SCHENGEN VISA RULES

By the way, we did NOT stick to our original itinerary (5 days in every country) - we spent more time in Germany, for example, than we did in Luxembourg. It's no problem once you are there. Just don't overstay the visa.

We have done the same thing a couple times. Our last trip we did Spain, Portugal and France, with a side trip to Morocco from Spain in the middle - this complicated things a bit since we went USA -> Portugal -> Spain, then we flew from Spain to Morocco, then Morocco to France. So we needed a visa with two entries to the Schengen zone (first entry when we flew from USA to Lisbon, second entry when we flew from Morocco to Paris).

We did the same thing for this visa: we said we would be x days in Spain, x days in Portugal, and x days in France, with all 3 the same number. Applied to Portugal for visa since that was our entry point, and we gave them the hotel in Lisbon where we already had reservations for our arrival. It worked out fine with no troubles.

Good luck and have a great trip.

One last item: remember that the visa is for ONE entry to the Schengen zone (unless you ask for more than one). So if you leave the Schengen zone, you probably will not be able to get back in (not all of Europe is part of the Schengen agreement - the UK is not, and Switzerland may not be, I'm not sure). Just be aware of which countries are part of the agreement and which are not, and stay in the zone (or get a visa with more than one "entry").

FYI--Benelux is not a country. It a region made up of three countries--Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg.

None of the prior questions on this forum, about Schengen visa rules, have involved a citizen of India.

We have some knowledge of how these rules apply to citizens of the USA or Canada, and it makes a difference in what the rules are--I do know that much.

For that reason, I'm guessing that few if any here will be able to give you guaranteed reliable and accurate advice on this question (but I've been surprised before, when I post a statement such as this, there's usually someone who proves me wrong, and we all benefit from that--we'll see if it happens this time).

I suggest you'll have a better chance of getting reliable advice if you ask this question of officials or others whose jobs require them to know about the Schengen rules as they apply to a citizen of India.

We'd like to help but want to make sure we give reliable advice.

(Also, if you send further messages, may we request that you not type in ALL CAPS, as it's considered shouting per the etiquette followed on this forum. Thank you! and sorry we couldn't be more help.)

OK, I can probably shed some light on this. And I'll do it without shouting...

My wife has a Thai passport (Thai citizen) but holds a US "green card" (permanent resident alien). If you hold a US green card, I'm sure the situation would be the same. Even if you do not, it may be the same (the "Green card" is mostly used for getting back into the US).

We've been through the drill a few times on trips where we were going to be in multiple Schengen countries. The rules for Schengen visas are actually a little fuzzy (as you have seen).

The basic rule is: you apply to the embassy/consulate of the country where you will be spending MOST of your time in Europe, so if you planned to arrive in Netherlands but would be mostly in Germany, you have to apply for the visa from Germany. If you are not really going to be in any one country more than any other, you have to apply for the visa from the country where you arrive. They will ask for your itinerary and for names of hotels where you will be staying. This may be a problem with you are planning to book hotels as you go. Here is what we have done: first, provide them with an itinerary that shows that your time will be equally divided between 2 or more countries (say, we will be in Netherlands 5 days, Belgium for 5 days, France for 5 days...make sure no country gets more days than another!). Plan your arrival city (e.g. Amsterdam) and make your hotel reservation for that city. When you apply for the visa, it will be for the country of arrival, and give them the name of the hotel you will be staying at initially. Then say you will make hotel reservations as you go along (so you can't give them every hotel).

Be careful not to give them TOO MUCH information. Why....details in follow up post...

Be careful to only give them the information they need, no more. I do detailed travel planning for my trips, with maps that appear professionally produced (I'm just like that). We were planning a month-long trip to Holland, Belgium, Lux, Germany & Austria. We were to arrive in Amsterdam, so I contacted the Dutch consulate for my wife's visa (I'm a US citizen, no visa needed). I faxed our itinerary to the consulate, complete with a detailed map. They thought we were part of an organized tour (I guess the map was too nice), they asked for info about the tour company, and the name of every hotel. They also said that we were going to spend 2 days more in Germany than in Holland, so we had to get the visa from Germany. I contacted the German consulate, and they said we had to get the visa from Holland because we would arrive in Amsterdam. I got the feeling each country just wanted us to get the visa from someone else (less work for them). So I re-submitted the visa application for Holland, this time I omitted the map, and I just gave a brief itinerary (5 days Holland, 5 days Belgium, 5 days Luxembourg, 5 days Germany, 5 days Austria) - with each country having equal days, and provided the hotel we had for our first few days in Amsterdam (we already had our reservations there). I wrote a letter explaining that we were traveling independently, and would make hotel reservations as we went. It worked.

So I recommend: tell how many days you need (list day of arrival and day of departure), divide the days equally between all countries (if they don't divide equally, give extra days to the arrival country), list all the countries, give hotel of your arrival city (get reservation there first). Give copy of your air ticket in and out, but don't give them any information beyond what they specifically ask for.

The visa will not list every country you ask for, it's good for all Schengen countries, but the entry point will be listed.