Schengen visa

Hi,
Please excuse my English and let me know if you have the official info on the Schengen visas. If I have a SINGLE Schengen visa issued in one country, can I LEGALLY enter the Schengen zone via a DIFFERENT country?
Thanks.

 

The answer is NO (except if there is a transit permission on that visa). Most likely you'll have problems on passport control.

 

Thanks for a prompt reply. I'm just wondering if it's only your opinion or you know real precedents when the entry has been rejected on this ground?
I couldn't find a clear answer online but what I found doesn't excplicitly prohibits it.

The visa entitles its holder to stay in one or more Schengen States continuously or in several periods during the validity of the visa, however no longer than 90 days, during the six months following his or her entry into the Schengen territory. Similarly the visa may entitle its holder to enter the territory once, twice or more times.

It is important to remember that a visa issued by one Schengen State entitles its holder to travel and stay in the territories of all Schengen States.

 

The answer is YES if you would have some reasonable explanation to enter into this country. Like you have Dutch visa and you are trying to enter in Germany (Hannover). You may say that tickets to Hannover from Russia (for example) are much cheaper and you have planned trip by train (prepare the print out from Die Bahn trip planner on their we site). But it case you enter to Holland with Italian visa - in this case you have to explain that Italy is your main destination country, but in Holland you have friends with a car, you agreed to join them to go to Italy together. Your story can be checked (but most likely - no). You may expect problems when you will try to obtain visa next time - you will need to have proof that you spent most of the time in the country, which issued your visa, like in my example - invoices from Italian hotels, campings and restaurants for that period of time.

 

I know the person who had Finnish visa and had tickets Moscow-Helsinki-Zurich and Amsterdam-Helsinki-Zurich.

Because she didn't have reasonable explanation for that visa has been cancelled in the airport.

 

by the way application rules from the Dutch embassy in Moscow web-site:

- if you intend to visit only the Netherlands;
- if you intend to visit several Schengen countries, you must apply for a visa at the Netherlands Embassy or Consulate if the Netherlands is your main destination;
- if you intend to visit several Schengen countries but do not have a main destination, you should apply for a visa at the Netherlands Embassy or Consulate if the Netherlands is your first point of entry;

As you can see, country, which issues the visa for your should be your only OR main destination. In case there is no main destination (you spend like three says in each country), than you have to get the visa in the Embassy of the country of your first entry.

 

I know similar stories with Greek and Spanish visa holders trying to enter Germany by bus. They had to go back.
You can try to explain something to border police and you may have luck but officially this is not allowed (I asked once about it in german embassy). You need a transit stamp on your visa.

 

Another example - there is no Dutch consulate in my own country and for obtaining normal tourist visa to the Netherlands people have to ask for it in German consulate. They issue a schengen visa with NL mark on it - you can enter Schengen states in any country.



<!--EDIT|Dmitry Pankratov|1054035157-->

 

Thanks for all your answers. So you mean that the official position is not to allow a SINGLE Schengen visa (issued in another country) holder to enter the Schengen zone? Is that correct? Again, I've been trying hard but still had no luck in finding the legal docs on this. I mean which would explicitly state so.

 

The best way to get official information is to call the embassy of the country of your entrance and to ask them.
May be different countries have different policies - who knows?

 

If you have a remark on your visa like "+1 schengen transit" you can enter Sch. zone from any country.
Otherwise, only from a country that issued that visa for you.

 

Dmitry, you are not right 100%. +1 transit is a stamp for MVV because MVV is not a Schengen visa, but only national Dutch visa.

about transit stamp - this is a bullshit, sorry. if you are in posess to enter Schengen states from the Eastern border and travel by ground transport (bus, car, train) there is no need to obtain special transit visa. because bus, car and train cannot fly, entering to Germany IS LEGAL if you have a valid Schengen visa independent from the country, which issues this visa. I travelled several times from Russia to Europe by car with Russian license plates before I got Dutch residence permit. Once I had French visa and twice - Italian. First and third time I entered through Germany and second time - through Austria. There was NO QUESTIONS at all because THIS IS LEGAL. Cases when someone has not been allowed to enter to Germany by bus with valid Spanish or Greeks visa only shows the matter that sometimes border police make mistakes or sometimes people get lost before the face of such a guys wearing green uniform. People which can explain the reason what are they going to do in Schengen states and why they are entering through this and that country and checkpoint have no problems at all. Every year thousands of Russian citizens travel by their own car to Europe through Germany in Finland with French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch visas. I don't know anyone who has not been allowed to enter to Schengen states by this reason in case there is a reasonable explanation.

 

You're very helpful, thanks. Unfortunately, from your answers it looks like we may have problems. This is a company organized trip for one weekend only and I was shocked with the difficulties it takes to make it. And it seems like at the border control they can simply revert us. Terrible.

 

Alex, you are quite right when we speak about travelling by land. However, the main problems occur in this situation when you travel by AIR. For instance, you may not be allowed to enter Germany with Greek or Spanish or Italian visa. Can add example when a friend of mine wasn't allowed to enter Italy with French visa. But if you go by land (bus, car, train), there won't be any problems

 

Ann, you're right and I wrote it before. I explained about travel by meaning of ground transport because Dmitry wrote that this is not allowed as well. This is not correct. About air travel I agree, but there are some exclusions. As I wrote the rules from Dutch Embassy website, if for example France is your main destination and you have French visa, you are allower to enter through Italy. but you have to be able to proof somehow that your main destination is France. for example you show two days booking in hotel in Rome, train plan how to get to Paris and hotel booking in Paris for two weeks, back plane ticket from Paris or something like this. This helps, cause no problem at all on the border.

 

Well, I have to acknowledge that I was not right.
But again - providing "reasonable explanation" why you are entering Germany with Sweden or Finnish visa might be quite tricky

 

My wife travelled by bus with two guys having Greek visas and no written evidences that they were going to Greece. No luck.

 

True, but opposite way is very common because a lot of people travel by ground to Germany through Finland and Sweden.

 

this is precisely the case. if you travel like this, you have to be prepared for questions. if you have appropriate proofs, there is no problem at all.

 

Although we're entering the Schengen by air, we're actually coming from West - maybe this can save the situation?