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As I am traveling Greece from Nepal for the first time to attend a volunteer program of 15 days (including travel days), I have Schengen visa with single entry And also my flight return ticket is fixed already. I have to return after completion of my program.

Can I extend my Schengen visa from Greece? As I want to visit my relatives who lives in Spain and Portugal. What if I stay more than 15 days in my owns. Is not it that the Schengen visa is valid for 90 days?

Relaxed
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Rajeev Thapa
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  • You could also apply for a new visa with your new itinerary. If necessary, you could request cancellation of your existing visa. – phoog Oct 06 '16 at 16:20

2 Answers2

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Can I extend my Schengen visa from Greece?

Mostly No. An extension is only granted under exceptional circumstances (such as serious illness) and requires the applicant to demonstrate availability of proof of funds. Source: Dutch government FAQ. For Greece a slightly out of date link is here. Quote from this link (emphasis mine)

Note that visa extensions are only granted under special extenuating circumstances, such as being in the hospital, having a serious car accident or a relative passing away. Visa extensions are not granted because of ignorance regarding visas and permits, careless planning, unexpectedly falling in love, taking illegal work and just because you want to travel more.

Assuming your circumstances are exceptional, the procedure is also given in the same link

Visitors who plan to stay longer than the expiration date of a Schengen or national visa while in Greece as a tourist, student or temporary business consultant should apply for a visa extension at the Alien’s Bureau Office or police station nearest their legal or temporary residence.

Apply between 7 to 25 days in advance of your visa’s expiration

For 15 days, you may not have enough time to even apply for an extension.

The other question:

What if I stay more than 15 days in my owns. Is not it that the Schengen visa is valid for 90 days?

I assume the Duration of Stay on your Visa sticker says 15 and also has a time window given in From and Until.

This means that you can enter Schengen area only ONCE and can stay only between the period mentioned in [From, Until] (both days included). However, the total length of your stay cannot exceed 15 days because that is the number of days authorised to you in Duration of Stay. The 90 days that you are referring to is the maximum duration permissible under Schengen short-stay visa.

If you stay for more than 15 days on your own, you will be breaking the rules of Visa issued to you by overstaying. Overstaying is a serious problem and can lead to many consequences such as fines upon exit, record in Visa Information System, problems in obtaining future visas and entry bans. In short, don't do it.

EDIT: For further reference, this French Government Link explains the schengen visa sticker and what each field signifies.

RedBaron
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  • +1, v nice, but what about the 'how to' part of the question? How to change it? – Gayot Fow Oct 06 '16 at 11:23
  • @GayotFow There was an answer for that but I guess it has been deleted. I'll try to add that too – RedBaron Oct 06 '16 at 11:25
  • Thanks but I did not get my first answer. Is there any legal way to extend ? Is there any possibilities to apply , if I am able to extend my volunteering duration by getting the new invitation letter and other required documents from the host organization on request? – Rajeev Thapa Oct 06 '16 at 12:33
  • @RajeevThapa The Greek link has the procedure to apply for an extension. But whether or not your application is accepted is upto the procesing entity. For the circumstances you state, I don't think they qualify as exceptional enough for visa extension after you land in Greece. You might be able make a fresh application (while still in Nepal) for a new Visa which is valid just after your current one expires but that is a separate question – RedBaron Oct 06 '16 at 12:35
  • @RajeevThapa since the gist of this answer is "you (most likely) can't" I would suggest looking into the possibility of applying for a new visa. That of course depends on how much time you have left before you start travelling. Otherwise, your relatives will have to wait until a next time. – CompuChip Oct 06 '16 at 15:42
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Speaking from experience - just trying to get something like that done in Greece would eat up (at least) all of your 15 days being bounced around offices :-(

The most useful advice I got from the police and border officials was:

  • The cost of getting it done and the fine for overstaying is about the same. (was ~200 EU a decade ago)
  • But the fine is a fixed amount however long you overstay, but extensions have to be renewed continuously.

The message was: Just overstay and pay the fine on the way out

The subtext was : Don't make me do the paperwork.

This is of course not good advice you should choose to follow, just an anecdote. But I spent months trying to do it the 'right' way, and failed, so followed the official advice (if not the official process).

If you are not planning to re-enter for a few years, it was also possible to just sit through a humiliating exit interview, get a red stamp on your passport and get on your plane. I've done that also, when unintentionally broke.

dman
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    Never a good advise to overstay, on purpose. You do not know how many problems the OP might get later because of an overstay. – Willeke Oct 06 '16 at 16:20

  • This is of course not good advice you should choose to follow

     – dman Oct 06 '16 at 16:21
  • Having an overstay on your record will likely complicate the process of going back to the Schengen area (and perhaps other countries) in the future. It is, as you say, not good advice. – Zach Lipton Oct 06 '16 at 16:21
  • I'd give this a +1 for posting personal experience, but it seems this was a long time ago (a decade ago). Given the current situation in Europe, I think overstayers are more likely to face more stringent penalty now. The fact that OP wants to use the overstay period to travel to Spain & Portugal and from Greece(hotbed of migration) makes him susceptible to being controlled even for intra-schengen travel. If caught overstaying while travelling within Schengen may attract harsher penalties (or even deportation). (1/2) – RedBaron Oct 07 '16 at 04:52
  • Maybe you can improve this answer by pointing out how long ago this worked and why it may not be a good option now. (2/2) – RedBaron Oct 07 '16 at 04:57