Schengen visas: how the application actually works

Fourteen of the countries on this site sit inside the Schengen area, and one visa covers all of them. That is the good news. The rest of it — which consulate to apply to, how early, and what actually gets applications refused — trips people up every season, so here it is in one place.

First: do you even need one?

Around 60 nationalities enter the Schengen area visa-free for short stays. If yours is one of them, you need no visa at all, and this page is only relevant for the two border systems described at the bottom.

Everyone else applies for a short-stay (Type C) Schengen visa, which permits up to 90 days in any 180 across the whole area. The 90 days are counted rolling backwards from any given date — not per calendar year, and not per country.

The main-destination rule

You do not get to pick the easiest embassy. You must apply to the country where you will spend the most nights. If nights are tied, apply to the country you enter first.

This matters more than it sounds, because consulates differ sharply in how fast they decide and who runs their application centre:

Where you apply	Handled by	Typical decision
France	VFS Global	5–10 working days
Italy	VFS Global	around 15 days
Spain	BLS International	around 15 days
Czech Republic, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal	VFS Global	10–15 working days
Iceland	a VFS Iceland desk, routed to whichever Schengen state represents Iceland where you live	around 15 working days

A trip built as Prague → Vienna with four nights in Prague and three in Vienna is a Czech application, not an Austrian one. Rearranging the itinerary to shift the majority of nights is legitimate; misdeclaring where you will actually be is not, and the itinerary you submit is the one the border may ask about.

The cost and the lead time

The consular fee is €90 for adults, €45 for children aged six to 12, and free under six — unchanged since June 2024. On top of that the application centre charges its own service fee, which varies by country and is not refundable if you are refused.

You can lodge an application no earlier than six months before travel and no later than 15 days before it. The legal standard for a decision is 15 calendar days, extendable to 45 where a case needs closer examination — so treat the table above as what consulates typically manage, not a promise.

Lead time is the thing people underestimate. Decisions are often quick — but getting an appointment is the bottleneck. In peak season, appointment slots run 4 to 8 weeks out, and for summer travel they are gone earlier than that. The practical rule: start two to three months before a summer trip, four to six weeks for shoulder season.

You can apply at most six months before travel.

What actually gets applications refused

Not cover letters. The documents that decide it:

• Proof of funds. The single most common reason for refusal. France expects roughly €65 per person per day where accommodation is prepaid and €120 where it is not; other consulates publish their own figures. Bank statements covering the last three to six months carry far more weight than a letter saying you can afford the trip.
• Confirmed bookings. Flights and hotels must be booked, which is why refundable or free-cancellation bookings are the standard approach — you need the confirmations before you have the visa.
• Travel insurance with at least €30,000 of medical cover, valid across the whole area for the whole stay.
• Ties to where you live — employment letter, and evidence you have a reason to come back.
• Passport validity: three months beyond your intended departure, issued within the last ten years, with two blank pages.

If you already hold a valid multiple-entry Schengen visa, you do not need a new one — it works for any Schengen country regardless of which one issued it, as long as you stay inside your 90/180 allowance.

Two border systems worth knowing about

• EES (Entry/Exit System) has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, after a phased rollout that began in October 2025. The Schengen external border now registers your face and fingerprints instead of stamping your passport. There is nothing to do in advance — just allow extra queue time on your first arrival, especially at large airports in summer.
• ETIAS is a €20 online travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, valid three years and free for under-18s and over-70s. The EU has not confirmed a start date; the timetable has moved more than once, and the Commission has said it will give notice well before the system goes live. It is not operational at the time of writing, which means any site selling you an ETIAS today is a scam. Check the official EU page close to your travel date. If you need a Schengen visa, ETIAS does not apply to you.

Where this applies on the site

Schengen countries covered here: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Rules change. Confirm against the consulate’s own page for your country of residence before you book anything non-refundable.