What to do when there is no Schengen visa appointment available ?

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We had earlier written an article on what to do when there are no Schengen visa appointments available. The response for that was tremendous, but many of you had asked us to elaborate on the below suggestion.

Change your main Schengen visa consulate

This article is will try to elaborate and provide you tips on how to go about it.

Update : It is now mandatory to get COVID Insurance when you travel Abroad. Click the below link to get your COVID Insurance at cost price. 

What do we mean by changing your main Schengen visa consulate?

Let us take the below example.

Jane is planning a 12 days trip in Europe, She always wanted to visit Paris so she plans to spend 7 days in Paris, 3 days in Barcelona and get stoned in Amsterdam for 2 days and fly back to New York. So below is her itinerary

  • 22/03/2018  – Fly to Paris, Spend 7 days visiting Paris, Versailles & Lyon. 

  • 29/03/2018 – Fly to Barcelona and explore for 3 days. 

  • 1/04/2018 – Fly to Amsterdam, get stoned and walk around RL District for 2 days. 

  • 3/04/2018 – Fly to NewYork from Paris, bye to Europe. 

So as per her plan, France is indeed the main travel destination, as per Schengen visa rule she has to apply for Schengen visa with France. But to her shock, there is no Schengen visa appointment available in New York for the whole month. 

In this case, you need to change your main destination from France to Spain, Once she gets her visa she can continue with her original plan. Only for the consulate’s sake, she will need to prepare her documents showing that  She will be spending 7 days in Spain and 3 days in France.

What changes does she need to make in the documents she is submitting to the consulate?

As per the earlier plan, her new dates would be :

  • 22/03/2018  – Fly to Paris, Spend 3 days visiting Paris, Versailles & Lyon.

  • 25/03/2018 – Fly to Barcelona and explore for 7 days.

  • 1/04/2018 – Fly to Amsterdam, get stoned and walk around RL District for 2 days.

  • 3/04/2018 – Fly to NewYork from Paris, bye to Europe.

She needs to change the following documents :

Fill out a Schengen visa application for Spain. This will be similar to the form she filled out for France, but for Spain, it will be in Spanish and will have changes in the address and phone number.

Now she can submit her application with the Spain consulate and get her Schengen visa. No changes in the plan necessary.

Do I need to apply with the consulate in which I will be entering first in Europe?

No,  you can enter any Schengen country first and exit from any Schengen country. You need not enter your main Schengen country.

You can see it in this post

enter first Schengen country

Will this cause any issues next time I visit Europe?

No, The beauty of the Schengen visa the freedom that it offers, you can go where your heart takes you and you will be in fact, very rarely be asked to show your passport. We provide appointments to many Bikers in London who take Schengen visas and drive all the way to Poland for their annual events, on their bikes. 

Will my first country of the visit into the Schengen states be used anywhere?

Yes, When you are filling out the Schengen visa form, you will be needed to fill the first country you are planning to enter into. And no, it need not be the same country in which you plan to spend most of your days.

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