How to get a tourist Schengen visa?

According to the uniform rules for the Schengen area countries, a citizen of Kazakhstan can submit documents no earlier than six months before the start of planned trip and no later than 15 calendar days before the departure from the republic (including the days of visa submission and issuance at the visa center). In some cases, the applications review period may be extended up to 45 days.

In all Schengen area countries, a single consular fee is set:

• for adult citizens of Kazakhstan - 90 euros;
• for children over 6 years old and under 12 years old - 45 euros.

The following are exempt from paying of consular fee:

• children under the age of 6;
• family members of citizens of the European Union or the European Economic Area.

The payment is made strictly in Kazakhstani tenge at the exchange rate at the cash desk of the visa center. In addition to the fee, you will need to pay for the services of the visa center. In the case of a visa denial, the payment is not refundable.

On a tourist visa, the maximum stay in the countries is 90 days every 180 days. This may be several trips during the specified period and they should not exceed a 90 days in total.

The Schengen area consists of 29 states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Croatia.

In addition, there are countries that allow an entry based on the Schengen visa: Cyprus.

If the one is planning a trip to a certain country of the Schengen area, then everything is relatively simple. It is necessary to take a visa to the country of the planned trip. If it is supposed to visit several countries during the trip, then formally, when obtaining a visa to the Schengen area, you must adhere to the two rules:

• A main country rule. The bottom line is that the one needs to get a visa for the main country of travel, i.e. the country of the Schengen area wherein the one will be staying for certain the most number of days during the trip.
• A first country rule. It works only if the rule of the main country does not work, i.e. it is not possible to determine the main country of travel. In other words, in all countries the one will be staying an equal number of days. In this case, you the one will apply for a visa at the consulate of the first visit country.

For example:

A family intends to spend one day in Prague (Czech Republic), three days in Rome (Italy), from there go to Milan (Italy) for two days, then to Switzerland for two days and finish the trip in Vienna (Austria) staying there for three days. The flight tickets on the route: Almaty - Prague; Vienna - Almaty.

Based on the number of days, the five days that is the maximum length of stay in Italy and despite the fact that the Czech Republic is a Schengen country and travelers will fly there, the visa applications must be submitted to the Italian embassy.

Steps for obtaining a tourist Schengen visa:

• filling out an application form;
• collection of required documents for obtaining a tourist visa;
• schedule a meeting for an application submission;
• interview and application submission;
• biometric data submission;
• consular fees payment;
• application processing;
• obtaining a passport;
• visa sticker check;
• an entry into the country of destination.

For each Schengen agreement area country there are own criteria for a required documents list, but in general, the requirements are common. The following documents are required to obtain the tourist visa:

1. Properly completed and personally signed Schengen visa application form for each applicant;
2. Two current color biometric photographs (3.5 x 4.5 cm) wherein a face of the applicant should occupy at least 70-80% of the picture;
3. A passport valid for at least 3 months after the date of return. The validity of the passport should not exceed 10 years. The passport must have at least 2 blank pages;
4. For non-residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan: an original + a copy of the residence permit or work permit and/or work visa or temporary residence permit;
5. Documents confirming the stay in the Shengen area country such as confirmation of the hotel reservation, residential reservation or a copy of lease agreement;
6. Certificate from the job placement (in Russian и/or English language depending on the embassy requirement) certifying the position occupied, salary, as well as a on leave of absence order;
7. Certificate from a bank on the availability of funds in the account + current account statement (an established bank statement form, the term of submission and fee must be checked out in the bank branch. The bank account must be linked to the payment card and there must be money funds movement within three months period. The currency of the account does not matter though the sufficiency of funds is important );
8. A marital status confirming document that is a marriage certificate;
9. Health insurance;
10. A booked round-trip air ticket (it is better if a ticket is not paid yet at the moment of applying to a visa!).
11. Copies of previously issued Schengen visas (if applicable)

Important! The consulate may request additional documents required to process the application. The provision of the above documents does not automatically result in opening of the visa.

In recent years in Kazakhstan most of the Schengen area countries embassies have transferred the procedure of documents submission and getting passports with visas to the visa centers. These are private companies that have an exclusive agreement with a representative office of the particular state of Europe. The website of the embassy of the country where the one intends to visit should contain an information with the name of the visa center and its contact details.

The center website contains an information on the procedure for visa documents preparation and submission, how the one can get into an electronic queue and in what timeframe the one needs to submit the documents. The questions can be addressed by contacting to the phone numbers provided.

Please, note that the embassy staff will not advise on obtaining the visa if this function is designated to the visa center.

When applying for a visa, biometric data (fingerprints) are taken from the applicant.