FAQ

There are close to thirty. Türkiye, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, the Maldives, China and Morocco are among them. The list is not fixed: Montenegro began requiring a visa in January 2026. Check the current position before you buy a ticket.

Twenty-nine. One visa covers the whole zone — with a visa issued by Italy you can also travel to France and Germany. But you cannot apply to whichever country you like; there are rules for that.

The one where you will spend the most days. If the time is divided equally, you apply to the country you enter first. Consulates check this against hotel bookings, so the itinerary has to match the documents. Breaking the rule can lead to a refusal.

Allow three to four weeks for Schengen and two months for Britain and Ireland. For the United States the main wait is the appointment queue, and that is sometimes measured in months. The summer months, Novruz and the run-up to New Year are the busiest periods. You can submit a Schengen application up to six months before the trip.

You do not need a visa, but border control remains. You may be asked for a return ticket, the address where you will stay and funds showing you can cover the cost of the trip. If the answers are not convincing, a visa-free arrangement is no guarantee of entry.

There is no official minimum; the calculation is based on the length of the trip. For a one-week Schengen trip a balance of around 2,500–3,000 manats is considered normal. Britain works to roughly £100–150 a day. Funds that have sat in the account for a few weeks make a far better impression than a sum transferred in two days before the application.

Most consulates ask for a translation into English. The difference lies in notarisation: Germany does not require it, Greece does. It has to be confirmed according to the country you are applying to.

Yes. If you are self-employed, a copy of your tax number, a turnover statement from the tax office and a register extract take the place of a letter from an employer. If you are a student, a letter from your university is enough. If you have neither, a sponsor funding the trip is named — their income documents and proof of their relationship to you are attached.

A birth certificate, and if one parent is not travelling, their notarised consent. South Africa asks for the international form of this document and applies the rule strictly — it is one of the details most often overlooked. A separate form is completed for the child, while the fee is usually lower or not charged at all.

No, a booking is enough. Do not buy a paid ticket: if the visa is refused you lose the money. Consulates know this and accept a booking document as normal.

For Schengen, at least three months after the end of the trip. Most Asian and African countries ask for six. Britain is the exception here — there the passport only needs to cover the period of stay, with no additional six-month condition.

No. The fee is the charge for processing the application and does not depend on the outcome. It is not returned even if the decision is a refusal.

For Schengen usually 10–15 working days, and in complex cases it can stretch to 45. E-visas come through in one to five days. Britain and Ireland take longer. When a consulate is busy these figures can double, so do not leave it to the last week.

Some consulates offer it and the fee is usually double. It is not available in every country. The important point is this: priority processing means the answer arrives sooner, not that the visa will be granted.

In the Schengen system fingerprints are kept for 59 months — about five years. During that period you do not have to give them again for a new application, and someone else can submit the documents on your behalf.

If fingerprints are needed, yes. If your previous biometric data is still valid, in many cases the documents can be submitted by proxy.

First read the code in the refusal letter — the reason is given there. In practice three reasons dominate: weak financial documents, a poorly justified purpose of travel, and an unconvincing intention to return. Once the reason has been removed, you can apply again.

There is no official waiting period; you can apply the very next day. But an application made with the same documents will get the same answer. Something has to change: stronger financial documents, a clearer itinerary, a more convincing letter from your employer.

A record stays in the passport and the next consulate sees it. That does not mean an automatic second refusal. If the reason has been properly removed, the effect is minimal — a document file explaining why the earlier application was rejected is often enough.

Schengen countries reply with standard codes and it is clear which point was the problem. Britain sets out the reason in more detail. The United States usually cites only a section of the law; the most common is 214(b), which means the intention to return was not proved.

In the Schengen zone you may stay a total of 90 days within any 180-day period. The count is made backwards: the 180 days before the day of entry are examined and the days you spent in the zone during that period are added up. A multiple-entry visa does not raise this limit.

Yes. A visa is the right to apply for entry, not a guarantee of it. The border officer may ask about the purpose of your trip, where you will stay and your funds. Keeping a copy of the hotel booking and ticket confirmation in your hand luggage is practical.

No. Tourist and business visas do not give the right to work. If it comes to light the consequences are serious: removal from the country and a long ban on entry.

C is short-stay — up to 90 days, for tourism and business trips. D is a national visa: it is issued for long stays such as study, work and family reunification, and is usually the first step towards a residence permit.

It is not granted automatically. If you have used your previous visas according to the rules — returned on time, not overstayed — the consulate may give you a longer period next time. On a first application you are usually given a single-entry visa matching your travel dates.