How to read a Schengen visa sticker?
A Schengen visa sticker is affixed to your passport. For this reason, applicants need at least one blank page in their passport when applying for a Schengen visa. You must present your passport at the Schengen port of entry of the country you are entering first.
This document contains a lot of information, not only about the country you are allowed to enter, but also about the period of time you are allowed to stay and how many times you can cross the borders.
Many people have difficulty reading Schengen visa stickers In their passports, a Schengen visa contains simple information in three languages: English, French and German.
Countries you can visit
A Schengen visa sticker always contains information about the countries its holder is allowed to visit. The meaning of each label is explained below.
The phrases "VALID FOR", "VALABLE PUR" and "VALID FOR" are placed before the name of the country you are allowed to enter with the Schengen visa you have obtained.
If next to these words is written "ETATS SCHENGEN" or "SCHENGEN STATES", it means that the visa is valid in all Schengen countries, and the visa holder can visit any of them once he is in the territory.
There are also letters A, B, CH, CZE, D, DK, E, EST, F, FIN, GR, H, I, IS, L, LT, LVA, M, N, NL, P , PL, S, SK, SVN – these are abbreviations for the Schengen countries where the visa is valid and they stand for:
| Acronym | Country |
| A | Austria |
| B | Belgium |
| CH | Switzerland |
| CZE | Czech republic |
| D | Germany |
| DK | Denmark |
| E | Spain |
| EST | Estonia |
| F | France |
| FIN | Finland |
| GR | Greece |
| H | Hungary |
| I | Italy |
| IS | Iceland |
| L | Luxembourg |
| LT | Lithuania |
| LVA | Latvia |
| M | Malta |
| N | Norway |
| NL | Netherlands |
| P | Portugal |
| PL | Poland |
| S | Sweden |
| SK | Slovakia |
| SVN | Slovenia |
If your Schengen visa sticker lists only some of the acronyms of the names of these countries, for example "LVA, M, N, NL, P, PL", you are allowed to enter only Latvia, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal and Poland.
If your Schengen visa sticker contains the following label "ETATS SCHENGEN" – , it means that the visa is valid for all Schengen countries except for the country behind the minus sign. So you are not allowed to travel to Germany if the label is "ETATS SCHENGEN (-D)". You can not enter this country depending on the country code after the minus sign.
Label "Name of the country" – means that the visa is valid only for the given territory, and its holder may not move to the other countries of the Schengen area, if he does not have another visa.
Validity of the Schengen visa
Near the designations "FROM", "DU" and "VOM" is indicated the first day on which you are allowed to enter the Schengen area, while near the designations "UNTIL", "AU" and "BIS" is indicated the last day on which you must leave the Schengen area or the countries where you are allowed to stay during your stay.
Number of entries
The terms "NUMBER OF ENTRIES", "NOMBRE D'ETNREES" and "NUMBER OF ENTRIES" indicate how many times a person is allowed to enter the Schengen area.
"MULT" means that the holder is entitled to enter the Schengen area as often as he/she wishes, i.e. several times, as long as he/she does not exceed the permitted length of stay.
"1" means that the holder is entitled to enter the Schengen area only once.
"2" means that the holder is entitled to enter the Schengen area twice, and so on.
Duration of stay
The terms "DURATION OF STAY", "DUREE DE SEJOUR" and "DURATION OF STAY" and immediately next to them the words "DAYS", "JOURS" and "DAYS" stand for the number of days a person is allowed to stay in the Schengen area.
Type of visa
The labels "TYPE OF VISA", "TYPE DE VISA" and "VISA TYP" indicate which type of Schengen visa you have received:
"A" stands for Schengen visa type A airport visa, which does not entitle the holder to pass through the "international airport zone".
"C" stands for Schengen visa type C – or short stay visa, which does not allow the holder to stay longer than 3 months in the Schengen area.
"D" stands for the visa type D – or long-term visa, which allows the holder to stay longer than 3 months.
Details of the visa issuer and date of issue
The terms "ISSUED IN", "DILIVRE A" and "ISSUED IN" are placed right next to the name of the city where the embassy or consulate is located, which is respectively. which issued the visa.
The designations "ON", "LE" and "AM" refer to the date when the visa was issued.