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A Schengen
visa is a visa issued under the terms of the Schengen Agreement.
Schengen is a small town in Luxembourg, close to the borders with France
and Germany where a number of EU countries signed an agreement in 1985
in order to facilitate free movement of persons within the EU area.
The
agreement came into force in 1995. A Schengen visa issued by any country
under the Schengen rules will be valid for travel in all the Schengen
countries. This means that one visa alone will enable the bearer to
travel in all the 25 Schengen countries - 22 EU and 3 non EU countries.
The 25
Schengen countries are:
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden Switzerland
Indians
wishing to travel to the United Kingdom or Ireland must apply for
separate visas to enter those countries.
A
Schengen visa enables a person to visit one or several of the Schengen
countries for business, tourism, visiting friends/relatives etc for a
maximum of 90 days every six months.
Application should be made at the Embassy/Consulate of the country which
is the main destination of the journey. If the intention is to travel to
several Schengen countries without having a main destination, one should
apply for a visa at the Embassy/Consulate of the first country that one
enters unless it is just a transit country.
Honorary Consulates are not allowed to issue Schengen visas.
A holder of a residence permit to any of the Schengen countries may
travel for three months to the other Schengen countries without having
to obtain a Schengen visa.
Most Schengen Embassies have information about the Schengen visa,
including requirements and application forms, on their websites.
Residence and
Work Permits
A visa for business purposes will enable a person to visit business
partners in order to discuss on going or future business relations, to
market their products, take part in trade fairs, etc. Somebody who plans
to take up a job or an assignment for a shorter or longer period of time
will need a work/residence permit for that particular Schengen country.
Residence
and work permits are still governed by the national law of each
individual Schengen country. The work/residence permit will be processed
by that country and under that country’s law.
Multiple Entry Schengen
Visa
In most cases, when you apply for Schengen visa, you get one-time entry
Schengen visa. You can use them to enter the country only once. A
multiple entry Schengen visa allow the Schengen visa holder to enter the
Schengen area country as many times as the Schengen visa holder likes
within the Schengen visa expiration date.
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