The Schengen visa is pasted into your passport and allows you to visit European countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, which was later replaced by the EU Schengen legislation. Most EU countries fully implement this legislation. These include Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia. A Schengen visa has a form established by EU legislation, and some parts of this document are "encrypted", so the average person does not always understand what these or those numbers and letters mean.
Necessary
international passport, Schengen visa
Instructions
Step 1
In the upper right corner of a Schengen visa, its number is affixed. Below you can see a not very clear watermark with the country code of the country that issued the visa. For those who know the name of the country in a foreign language, deciphering such a code will not be difficult. For example, DEU - Germany (Deutschland), FRA - France (France), POL - Poland (Polska), and so on.
Step 2
The first line is “Valid for” (this inscription is usually done in English and is duplicated in the language of the country that issued the visa), which means “valid for”. Most often it says that the visa is valid for all Schengen countries. But if for some reason it does not work somewhere, such information is indicated by a minus sign, followed by the code of the country to which the visa does not apply.
Step 3
Further, the meaning of the data is easier to understand: in the "From" line, the date of the start of the visa validity is put down (that is, from what date you can enter the country), and in the "Until" line - the expiration of the visa (until what date you must leave Schengen).
Step 4
If you independently applied for a visa, then you already know what kind of visa you should have been issued in accordance with your request. But, if necessary, it is easy to check. This information is reported in the "Type of visa" line, various types of visas are designated by letter. For example, A is an airport transit visa (when, for example, you are flying to the United States with a transfer in Europe), B is a transit (if you are passing the country, for example, by train or bus), C is a short-stay visa (that is your stay in the Schengen countries should not exceed 90 days; in the case of a multiple-entry visa, you can enter the country several times, but still stay there no more than 90 days in the last six months). D is a long-term visa, for example, if you are going to Europe to study.
Step 5
The next line "Number of entries" tells you how many times you can enter the country. 1 or 2 - means, respectively, one or two entries, and "MULTI" - multiple, you can enter the country (while the visa is valid) at least one, at least fifty times, the main thing is not to exceed the allowed number of days of stay in Schengen.
Step 6
The next line "Duration of stay" informs you, as mentioned above, how long you can stay in Schengen (when obtaining a short-stay visa). For example, when receiving an annual multi-visa, there is usually a limit of 90 days.
Step 7
Below is the number of your passport (Number of passport), your first and last name (Surname, Name), and in the field "Remarks" - the purpose of the visit (for example, tourism).
Step 8
At the bottom of the document there is a section for automatic reading of information, which greatly simplifies the work of consular and border officials. It also repeats the three-letter country code of the country that issued your visa.
