Visiting Europe

This allows people to visit countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) with one visa.

There are 25 countries in the Schengen visa scheme:

The UK is not a Schengen territory and the visa can't be used to enter this country.

A Schengen visa will allow a visit or travel of up to three months in any 6 month period. This is the visa that most students wanting to travel within the Schengen Space as tourists or conference attendees will require.

In some cases an application can also be submitted for multiple entry visas. This allows the student to travel more than once into the Schengen space during a three-month period.

There is a charge for obtaining a Schengen Visa which will vary depending on which of the Schengen countries is issuing the visa.

You should apply either to the Embassy of the country you plan to spend most time in or the country you will go to first. Each embassy produces its own application form for the visa and you will need to contact the appropriate authority by telephoning their enquiry number to ask them to send a form out to you.

In some cases the embassy will put you in contact with an agent. Some Embassy’s forms are available from the Embassy website. The embassy's contact details are available from their website: http://www.embassyhomepage.com/
 

Embassies have different policies on how much leave (i.e. permission) to enter or remain in the UK applicants need to have, beyond the term of their proposed trip.

Applicants may need to have a passport which is valid for at least 3 months longer than the proposed visa and student leave for 3 months as well.

For example if you are travelling to France you will need to have leave for a minimum of 3 months leave after your proposed trip. Many Embassies may require applicants to make their application to the Embassy in person.

Documents you will need to provide