Which Country Should You Apply to for a Schengen Visa?

Which Schengen country should you apply to?

Apply to your main destination: the country where you spend the most days, or where the main purpose of the trip takes place. You make one Schengen visa application, to one country, and the visa it issues covers all 29 Schengen states. Which country handles it is not your choice: it is set by Article 5 of the EU Visa Code and depends on your itinerary.

The rule works in three steps:

1. One country only. If you are visiting a single Schengen country, apply to that country.
2. Several countries. Apply to the main destination, meaning the country where you will spend the most days, or the country where the main purpose of the trip takes place.
3. No main destination. If neither length of stay nor purpose points to one country, apply to the country whose external border you will cross first to enter the Schengen area.

If you plan several separate trips within a two-month period, the Visa Code treats them together when working out the main destination. A long trip to Italy in May and a short trip to Greece in June would normally both be covered by an application to Italy.

How do consulates count days in each country?

Count the nights you sleep in each country, based on your accommodation. A consulate will look at your hotel bookings, your flights and your day-by-day itinerary, so the count needs to match those documents.

A few practical points that trip people up:

• Travel days. Count nights where you sleep. On the day you take the train from Paris to Brussels, the night belongs to Belgium. Use the same method for every leg so your count matches your hotel bookings.
• Day trips. A day trip to Monaco or San Marino from a hotel in Nice or Rimini counts towards the country you are staying in. Neither microstate runs its own Schengen visa process.
• Day trips across a Schengen border. A day in Bruges from a hotel in Amsterdam, or in Salzburg from a base in Munich, counts towards the country where you sleep. It does not make the day-trip country a destination in its own right.
• Overnight trains and ferries. If you sleep on a night train or ferry, list the next country as the place you arrive. It rarely changes the result.
• Non-Schengen stops. Nights in the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Andorra or a non-Schengen Balkan country do not count towards any Schengen country, but they can affect how many entries you need.

When does purpose outweigh the number of days?

When one country is clearly the reason the trip exists, such as a wedding, conference or family visit, and the rest is a short add-on. The Visa Code allows the main destination to be decided by the length of stay, counted in days, or by the purpose of stay. In practice consulates go by days unless one country is clearly the reason the trip exists.

Purpose tends to decide the matter when:

• you are attending a specific event, such as a trade fair, conference, wedding or graduation, and the rest of the trip is a short add-on;
• you are visiting a family member who has invited you, and the time elsewhere is a brief side trip;
• you are travelling for work with a business invitation from a company in one country.

If you rely on purpose rather than days, say so in your cover letter and back it with evidence: the event registration, the invitation letter or the employer’s letter. When the balance is genuinely close, going with the country of the longest stay is the safer, easier-to-explain choice. Our cover letter guide shows how to set out a multi-country itinerary, and our guides to invitation and sponsor letters and business visas cover the evidence for purpose.

Which country applies in common UK itineraries?

In most cases the country with the most nights; with equal nights, the country you enter first, unless one country is clearly the purpose. These examples assume a non-visa-exempt national who lives legally in the UK. British citizens do not need a Schengen visa for short stays.

Example 1: a classic two-country holiday

A Pakistani national on a UK Skilled Worker visa, living in Birmingham, plans seven nights in Barcelona and four in Lisbon. Spain is the main destination, so the application goes to Spain, not Portugal. Spain’s UK applications go through BLS International, and Spain assigns applicants by residence: the West Midlands comes under the Consulate General in Manchester, so the appointment is at the BLS Manchester centre rather than London. See the Spain visa appointments section for the full jurisdiction map.

Example 2: equal nights, and why the order of travel matters

An Indian national living in Leeds flies from Manchester to Paris, spends four nights there, then takes the train to Amsterdam for four nights and flies home. Neither country is the main destination by days or purpose, so the application goes to France, where the Schengen external border is first crossed. France has no regional jurisdiction in the UK, so any of its TLScontact centres in London, Manchester or Edinburgh can be used. Reverse the trip and fly into Amsterdam first, and the Netherlands becomes the right country, with a VFS Global appointment instead.

Example 3: a business trip with a holiday attached

An employee is attending a three-day trade fair in Frankfurt, then spending five nights in Vienna on holiday. On days alone, Austria is the main destination. It is possible to argue that the fair is the purpose of the trip, but the holiday is longer and is not incidental, so the cleaner application is to Austria (VFS Global), with the fair registration and employer’s letter included to explain the German leg. If the holiday were two nights, Germany would be the natural choice, and Germany’s TLScontact appointments in London and Manchester are now allocated from waiting lists rather than chosen.

Example 4: a cruise

Cruises cause the most confusion, because nights at sea do not belong to any country and port calls are usually single days. Start from the same rule. If you spend nights on land before or after the cruise, for example three nights in Barcelona before boarding, that country is often the main destination. If the cruise is the whole trip and no country stands out, apply to the country where you first enter the Schengen area, which for a fly-cruise is normally the country where you land and embark. Itineraries that start or end outside Schengen (Southampton, Dover or Istanbul, for example) can also mean several separate entries, so check how many entries you need. If your case is unclear, ask the consulate of the country you think is competent before you book.

Where in the UK do you apply once you know the country?

In the UK, at the centre or consulate that country assigns to your address. You apply in the UK because the Visa Code (Article 6) requires you to apply where you legally live. Your UK permission, proved with your UKVI eVisa and a share code, must cover the trip and usually at least three months beyond your return, although the exact rule varies by country. Our eVisa and share code guide covers what consulates now ask for.

Each country then has its own UK provider and its own rules on which centre you can use:

• Assigned by where you live: Spain (London, Manchester or Edinburgh consulate by region), Portugal (London or Manchester consulate by county), Italy (the Consulate General in London decides every UK application, but residents of Scotland and Northern Ireland lodge at the VFS centre in Edinburgh) and Germany (Scotland comes under the Consulate General in Edinburgh; the rest of the UK under the Embassy in London).
• Any UK centre: France accepts applications at any of its three TLScontact centres, which now allocate appointments from a queue.
• London only: Czech Republic (VFS Global), Poland (embassy consular section, booked on e-Konsulat) and Luxembourg (embassy, appointment by email).
• London or Manchester, no visa centre: Romania (Consulate General in London, or in Manchester for the counties in its published area, booked through the foreign ministry’s e-Viza portal).
• No Manchester centre: Norway and Sweden (VFS Global, London and Edinburgh) and Slovakia (BLS International, London and Edinburgh).
• Liechtenstein: represented by Switzerland, so applications normally go through the Swiss VFS Global centres.

The Schengen countries list shows the provider and UK cities for all 29 countries.

How do you book the appointment for the right country?

On that country’s official booking system, in your own name, and the booking is free. The centre may sell optional extras, but nobody needs to pay a third party for a slot. Schengen Visa Support does not book, hold or supply appointments: we help you book through the official system yourself and make sure your file is ready for the day. Our Schengen visa appointment guide explains how booking works for each provider, including the allocated appointments for Germany and France and Italy’s VFS booking route, with city guides for London, Manchester and Edinburgh. If you are wondering whether some countries are easier than others, see is there an easiest Schengen visa from the UK?

Important: Do not choose a country because its appointments look easier to get, then plan a trip around it that you do not intend to take. Consulates check that the itinerary is credible, the Entry/Exit System (EES) now records where and when you enter and leave the Schengen area, and your previous visas are visible to every consulate through the Visa Information System. A pattern of applying to one country and travelling to another is noticed on later applications.

What happens if you apply to the wrong country?

The consulate returns your application and refunds the visa fee, but you usually lose the service charge and time. The consulate checks first whether it is competent to handle your application. If it is not, it returns your application form and documents, refunds the visa fee and tells you which consulate to apply to. You will usually lose the centre’s service charge, and the time spent waiting for a new appointment can push you past your travel date.

The more serious risk comes later. If your visa was issued on the basis of one itinerary and you travel in a very different way, a border guard can ask you to explain, and in clear cases a visa obtained on a misleading basis can be annulled. Keep your bookings and a short note of any genuine change of plan, such as a cancelled hotel or a family emergency.

Tip: If your itinerary is still flexible, fix the order and number of nights before you book anything. A one-night change can move the main destination to another country with a different provider, different cities and different waiting times.

What about multiple-entry visas, Andorra and family trips?

• Multiple-entry visas. Apply to the main destination of the trip you are planning now. A history of regular trips to the same country, with previous visas used correctly, supports a longer visa under the cascade rules. See multiple-entry visas and the cascade.
• Andorra. It is not in Schengen and can only be reached through France or Spain. Leaving and re-entering the Schengen area means you need at least a double-entry visa. Nights in Andorra do not count, so apply to France or Spain depending on where you spend more nights.
• Cyprus and Ireland. Neither is in Schengen, so nights there do not count. Each has its own visa rules.
• Children travelling with parents. The whole family normally applies to the same country, based on the shared itinerary. See Schengen visas for children.

Can someone check your itinerary for you?

Yes. Schengen Visa Support is an independent UK visa admin support service: we check your itinerary, confirm the competent country and UK centre, and prepare your application and cover letter so the main destination is clearly explained. You book the appointment free in your own name; see our pricing for what is included.