Which country in Europe gives the longest visa. Long-term and short-term visas: what are the differences

Applying for a long-term Schengen visa (for 5 years) is a long and laborious process, containing a large number of nuances. Let's try to understand everything and find out what are the advantages of such a Schengen visa, and how to get it without any problems.

Features of a long-term visa

Schengen visa for 5 years allows its holders to freely stay in European countries 90 days within every 6 months.

Those. in total you can be in other countries (90 + 90) * 5 = 900 days within 5 years.

Exceeding this limit is a violation of visa laws and in the future may cause a refusal to issue a permit to visit EU countries.

These include:

• Vatican
• Liechtenstein
• Bulgaria
• Andorra
• Romania
• Monaco
• Albania
• Croatia
• San Marino

Getting a Schengen for 5 years is worth it, as it has a number of advantages:

• There is no need for constant renewal.
• Possibility to visit all Schengen countries.
• If you need to urgently travel abroad, you do not have to wait for the issuance of a permit.

At the same time, there are certain disadvantages:

• The cost of a five-year Schengen is more than usual.
• You will have to collect a large package of documents.
• There is a high probability of receiving a refusal to issue a long-term Schengen.

Who can count on a long-term Schengen

To obtain a Schengen visa for 5 years, you must meet certain conditions. Active tourists who have already visited a certain country several times and have not violated either the visa laws or the laws of the Schengen Union countries can get it.

Also, you can apply for a long-term permit if there is a good reason. These include:

• Official employment abroad
• Education in one of the European educational institutions

A visa obtained for such valid reasons does not contain a limit of 90 days within a six-month period.

The documents

To obtain a Schengen visa for 5 years, you must independently prepare in advance:

1. International passport. It is very important that its validity period is at least three months longer than the period for which the visa is supposed to be opened. That is, if the Schengen is issued for 5 years, then the passport must still be valid for 5 years and 3 months at least.
2. In the presence of foreign passports with already expired or expiring validity, you must provide their originals to the embassy. In the absence of such, copies of previous permits for issuing Schengen are suitable.
3. A photocopy of the passport of a citizen of Russia.
4. Two photos. They are subject to strict requirements, so they need to be done according to the model from the consulate.
5. Certificate of employment, which indicates the length of service, position held and average monthly salary.
6. A bank statement that will confirm that the permit applicant has sufficient financial capital to travel (minimum 10,000 euros).
7. Directly a visa application form, filled in at the consulate on the basis of a questionnaire.
8. If available, an invitation from any organization located in the Schengen area.

We only note that with an invitation from the organization, it will be much easier to apply for a Schengen visa. At the moment, some Russian agencies who assist in the preparation of documents for a visa, can help with obtaining such an invitation.

Application methods and deadlines

An application for a Schengen visa can be submitted:

• On your own at the consulate
• Through the visa center acting as an intermediary
• Using the services of the relevant agency and issue documents through them.

When submitting documents yourself, the procedure will be as follows:

1. Determining the consulate where the documents will be submitted. If you wish to obtain a visa for the purpose of visiting one country, there should be no issues with choosing an embassy. If you just want to travel around Europe, choose the consulate of the country where you plan to spend the most time, or the one that will be visited first.
2. Call in advance and arrange a meeting with representatives of the consulate.
3. Fill out an application for a visa in advance and collect required package documents
4. Come to the consulate.

As a rule, the decision to issue a visa is made within 3 days. In rare cases, this period can be extended by 3 weeks.

Price

The price of a long-term Schengen visa depends on several factors at once.

1. If you apply for a Schengen visa for 5 years, you will only have to pay a consular fee of 35 euros.
2. Urgent visa processing will cost 70 euros.
3. Visa center services - from 20 to 40 euros excluding consular fees.
4. Registration services through a travel agency - from 40 to 100 euros excluding consular fees.
5. Services of a specialized agency - from 100 to 350 euros, excluding consular fees.

Should You Trust Agencies?

It is easiest to apply for a Schengen visa for 5 years using the services of a specialized agency. This guarantees:

• Your quality advice on all issues of interest.
• The fastest possible visa processing.
• The agency will independently collect the necessary package of documents and submit it to the consulate.

But with all the positive qualities, of course, there are negative ones:

• The cost of the issue. It will be much cheaper to apply for a visa on your own.
• In case of refusal to issue a permit, the agency will not return all the money to the client.

In the event that you need to regularly visit the EU countries, then from time to time there is a need to extend your visa. To simplify the procedure it is possible to try to get a Schengen visa for 5 years, which will allow you to visit any European countries with minimal time and financial costs for their registration.

How to get a Schengen multivisa for 5 years

A five-year Schengen multivisa opens up wide opportunities for its holder. Being a guest, whether tourist or business, it gives the opportunity to stay in the Schengen countries for up to 90 days during each six months for the duration of its validity. In total, this is about two and a half years, during which you can freely stay in the EU countries and not spend extra money on paying visa fees or processing them.

For residents of the post-Soviet countries and Russia (except for the three Baltic countries), a Schengen visa for 5 years is issued today only after the opening of a one-time entry permit to the country of future residence.

First of all, the consulate opens a visa, the validity of which does not exceed one year, after which, subject to all legal norms, it is either extended for up to two years, or they immediately try to issue a visa for three years. The question of how to get a Schengen visa for 5 years now looks quite pressing.

After the expiration of a three-year visa, you have the right to count on its extension for a longer period. But in order for the Schengen visa for 5 years to become available, there must be serious reasons justifying its extradition. For example, the basis for obtaining may be the official work provided to you in the European Union, as well as studying at one of the European colleges or universities.

Five-year permits are relatively easy to issue to active travelers who have previously received shorter-term visas and visited Europe more than once.

Today, the European Parliament adopted a number of amendments, thanks to which getting Schengen multivisas for 5 years has become much easier. Such concessions led to the issuance of long stay visa, if it will be drawn up by the usual visa center, can cost a person quite a lot. Yes, decoration required document from any country in the Eurozone will cost you about 350€, while solving the issue on your own will cost you only 35€ for multi-schengen. This big difference in price includes the time you spend on paperwork and standing in lines. Not everyone will go for it.

Countries that willingly give Russians Schengen visas for 5 years

Today, almost everyone has access to information that not all EU countries easily give long-term multiple visas to our compatriots. But there are states that are more willing than others to issue five-year Schengen visas to Russians.

According to reviews, the most loyal country to Russian citizens seeking to obtain a Schengen multivisa for 5 years is Spain. So if you already have a short-term Spanish Schengen visa, you have the right to count on a multi-year multivisa. Such cases are not uncommon at the Spanish Embassy.

Good chances of obtaining an Italian multivisa. Recently, Italy announced that having a short-term visa (and not necessarily Italian) may already be a sufficient condition for obtaining an annual visa, and if two or more, then a two-year or three-year one. A serious plus is the fact that Italy distributes visas in a situation where there is a reservation for a ticket or hotel.

Finland, Slovakia and Greece are also among the countries willingly distributing long-term multiple visas to Russian citizens. Germany has dropped out of this list, where it has now become quite problematic to obtain Schengen multiple visas for five years.

What documents are required

As mentioned above, the procedure for obtaining a long-term European multivisa has recently been significantly simplified. For its registration, you will need papers such as:

1. A special form of the questionnaire, filled in Latin;
2. Application filed in two copies signed by the applicant;
3. Three color photographs 35×45 mm, as for a passport;
4. Passport valid for at least another four months, plus photocopies of all its pages with personal information;
5. Medical insurance policy with a coverage of at least 30 thousand euros, which provides mandatory medical care, as well as hospitalization if necessary;
6. Confirmation of your financial stability in the form of a bank statement;
7. Certificates from the place of study or employment with the obligatory indication of real wages;
8. Photocopies of the old passport, if any, or those of its pages that contain information about visiting the EU countries one or more times.

To the question of how to get a Schengen visa for five years, it is necessary to answer that in various countries where the Schengen agreement operates, their list of documents for obtaining a long-term visa may be required and their own requirements for the financial stability of a person may be presented. But, for the most part, the list of listed documents for obtaining a multi-visa for a five-year period is suitable for most of the EU countries.

I would like to note that people with high-paying jobs are more likely to receive long-term visas to Europe and having experience of frequent trips to European countries.

To understand exactly how the Schengen multivisa for 5 years works, how and where it can be obtained, you should contact the consulates or embassies of a certain country for advice. There you can find all the necessary information about the registration procedure. necessary documents from the very beginning. Perseverance, perseverance and self-confidence is all that is needed to achieve success in such a difficult matter as obtaining a Schengen visa for five years.

Video: detailed instructions for obtaining a Schengen multivisa for five years

What is a 5 year Schengen visa? One can easily say that this is a “window to Europe”! A Schengen visa, issued for 5 years, gives a person the right to visit a number of countries that have signed the Schengen agreement. This means that a person (a citizen of another country), having received for 5 years at the consulate of one of the participating countries, has the right to move freely within the entire Schengen zone.

How to get a Schengen for 5 years?

There are some rules for obtaining a multi-visa to Schengen for 5 years. If you decide to apply for a 5-year Schengen visa to a certain country, then you must at least have previously obtained long-term visas of the same state.

As a result, a period of five years is not so easy as it seems at first. But if you still decide to try, you will need to submit documents in which there is confirmation that you just need to obtain a Schengen visa for a period of exactly 5 years.

In addition, there are a number of important factors that are considered when issuing visas. For example, have you traveled in the past to countries that are part of the Schengen area, family, professional status, the accuracy of the information you provide to the consulate.

What do you need to get a Schengen visa for five years?

To obtain a Schengen for 5 years, you need the following:

• international passport (which will be valid for at least another 5 years and three months);
• copies and originals of previous passports (if any);
• a copy of the citizenship passport;
• certificate from the employer;
• bank statement;
• questionnaire;
• documents that confirm the nature of your trip and its purpose;
• tickets - they will serve as proof that you will leave the Schengen area when your stay expires;
• an insurance policy that will be valid throughout your stay in the Schengen area;
• a photo that meets all the requirements of the consulate where you are applying.

It is very important to note that the list of documents that you will apply for a visa may differ depending on the country of the Schengen zone for which you need a visa. Also because of this, the time of registration and the cost of a five-year Schengen visa may differ.

First of all - the more your salary and your bank account, the better, of course. If you have previously issued Schengen visas, it is highly desirable that you at least once enter the country where you are applying for Schengen now. It is also important to have a positive travel history within the Schengen area. That is, if you did not violate the terms of stay on issued visas and did not have other problems, this is fine.

The factor that you have close ties with the country from which you are asking for a visa will also play into your hands. For example, they live there your close relatives, and they can send an invitation

If we talk about which country will sooner give a multivisa, then France is in the first place - it is the most loyal in this matter. Over the past few years, the French consulate in France has been very willing to issue Schengen visas to Russians for a period of 5 years.

Italy is almost guaranteed to issue a visa for 5 years if you have visited the country at least a couple of times in the last 2 years before applying. Spain is quite loyal to the Russians in terms of multiple visas - often the consulates allow the issuance of a visa even if there are no earlier visits to the country.

A trip to any country, as a rule, should be well prepared. One of the most important moments of organizing a trip is obtaining a visa to the host country. And not some, but one that is really needed.

Suppose you are going to Sweden, but why? The last question is extremely important, because there are different types of visas to Sweden, which are designed to achieve completely different purposes of being in this country. So, transit visa practically does not give its recipient time to get acquainted with the beauties and sights of this country. The Consulate of Sweden, issuing such a visa, confirms that Sweden is only a transit point for the recipient of this visa, which he must cross in order to enter another country. Another thing is short-term or long-term visas. By the way, what is the difference between them?

You don't need seven spans in your forehead to understand that a short-term visa is issued for a short period. As a rule, when it comes to Schengen countries, such visas are not issued for a period of more than ninety days. However, the actual stay in the country on a short-term visa may be even less. In cases where the visa recipient is invited to the country only for a certain period, or in the hotel where he is going to stay, his reservation ends by a certain date, the period of his stay in the country will be limited to these dates.

Short-term visas allow their holders to enter or exit the host country once, twice or multiple times. Meanwhile, a short stay visa to Finland and some other countries may be valid for several years. Thanks to this state of affairs, you can travel to this country once every six months and live in peace for up to 3 months. Moreover, a short-term Schengen visa allows you to travel to other countries, which, as a rule, is not possible for those who have received a long-term visa.

Very often, a long-term visa in the Schengen countries is called a national one. The reason for this is simple and understandable, since a long-term visa limits the movement of its recipient to the territory and border of the country in which he came to study, work, meet relatives or do business. But to be in the host country, thanks to long stay visa, you can significantly more than 90 days. So, a long-term visa to Switzerland is valid for two years, but the period of stay in the country upon obtaining a visa is limited to one year (365 days). Thus, it is possible to live in Switzerland on one visa for two years. However, the total period of stay in the country for these two years should not exceed 365 days. Not very convenient, but what to do if you don’t want to apply for a visa to this country for the second time.

There are also differences in the procedure for issuing short-term and long-term visas. And this is expressed not only in terms of registration. Of course, in the case of a long-term visa, you will need to present documents that are also presented when the applicant's goal is to obtain a short-term visa. However, no one will demand from you a document certifying that a hotel in the host country has been booked for you, no one will ask about a return ticket from there to Russia, etc. It is also clear that most applicants have no particular problems with which visa to issue - short-term or long-term - does not arise.