Information for tourists: where to apply for a Schengen visa?

Everyone knows that to enter most countries, you need a special permit - a visa. In 1985 in the castle of Schengen (Luxembourg) several European countries (Germany, France, the Benelux countries) agreed to abolish the control of border services. Later, several dozen other states joined the union. Now in the "Schengen" 26 European powers, which can be visited on a single document. How to apply for a permit to enter a certain country and where to apply for a Schengen visa?

The first thing you need to do is apply to the embassy of the country you plan to visit. There you can find out which documents you need to provide, and also write an application for a Schengen visa. For some countries (UK, Portugal, USA) only its personal submission is provided. Therefore, it is better not to entrust a visa to anyone, but to do it yourself. In addition, in this case you can save a decent amount of money.

Classification of countries on the complexity of obtaining a visa

1. Countries that require the tourist to the maximum number of documents that put forward special requirements (prepayment for a room in a hotel, etc.). These include Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Luxembourg. The application for a Schengen visa at the embassies of these countries is best served personally.

2. The most loyal states to Russian tourists: Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Finland. Recently, the process of obtaining a visa for countries such as France and Portugal has become more complicated.

Schengen visa: registration

For a short stay in the Schengen countries , a C-type visa is usually issued, regardless of whether you are going on a visit, on a business trip or on a vacation. Such permission gives the right to stay in the country for up to 90 days (immediately or for several trips within six months).

The procedure for obtaining a visa at all consulates is approximately the same (although each has its own peculiarities).

1. Documents are submitted at the embassy in person or in the visa center through an agency or travel agency (by proxy).

2. An application for a Schengen visa must be submitted no earlier than 90 days prior to travel.

3. On average, the clearance process takes from 6 to 8 working days, the urgent procedure will take 1-3 days.

Required documents:

• The questionnaire;

• Valid foreign passport;

• Photo;

• honey. insurance;

• Invitation or confirmation of hotel reservation;

• Tickets;

• Certificate of income;

• Bank reference;

• Photocopy of the passport of the citizen of the Russian Federation;

• Receipt for payment of consular and service charges (pay through the bank or in cash when you apply).

You will be notified of the issuance of the Schengen visa by contacting you via the contact details indicated on the application form.

Embassies and visa centers of European countries in Russia (except for St. Petersburg and Moscow)

You can apply at the consulates and visa centers in the following cities:

- Ekaterinburg: the embassies of Germany, Hungary (you can register not only the Hungarian visa, but also the Finnish, Austrian, Slovenian, Estonian, Latvian), visa centers in Spain, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece.

- Novosibirsk: visa centers in Denmark, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Italy.

- Rostov-on-Don: visa centers in Spain, Denmark, the Embassy of Romania.

- Kaliningrad: Consulate of Poland.

- Kazan: visa centers of Denmark and Italy.

- In addition, the visa center of Italy is in such cities as Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Lipetsk, Ufa, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk.