Visa center "Continent". The fields of the Schengen visa, what they mean, how they are correctly deciphered.

Here she is, long awaited Schengen visa appeared in the passport. How can you find out what's in it?

The procedure for filling out a visa stamp is described in Appendix VII of the EU Visa Code.

Reading the Schengen visa

The visa stamp, which is affixed to the passport by the Schengen member states, consists of 11 main fields, which include 9 headings, a photo area and an automatic data reading area.

1. "Valid for" - "Valid for"

This indicates the territory within which the visa holder can move. To be completed in one of the following ways:

• Schengen states (for example: PAŃSTWA SCHENGEN if the visa was issued by the Polish consulate, i.e. in the language of the EU Member State issuing the visa);
• Schengen State or Schengen States whose territory is or are restricted by the visa (in which case the following abbreviations are used): Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Hungary (HU), Germany (DE), Greece (GR), Denmark (DK) ), Iceland (IS), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Czech Republic (CZ), Spain (ES), Italy (IT), Malta (MT), Norway (NO), Netherlands ( NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), France (FR), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE), Switzerland (CH), Estonia (EE).

When the stamp is used to issue a visa with limited territorial validity, the following options are possible when specifying the codes:

2. "From ... until ..." - "From ... to ..."

The period during which the holder of the visa can carry out the stay permitted by the visa is indicated. The date from which the visa holder can enter the territory specified in the previous paragraph is entered after the word "From" in the form: DD-MM-YY.

The date indicating the last day of the period during which the visa holder may carry out the stay permitted by the visa is entered after the word "Until". On that date, the visa holder must leave the territory for which the visa is valid before midnight.

3. "Type of visa" - "Typevisas»

The type of visa is indicated here by means of marks A, C and D, indicating, respectively, the following types of visa:

A - visa for transit through the airport,
C – visa for short stay*,
D - visa for long-term stay (so-called national visa).

*According to the EU Visa Code under " visa» means an authorization granted by a Member State for the purpose of:

a) transit through the territory or intended stay in the territory of the Member States for a total duration of not more than three months during any six-month period from the date of first entry into the territory of the Member States, or
b) transit through an international transit zone airports of member states.

4. "Number of entries" - "Quantityentrances»

This indicates how many times the visa holder can enter the territory for which the visa is valid; in other words, it refers to the number of periods of stay into which he will be able to subdivide the days allowed for stay.

The number of entries can be one, two or more than two. The corresponding number is entered on the right side of the printed text using the numbers "01" or "02" or the abbreviation "MULT" - if the visa entitles you to more than two entries.

When a multiple-entry visa is for airport transit, its validity is determined as follows: the first date of departure plus six months.

If the total number of exits made by the visa holder equals the number of entries allowed, then the visa is no longer valid, even if the visa holder has not fully exhausted the number of days allowed by the visa.

5. "Duration of stay" - "Term of stay ... days"

This indicates the number of days a visa holder may stay in the territory covered by the visa. Such stay may be continuous or, depending on the number of days permitted, divided into several periods within the dates indicated in rubric 2, taking into account the number of permitted entries under rubric 4.

The number of days allowed is entered in the free space between the "Duration of stay" and the "Days" in the form of two digits (if the number of days in question is less than ten, then the first digit will be zero).

The maximum number of days that can be entered is 90.

If the visa is valid for more than six months, the duration of stay is " 90 days in any 180 day period » (changed from 10/18/2013).

6. “Issued in” - “Issued at (place) ... (date) ...”

7. "Number of passport" - "Numberpassports»

8. "Surname, name" - "Last name and first name"

In order, the first word contained in the heading “last name” is indicated, and then the first word contained in the heading “first name” of the visa holder’s travel document.

The visa issuing authority checks whether the last name(s) and first name(s) contained in the travel document and to be entered in this heading, as well as in the area intended for automatic data reading, match those indicated in the visa application .

If the surname and name include more characters than the number of empty spaces, then the extra characters are replaced by a dot (.).

9. "Remarks" - "Notes"

a) Mandatory marks to be additionally included in the “NOTES” zone

– in the case of a visa issued on behalf of another Member State in accordance with Article 8, the following additional entry shall be included: “R/[representing Member State code]” ;

– in the case of a visa issued for the purpose of transit, the following mark is additionally included: “TRANSIT”.

b) National markings in the "Notes" area: This area also contains notes regarding national provisions in the language of the Member State issuing the visa. However, such notes should not duplicate mandatory marks.

10. Zone for photography

A color photograph of the visa holder is placed in the space reserved for this purpose. For a photograph to be included on a visa stamp, the following rules must be followed.

Head size from crown to chin should be 70-80% vertically total area photos.

Minimum permission requirements:

– for scanning: 300 “pixels per inch” (ppi), uncompressed;

– for color photo printing: 720 dots per inch (dpi).

11. Zone for automated data reading

This zone consists of two lines of 36 characters (OCR B-10 cpi).

1st line:

For example,

2nd line:

Those citizens who received the coveted visas with the right to visit the Schengen zone are undoubtedly lucky. But what data is encrypted in it, and what questions may arise, already with a visa pasted into the passport?

A few key questions that visa holders ask are:

• What do all these numbers and codes on the visa mean?
• How do I find out how long a visitor's permit is valid?
• How many entries are on my Schengen visa?
• From what date can a visa holder be allowed to enter the Schengen area?

Below we will analyze all these issues and, using a good example, we will teach you how to read a Schengen visa and understand all the intricacies.

First, let's start with the appearance, this is what a Schengen visa looks like:

Explanations for the picture:

• The main information fields are highlighted in blue;
• The fields are numbered in red;
• Green crossed out personal data (last name).

This picture shows a visa issued at the Hungarian Consulate in Kyiv. Its only visual difference from the visas of other member countries of the "zone" is the use of the national language in the information fields along with English and French.

For example, Finnish will be used in Finland, German in Austria, Italian in Italy, and so on.

By the way: you know which countries. Answer: Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia.

Now let's go directly to the explanations for the fields:

1. Valid for: SCHENGENI ALLAMOK (written in the language of the country that issued the visa, in this case in Hungarian "Schengen area"). This means that the visa is valid for the Schengen area, that is, you have the right to move around all 26 countries that have signed this agreement. In addition, under certain conditions, you also have the right to enter Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus.

2. Code of the country who issued the visa. HUN stands for Hungary, D stands for Germany, FIN stands for Finland, and so on.

3. From. The start date of the visa, that is, from what day entry is allowed. Entry on this date is not mandatory, it can be carried out after, but no later than the date in the next field.

4. Until. The last day of the validity of the visa, that is, the closure of the temporary corridor, after 23 hours 59 minutes of this date, the visa ceases to be valid.

5. Type of visa. Type of visa, this field contains a letter that has the following meaning. There are 4 types of Schengen visa in total:

• A (airport transit visa);
• B (transit visa);
• C ("guest" visa);
• D (long-term visa).

Most often, people apply for and receive a type C visa, which includes tourist, cultural, sports trips, and more.

6. Number of entries. Number of entries. Once I did not pay attention to this field, but figured it out only after the visa expired. With a corridor of three months, I made only one entry into Europe, although in fact it was possible to make two trips.

There may be designations:

• MULT - the possibility of multiple visits;
• 01 - single entry;
• 02 - double entry.

7. Duration of stay. Number of days of stay during the period specified in the fields From And Until. It is always indicated in the amount of two digits, for example, in this case 15, but if the allowed number of days is less than 10, then zero goes first.

If the visa is issued as a MULT visa or with a double entry with a corridor for a year, and the number of days of stay is indicated as 30, 45, 60, 90 or another number of days, this means that every time you re-enter a Schengen country, the number of days summed up. If the number of days is more than 90, then nothing is indicated in this field.

For example: You have been issued a multi-visa valid from 01/01/2016 to 12/31/16 with 45 days of stay.

From: 01.01.2016
Until: 12/31/16
Number of entries: MULT
Duration of stay: 45

This means that within 365 days you can enter the Schengen countries more than twice, but the total number of days of stay should not exceed 45. For example, a trip in March for 10 days, a trip in August for 20 days, and a trip to October for 15 days, total 45 days of stay. Further, the visa is considered valid, but closed, since you rolled back the number of days you were supposed to.

8. Issued in. The city or authority where the visa was issued.

9. On. Date of issue of the visa, not to be confused with the beginning of the validity. In our example, the validity of the visa began 4 days after the date of issue.

is a permit to enter the Russian Federation and transit through the territory of the Russian Federation. The visa is in the form of a forgery-proof insert in the passport, less often in the form of a seal. Foreign citizens have the right to enter and leave Russia only if they have a visa issued by an authorized state body.

The visa contains the following information about the foreign citizen:

• First and last name
• date of birth
• Citizenship
• Passport ID
• The date of issue of the visa, its validity period and the frequency (number of entries) of the visa to Russia
• Permitted period of stay in the Russian Federation
• Purpose of the trip
• Information about the inviting organization
• Invitation number to Russia

To obtain a visa, you must:

• Select the type of visa you need.
• Get an invitation to Russia.
• Familiarize yourself with the visa requirements at the Russian embassy in your country.
• Prepare the necessary package of documents.
• Schedule an interview at the embassy.
• Pay the consular fee.
• Verify the data when obtaining a visa.

ATTENTION! The Consulate is not responsible for undeclared errors and typos in the text of the visa after the citizen has left the country of residence.

Note to travelers

The cost of a visa (from $10) depends on its type and the citizenship of the visa recipient. The cost of a visa is determined by international agreements between the Russian Federation and the country of which the tourist is a citizen.
In the event that a tourist refuses to apply for a visa for any reason, the consular fee is non-refundable.
Visa processing takes about 14 days. The consulate also offers urgent visa processing for an additional fee. Urgent visa processing takes about 3 days.
For children under 16 traveling with their parents and included in their passport, a separate visa and invitation is not required. If children are traveling on their own passport, a separate visa must be obtained for each of them. Minors may only travel with parental permission certified by a notary. (For more information, see the Visa Waiver section)
Passengers of cruise liners do not need a Russian visa if their stay in the port is less than 72 hours. (For more information, see the Visa Waiver section)

After obtaining a passport with permission to cross the Schengen border, many travelers have a number of questions. In particular, they are interested in the maximum length of stay or the number of times a visa decision can be made. Failure to meet the criteria defined by the visa can ruin the reputation of an inexperienced tourist, so it is important to understand how to read a Schengen visa.

Traveling to European countries in most cases requires a special permit. We will focus on the technical aspects of the visa stamp pasted into the passport, which is popularly called simply “Schengen”.

What does a Schengen visa look like in a passport?

The main features of the color insert are the visa number, the photo of the document holder, several concise fields with filled in data and an alphanumeric code zone.

The purpose of the latter is to speed up the identification of the traveler as much as possible.

As a rule, the names of the fields to be filled in are presented in three languages:

• the country that issued the visa;
• French;
• English.

For obvious reasons, the exception is the French visa stamp - in it the fields are presented only in two languages.

Like any important document, each visa stamp has a unique number that is entered into a common database. Where is the Schengen visa number in the passport? This number is indicated in the upper right corner of the sticker and consists of 9 digits.

How to read the information in the visa decision

Many travelers have at least a basic knowledge of one of the languages ​​used in field names. But even for them, reading a visa can be difficult. A short explanation of special terms will help.

• VALID FOR - countries where the visa is valid. Most often, this field indicates the wording, which means that with this visa you can visit the entire territory of the Schengen zone. The phrase "Schengen countries" is indicated in the language of the state that issued the visa. In the upper right corner is the letter code of the country whose consulate issued the visa.

Another option is a list of countries to which entry is closed, as evidenced by the presence of a minus sign.

• FROM - date of commencement of the visa. Specified as follows: DD-MM-YY.
• UNTIL - expiration date of the visa permit.
• TYPE OF VISA - the type of visa indicated by Latin letters:

1. A - transit
2. C - short-term (tourist);
3. D - long-term (working, educational, etc.).

• NUMBER OF ENTRIES - possible number of entries (one, two or multiple).
• DURATION OF STAY - the maximum number of days that a visa holder can spend in the Schengen area.
• ISSUED IN - the authority that issued the permit (as a rule, the city in which the representative office that considered the application is located is indicated).
• ON - the date of issue of the permit document.
• NUMBER OF PASSPORT - the number of the international passport, in which the visa stamp is pasted.
• SURNAME, NAME - surname and name of the owner of the document.
• REMARKS - notes. Most often, this field is left blank. Sometimes the embassy of a country can put down a code for the purpose of the visit (for example, in a Polish visa, 01 means tourism, 04 - business visit, 15 - treatment, and the Germans use the wording TOURISTISCHEN VISUM ERWERBSTATIGKEIT NICHT GESTATTET to emphasize that a tourist visa is issued without the right to job).

At the bottom of the visa stamp is a unique cipher read by the machine during passport verification.

Those who are looking for information on how to read the Schengen multivisa should know that this permit document is practically no different from a single or double entry visa. The difference is only in the note in the “Number of entries” field, which determines the number of possible entries: if the corresponding figure is indicated in the permit for single or double entry, then the holder of a multivisa will find the designation MULT in this field.

Verification of data upon receipt of a stamp

Although the staff of the Schengen representation is attentive to the verification of data even during the acceptance of documents, no one is immune from mistakes. To prevent annoying discrepancies from being discovered when passing through passport control at the border, it is advisable to check the accuracy of the data immediately after obtaining a visa.

What you should pay attention to:

1. Valid term of a visa.
2. Length of stay (exact number of days).
3. The correct spelling of the last name, first name, passport details.
4. The presence of the seal of the consular service.
5. machine readable code.

If there is an incomprehensible note (code or confusing wording), it is advisable to clarify its meaning in the consular service. Perhaps we are talking about some restrictions, which you should be aware of in advance.

In addition, holders of multiple visas need to carefully consider the calculation of the days of stay in the Schengen area. Since there is a lot of conflicting information published on the Internet, it is safer to seek clarification directly from the consulate of the destination country or from the official website of the Schengen State representation.

Schengen visa: Video

Attention! Due to recent changes in legislation, the legal information in this article may be out of date!

Our lawyer can advise you free of charge - write a question in the form below:

The Schengen multivisa allows multiple visits to a number of countries for a certain number of days over a six-month period. The rules for the first entry into Schengen and the main country are preserved. Based on the purpose of your stay in a particular state, you can apply for a tourist or business visa. By the time of validity, this document is semi-annual, annual and five-year.

The feasibility of obtaining

A Schengen visa marked "multi" is most often needed by people who study or work in one of the countries. Also, entry through it is good for those who have real estate or relatives in the Schengen zone. To date, 25 different countries have entered the Schengen zone, where you can travel on a multi-visa basis. And yet, before receiving this document, it is worth considering carefully whether it is really so necessary.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the fact that the largest number of days will need to be spent in the country that has been issued a Schengen visa.

Another aspect, if, for example, you are a tourist, and have visited the Schengen zone states on your multivisa only a couple of times, then later you may be denied this document, marked “visa”. In addition, its cost is higher than that of a single one.

Rules for using a multivisa

If the rule of first entry was nevertheless violated, then the next time, in order to obtain a document for entry into the countries included in the agreement, it will be necessary to apply to the embassy of a completely different country.

Main country rule. It applies to short-term documents, whether it is a single entry or a Schengen multivisa. Everything is easy here, the main country is considered to be the one where a person plans to spend more time.

To accurately determine this country, you must very carefully calculate the number of days that you plan to spend visiting a particular state. And exactly the place where you get the most days will be considered the main country for entering the Schengen. Multivisa holders should also count their trips to other countries. Most of it should be at the place where the document was received.

An error when entering the wrong territory may cost permission to obtain a multivisa specifically for this country, but not for another. So a violation of the rule of the main first place of residence will not completely close entry into Europe.

The length of stay in the area is important. If earlier it was possible to spend a permissible period of 3 months within six months, and then, having opened a new visa, stay the same amount, combining both periods of stay in the Schengen zone, now this will not work.

Every six months of the first entry into this zone for each person is now counted individually. And such a calculation is carried out backward, and not forward as before. That is, after crossing the border for the first time, you can stay in the Schengen area for 3 months in total. If this period is used at one time, for example summer holidays, then the next 90 days access to the Schengen area will not be available.

On the websites of many European embassies, special convenient calculators have already appeared, with which you can calculate the exact number of days.

At first glance, it may seem that the rules for using the Schengen multivisa are not strictly monitored by border guards. However, this is an erroneous opinion, and their observance is monitored quite strictly.

How to get a multivisa

To obtain a multivisa, documents are required: a foreign passport, a document for the purpose of travel, honey. insurance, questionnaire in two languages.

The cost of a multi-visa is higher than that of a single document. Also, its cost is affected by the validity of the visa, and, of course, the country where the request is made.

The mark that a multivisa is open looks like “MULT” in the “number of entries.