Schengen visa (Europe)

26 European countries participate in the Schengen visa scheme. This means that a visitor only needs to apply for one visa to travel to any number of the Schengen countries in one trip.

Students don't need a 'no objection letter' as part of their application if they travel during the official University holidays. They can provide an Attendance Letter and details of the University semester dates with their application.

Where should I apply?

If you are only visiting one country, you should apply to the embassy of that country.

If you are visiting more than one country, you should apply to the embassy of the country which is your ‘main destination’, i.e. the country you plan to spend the most time in during your visit.

If you are spending equal time in more than one country and do not have a ‘main destination’, you should apply to the embassy of the country you will enter first.

Embassy websites

For more information about Schengen visas, please see the UKCISA website and refer to the embassy websites below. You can also try Schengen Visa Info.

Insurance

It is mandatory to have travel insurance when you apply for a Schengen visa, if you do not have insurance your application will automatically be refused. The insurance cover required for the country you are going will be listed in the documents required for visa section of the application but all must meet the following requirements:

It should:

A basic policy for Schengen travel insurance should cover:

  • cost of medical treatment (minimum of €30,000) for emergency medical treatment anywhere in the Schengen zone.
  • cost of repatriation in the event that you are seriously ill and require medical treatment from your home country. It should also cover repatriation in the event of death.

The Visaguide.world website provides further information on applying for Schengen travel insurance. Useful websites that provide travel insurance for Schengen applications include: 

Getting help

ISAT can help answer your questions about travel to other countries, but we are not specialists so you may want to use a visa travel company to help you with your application (they will charge for their service).