from January 2016 to January 2017. He plans to go on vacation 4 times during this time. He will have to plan trips and go to the chosen country in such a way that total days spent abroad did not exceed 90 per year. If this rule is violated, the consulate will expel foreign citizen from the state, despite having a valid, not expired visa.

Attention: The number of days is calculated for the visa that has expired, if it applies to this year.

By the way, the document changes discussed above apply not only to avid travelers, but also to those who are rare guests abroad. Both the first and the second have to follow all the rules and stand in long queues for passport control, if they want to enter another country by purchasing the long-awaited Schengen visa.

Airlines are also not happy with the visa innovations of 2013. Now they are forced to send tourists whose visas have expired or have other problems with documents to their homeland at their own expense. In addition to material losses, this is also unnecessary paperwork for document verification. These new rules were introduced for those who want to enter the Schengen zone back in 2013.

New rules 2016 and 2019 for first entry into Schengen

From 2016 for everyone who plans to visit European countries Schengen zone introduced mandatory procedure for fingerprinting. This requirement will remain in effect in 2019. And after 5 years this procedure the tourist will need to go through again - this is the period of validity of the results.

Also necessary biometric passport in order to obtain a visa, but for it you need to do fingerprints a second time. To fill out an application for a passport, a citizen must come to the consulate in person, and subsequently all communication can be carried out online.

Among the positive changes that occurred in 2016, and which will have an impact on the situation in 2019, it should be noted:

• Visas will be issued for a short period (15 days);
• The purpose of short-term trips may be cultural and sporting events.

Of course, such visas will be introduced gradually in different countries. A tourist who wants to go to another country, for example, to attend a concert, will have to prove his purpose by going to the consulate to apply for a visa.

Classic Schengen rules: first entry rule and main country rule

In addition to the changes that were discussed in detail earlier in this article, there are standard set Schengen rules that are permanently in force. Chief among them are the so-called main country and first entry rules. What is their essence, we will find out further.

As for the first entry, everything is simple. If a tourist plans to visit only one country in the Schengen zone, this rule applies to him by itself. He applies for a visa and goes where he planned.

If the traveler has not decided on the country of stay in Europe and does not yet know which one he wants to visit, he is obliged to draw up a document at the embassy of the country through whose border he will enter Schengen. This is the essence of the first rule - the rule of first entry.

Violation of this rule will definitely entail unpleasant consequences at the Schengen border, and can significantly damage a citizen’s visa history. By the way, pleasant exceptions are also possible, which, perhaps, it is better not to hope for, but to prepare the documents correctly. If the traveler has multiple entry visa, as a rule, customs can turn a blind eye.

The main country rule states that if a tourist issues a document at the embassy of a particular state, most during his journey he must remain in it.

Rules for first entry into Schengen

As you can see, as in the first case, the essence of the rule is clear and understandable. It's just as easy to follow. To do this, before your trip, decide which Schengen country is closer to you and where you would like to spend more days.

Interestingly, if a tourist plans to stay in several countries for an equal number of days, he will need to obtain a visa at the embassy of the one through which he will enter Schengen.

Visa holders must be especially careful when counting the number of days: the largest number should be in the Schengen country that issued the document.

The main goal of the second rule discussed is to prevent some tourists from abusing the hospitality of some embassies, through which they can freely enter other countries.

According to the experience of many tourists, the easiest ways to get visas are:

• Finland;
• Latvia;
• Czech Republic.

More problems arise with such Schengen states as:

• Germany;
• Denmark;
• Holland.

But do not despair if you have not received a visa, for example, to Germany, which you have long dreamed of visiting. You can more easily and quickly draw up a document to France, and from there you can travel to the desired state for a few days.

Note that both rules, both of the first entry and the main country, must be taken into account when car trip to the Schengen area. IN otherwise, a tourist may incorrectly calculate the number of days spent in a transit country and incorrectly identify the main country. These are things to think about before your trip. Most likely, the transit state will be considered first.