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I am a Russian citizen living in Canada and there are two scientific events in Europe in which I would like to participate this June: one in Greece, one in France. There are about 10 days in-between them. I would also like to stay as a tourist in-between these events but this is optional.

Should I apply for two separate Schengen visas? If I apply for two visas, will both embassies need to take my passport at the same time? In which application should I mention tourism?

Or is it possible to apply for only one visa and provide supporting documents for both events? Which country should apply to in this case?

mintay
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  • I wrote a couple of answers about similar scenarios back in 2015: https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/46689/visiting-two-schengen-countries-coming-back-home-in-between-do-i-apply-for-sin and https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/44233/schengen-visa-application-for-multiple-trips (see also https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/71033/how-to-answer-dates-day-questions-for-multiple-entry-schengen-tourist-visa-appli). Fortunately, as Mark's answer shows, the rules have changed so you have a much stronger basis to apply for a single visa for both trips. – Relaxed Mar 10 '23 at 08:52

2 Answers2

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For multiple trips, within a period of two months, the country with the longest length of stay should be taken as the main destination (Article 5(1)(b) Visa Code):

if the visit includes more than one destination, or if several separate visits are to be carried out within a period of two months, the Member State whose territory constitutes the main destination of the visit(s) in terms of the length of stay, counted in days, or the purpose of stay; or

If one event is longer than the other, then that is the one you should select.

If they are both the same, then the country where your will first enter the Schengen Area (Article 5(1)(c) Visa Code):

if no main destination can be determined, the Member State whose external border the applicant intends to cross in order to enter the territory of the Member States.

The length of stay is based on what is known at the time of application (i.e. any later changes doesn't matter).

Note: The Visa Code quotes are based on the 2020-02-02 text.

Mark Johnson
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  • So even if I decide to have two trips, I will have to apply for only one visa? – mintay Mar 09 '23 at 21:05
  • I have searched for the two months rule here (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A32009R0810), but could not find anything... Seems like Article 5(1)(b) applies when there are multiple countries in one trip, but what if there are two separate trips? – mintay Mar 09 '23 at 21:06
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    Note that it’s not necessarily the country where one stays the longest, but the one which is the “_main destination of the visit(s) in terms of the length or purpose of stay_”. So even if you stay both in France and Greece less time than in some other country you’ll just visit for tourism, you can still pick one of those, and if one event is more important then the other you can pick that one if you can justify it’s “the main destination”. However preprocessors like VFS tend to ignore the rule and stick to the longest stay, so it’s easier if that is the case. – jcaron Mar 09 '23 at 22:29
  • The regulation says “visit(s)” so you can indeed apply for a single visa for multiple visits, but you must make that clear on the application form. – jcaron Mar 09 '23 at 22:30
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    Also remember that if you transit via a non-Schengen country on your way between Schengen countries (even for an airside transit), you will need two entries for that trip. – jcaron Mar 09 '23 at 22:33
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    (+1) @mintay Your link points to the original version of the Schengen Visa Code, Mark's text has been added later. You can find it in the current consolidated version. You can even see all intermediate versions if you care to find out when it was amended. – Relaxed Mar 10 '23 at 08:34
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    It was probably changed to address scenarios like yours, as a strict reading of the original rules could result in requiring you to use a single-entry visa for your first trip, return to your place of residence, and then apply for a second visa. This is obviously not realistic in 10 days but the consulate from the first country had neither a clear legal basis nor a requirement to consider your second visit in their decision. Now they do. – Relaxed Mar 10 '23 at 08:38
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If you stay in the Schengen area in between the events you can apply for just one visa for the length of time from before the first to after the second event. It is likely that you will be asked to proof you have enough money and make an itinerary for those 10 days.

You should apply your visa from the country which is the main reason for your stay in the Schengen area, which will be either Greece or France. If there is one of them more important (or will seem more important) that is the one which is your main reason. Otherwise you can pick the one that fits you best.

Edit:
See the answer by Mark Johnson for when not staying between the events.
When not staying you can try to apply to the country of the most important event and ask for a two entry visa and use the information for both. If that is not given you will need to apply for the other one afterwards, with the risk that you do not get that visa in time. That is the reason I write the more important rather than the first.

Willeke
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