Good morning!
My wife is a US Permanent Resident but a citizen of the Philippines so she will be needing to get a Schengen Visa for our upcoming trip to Switzerland and Italy. Our flight will be arriving in Zurich and departing from Milan. We are staying in Switzerland for 5 days and Italy for 7 days. In our past travels to Europe we have always applied at the consulate of the first country that we entered. In this case that would mean we would have to travel from Austin to Atlanta to apply which would make for a really expensive Schengen Visa! If we were to apply at the Italian Consulate we would be able to do so in Houston which is a nice 2 hour drive from Austin. The rules seem to be rather vague about applying at your point of entry versus applying at the country where you will be spending the majority of you time. I thought that someone may have come across this situation before and could provide some helpful feedback.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32318 posts
rc,
I've never had to deal with that situation, but I don't believe it matters which Consulate you apply at. Any of the Schengen member states can issue the Visa, which will allow for travel in the entire Schengen area. In the same situation, I'd probably give them a call or send an E-mail.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7895 posts
Most people that have dealt with the rules are going after an extebded residence visa, in that case, rather than first arrival country, you usually apply for the country where you will be residing or will be spending the most time.
Under that assumption (7 days vs 5 days though is not much difference) I would approach the Italian consulate first, the worst they can do is turn you away. The rules are rather vague and I doubt there would be any issue arriving in Zurich with an Italian issued Visa (face it, your plane could very well have stopped in France first en route, even though you would not be staying there, they would process you through immigration)
Posted by
Seattle, WA, United States
873 posts
IIRC, you must apply with the country where you will be spending the most time. You apply to the country of first entry only if you plan to spend equal amounts of time in each county. On my first trip, I was not yet a U.S. citizen and had to apply for a Schengen visa -- although Germany was the 4th country I entered on that trip, I stayed there the longest and therefore went through the German consulate to get my visa. Thus, you should apply through through the Italian consulate, which sounds like good news for you!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32318 posts
It's important to note in this case that the OP is applying for a standard tourist visa, and not an extended stay visa. As the time in each country will be about equal, I doubt that it will matter which Embassy the application is submitted at. As the Italian Consulate is closer, I'd suggest starting there.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Thanks so much for the advice and all the very helpful information! I will be contacting the Italian Consulate on Monday to get the process underway. This site is always a wonderful source of advice ,suggestions and such. Thanks again!