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Similar questions has been asked but this one is with a twist.

The doc here FAQ 13 clearly states I can take visa from X and go to Y country. But also pushing on getting visa from country of your primary destination. Interestingly none of FAQ in the doc talks about being loyal to your initial itinerary.

Hence my question is let's say I take visa from Spain stating in itinerary that I will only go to Spain (no brainer) and I get the visa.

Now what if I change my itinerary (once visa was issued but before entering Schengen) in following ways:

  1. I add 6 more countries to my plan but still ensure Spain is my primary destination, like out of 10 days, spend 1 night in each of 6 added countries but 4 nights in Spain

  2. Double my total number of travel days but ensuring it's still under what is allowed in the visa issued, like less than 90 days, leaving Schengen before valid until etc, also I ensure proper hotel and flights reservations

Will these kind of changes still raise eyebrows at border patrol or make Spain feel cheated?

dragosrsupercool
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  • These changes certainly could raise eyebrows: your itinerary is different from the one you described in your application, and your trip duration may well be longer than you originally proposed. – DavidRecallsMonica Jun 14 '23 at 00:44
  • but why does that make a difference, primary destination is not changed and I am coming back under max days allowed – dragosrsupercool Jun 14 '23 at 03:33
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    I'm not Schengen/Spanish Immigration, and I didn't say those changes would make a difference...only that the differences between what you presented as your itinerary and what you actually did might raise eyebrows. You are certainly free to think that these changes won't make a difference, or even shouldn't. My view is that the differences (one destination country vs. six, double the number of travel days) are significant enough that they might. – DavidRecallsMonica Jun 14 '23 at 03:56
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    it may raise suspicion because they may want to know why you did not send the application with the complete itinerary. Changing your travel plans can happen, but often it's done for purposes people don't want to disclose when applying for a visa. – jwenting Jun 14 '23 at 03:56
  • agree it can raise suspicion but till your primary destination is Spain, you have proper bookings and your intent is genuine / tourism, would bonder control deny entry / declare you default for next time?

    Coming back to the point, if a consulate issued you a multi country visa vs single country and 30 days vs 10 days validity as clearly stated ask in itinerary, doesn't this mean they believe you are qualified for the max given in your visa and hence also freedom to make drastic changes in itinerary till you don't default on primary destination, genuine intent and enough funds?

     – dragosrsupercool Jun 14 '23 at 05:21
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    @dragosrsupercool, small changes are small changes, doubling the time and adding a lot more countries are not small changes and can endanger future visa. – Willeke Jun 14 '23 at 08:14
  • Update: I emailed this scenario to the Spain Consulate here, they replied that I can edit my itinerary (add more countries) till Spain is my main destination. – dragosrsupercool Jun 15 '23 at 18:22

1 Answers1

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Three principles:

  • You may adjust your itinerary after the visa was issued.

  • You may not misrepresent your itinerary before the visa is issued.

  • You should not give the false impression that you misrepresented your itinerary before the visa was issued by gross changes after it was issued, even if the changes were genuinely afterwards.

For instance, if your plan used to be to fly to France, then travel by road to Germany, stay there, and then fly home, it would be an entirely reasonable adjustment to travel from France, through Belgium and the Netherlands, on to Germany. Two countries not on the initial itinerary, yet you merely shifted your road route a little bit towards the coast. You might also find a better flight which takes you into Amsterdam rather than Paris, and substitute the Netherlands for France. Also a minor adjustment.

For certain changes after the visa was issued, there is a low probability of being caught, but the chance exists. There are places in the EU where you can walk across international borders half a dozen times in a single afternoon, and the itinerary would not list every single crossing.

o.m.
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  • You may not misrepresent your itinerary before the visa is issued.

    Wouldn't it only be called misrepresent if it has been changed to a level that with the new itinerary the consulate would have rejected the application. But in this cases did we? Even if one would have added those extra 6 countries to the initial plan he would still have been issued the visa from Spain because that's still is primary destination and intent of travel (tourism), source of money is all good. Hence, the question is more about freedom to have flexibility to change itinerary till you play by the book.

     – dragosrsupercool Jun 14 '23 at 05:07
  • Also, why does consulate gives one 3 months visa with multi entry valid for all Schengen when your itinerary clearly state your trip time is of one week and your only country of visit is in this case Spain. I mean they could have given you 10 days validity visa with only country as Spain, no? may be they give us 3 months vs 10 days because they feel it's fine even if this person stays for a month, he seems genuine to not default, be a good spending tourist and go back. – dragosrsupercool Jun 14 '23 at 05:12
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    @dragosrsupercool, the key thing about the itinerary is the promise to leave again. The visa officials cannot read minds, so they have to gauge the credibility of the applicant. Being suspected of any lie, past or present, large or small, hurts the credibility. As to why the Schengen visa is valid for all countries and a longer time, it is to allow legitimate adjustments after issue. Say a business meeting is shifted one week, and the new flight has one more leg. That should not require a new visa. – o.m. Jun 14 '23 at 05:37
  • @dragosrsupercool (+1) If the answer had said ‘your changes are perfectly fine, Spain will be ecstatic’ would you be disputing it to this extent? The changes are not insignificant, there is a chance they could cause a problem. Your question invites opinions. If you want to be certain, you should ask the Consulate that issued the visa. – Traveller Jun 14 '23 at 05:40
  • @Traveller I actually did follow up on this question with the Spain Consulate here, they said I can edit my itinerary as long as Spain remains my main destination. – dragosrsupercool Jun 15 '23 at 18:21

  • Being suspected of any lie: I agree but I feel (and I could be wrong) itinerary change doesn't really matter to them till the main destination is their country, we leave country in time, have legal way of funding the trip. And till that remains true for every of one's trip they might be ok to keep granting one a visa.

    p.s.: I am going to apply my third Schengen Visa soon, I will add all relevant details once I get my visa stamped / denied.

     – dragosrsupercool Jun 15 '23 at 18:28
  • @dragosrsupercool, the key thing here is that you do something other than what you wrote. They might not have cared if your itinerary had been written that way from the start, but it hasn't. – o.m. Jun 15 '23 at 18:31
  • our conversation here on "importance of sticking to itinerary is more of a speculation", could become more interesting if some with related previous experiences could also join our conversation. – dragosrsupercool Jun 15 '23 at 19:22
  • @dragosrsupercool, https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/107033/do-schengen-visa-authorities-know-how-an-applicant-flew-within-schengen-on-their – o.m. Jun 16 '23 at 05:47