Guide
The Schengen visa, explained
Twenty-nine countries, one visa, and a set of rules that decide which embassy you're allowed to apply to. Get that part wrong and nothing else matters.
At a glance
The essentials
- Government fee
- ₹8,200
- Standard processing
- 15 days
- Maximum stay
- 90/180
- Countries covered
- 29
€90, adults
Up to 45 in peak
Rolling window
One visa
Process
Six steps, in order
- 1
Work out which country handles your application
Single destination: that country. Multiple: wherever you spend the most nights. Equal nights: wherever you enter first. Applying to the wrong mission is grounds for refusal on its own.
- 2
Secure an appointment
This is the real bottleneck, not the paperwork. Waits run from 4 days to over a month depending on mission and city. Book before your documents are complete — you can finish those while you wait.
- 3
Assemble financial evidence
Six months of bank statements, ITR for the last two years, and a salary slip or business proof. Consistency over time matters far more than the closing balance.
- 4
Book refundable travel
You need flight reservations and accommodation covering the whole stay, but never buy non-refundable tickets before approval. Reservations are sufficient and are what we file.
- 5
Attend biometrics
Fingerprints and a photograph at the visa centre, valid for 59 months. If you've given biometrics for a Schengen visa in the last five years, you can usually skip this.
- 6
Wait, then collect
Standard processing is 15 calendar days, though it can extend to 45 in peak season. Your passport stays with the mission throughout.
The rule everyone gets wrong
90 days in any 180
The 90/180 rule is the most misunderstood thing in European travel, and miscounting it is an overstay regardless of intent.
It is not a calendar period
There is no “first half of the year” allowance that resets. The window is rolling: on any given day, look back over the previous 180 days and count how many of those you spent inside the Schengen area. That number must not exceed 90.
A worked example
You spend all of January and February in Spain — 59 days. You return in June for 40 days. On the last day of that June trip, the preceding 180 days include roughly 30 days of your winter trip plus all 40 of the current one. You are at 70 and fine. Push the June trip to 55 days and you cross 90 without ever having taken a trip longer than two months.
Days of entry and exit both count
A day on which you are physically present at any point counts as a full day. A flight landing at 23:00 and one departing at 06:00 each consume a whole day of your allowance.
Your visa validity is not your permitted stay
A two-year multiple-entry visa does not permit two years of residence. It permits entry over two years, subject to 90 days in any 180 throughout. This is the single most common cause of accidental overstay among frequent travellers.
Overstaying has long consequences
Refusals
Why Schengen applications get refused
Schengen is among the harder applications to get right. Refusals cluster tightly, and almost all of them come down to the same few causes:
- Financial evidence. A large deposit shortly before applying is read as borrowed funds. Six months of ordinary, consistent statements beat a bigger balance with no history.
- Purpose of stay not established. Usually an itinerary that doesn't hold together — bookings that don't match stated dates, or a trip whose stated purpose doesn't fit the pattern of travel.
- Intention to leave not established. Weak employment evidence, no property or family ties, and no prior international travel history.
- Wrong mission. Applying to a country that is not your main destination. Straightforwardly avoidable, and still common.
If you have already been refused, Rejection Recovery assesses the likely cause and refiles at no service cost.
Apply for a Schengen visa
Includes appointment capture — median wait drops from 47 days to 9.