Understanding Your Schengen Visa Sticker

February 15, 2024

By Schengen Alert Team

You Got the Visa! Now, Let's Decode the Sticker

After all the waiting, your passport is back with a brand new Schengen visa sticker inside. It's an exciting moment, but it's also covered in codes and official terms that can be confusing. Understanding what each part of the sticker means is essential for a smooth trip and for staying compliant with the rules.

Let's break it down field by field.

VALID FOR: SCHENGENER STAATEN

This field specifies the territory where your visa is valid.

SCHENGENER STAATEN: This means your visa is valid for all countries in the Schengen Area.
[Country Code(s)]: If it lists specific country codes (e.g., FR, DE, IT), your visa is a Limited Territorial Validity (LTV) visa, and it's only valid for those specific countries. This is less common.

FROM ... UNTIL

This shows the validity period of your visa.

FROM: The first day you are legally allowed to enter the Schengen Area.
UNTIL: The last day you must exit the Schengen Area. Important: This is not the number of days you can stay; it is the window in which you can use your visa. You must leave on or before this date, even if you have not used all your allowed "duration of stay" days.

TYPE OF VISA

This indicates the category of your visa.

C: This is the most common type, for a short stay (up to 90 days).
A: An airport transit visa.
D: A long-stay national visa, issued by a specific country.

NUMBER OF ENTRIES

This tells you how many times you can enter and exit the Schengen Area within your visa's validity.

MULT: This stands for multiple entries. You can leave and re-enter the Schengen Area as many times as you wish within the visa's validity period, as long as you respect the "duration of stay."
1: This means you can only enter the Schengen Area once. If you leave, you cannot re-enter, even if you have days left on your visa.
2: This allows for two entries.

DURATION OF STAY ... DAYS

This is the total number of days you are permitted to stay in the Schengen Area during your visa's validity period.

Example: If it says "90" days, you can spend a total of 90 days within the "FROM...UNTIL" window. For a multiple-entry visa, you can split these days across several trips.

ISSUED IN / ON

ISSUED IN: The city where the visa was issued (e.g., London, Dubai).
ON: The date the visa was issued.

OTHER FIELDS

NUMBER OF PASSPORT: Your passport number.
SURNAME, NAME: Your last name and first name.
REMARKS: This section may contain additional information, such as the purpose of your visit (e.g., "TOURISM").

Understanding your visa sticker is the final step in your preparation. Now you can focus on the exciting part-your trip! And if you're ever in need of another appointment, remember that Schengen Alert is here to help. Get your next appointment with an instant alert.