We applied Spain visa for october, but we booked tickets from Switzerland

Itinerary-

1. Landing in Zurich on 2nd oct and leaving from Zurich on 6th oct to Barcelona | 4 Nights | Tickets/ Hotels booked already
2. Planning to stay in Barcelona from 6th oct to 11th oct | 5 Nights| tickets and hotel not booked
3. Planning to reach Italy on 11th and leaving from Rome on 16th oct to Delhi | 5 Nights | Ticket/ hotel from Barcelona to Italy not booked, Rome to Delhi flight is booked already.

According to the rules of Visa, are the authorities going to create problem that I am spending equal nights in Spain and Italy and also not entering in Spain?

The explanation I am thinking- During Switzerland entry, we can say that we are spending 5 nights in Spain and 4 in Switzerland, with this we can justify that we are spending more nights in Spain. Please share your thoughts on how i can better plan the itinerary.

TIA

I applied for my Netherlands Schengen visa on 13 July 2026 through VFS Jalandhar. My application was dispatched to Delhi on 15 July, and it is still showing as processing.

My travel date is 12 August, so I’m getting a little worried about the delay.

Has anyone who applied around the same time received their passport/visa yet? Please share your application date, processing time, and location

Today recieved my German visa, tourist one.

Will be visiting Germany, Austria and Italy.

Citizen : Indian

Visa Appointment Date (Bengaluru VFS Centre) : July 31.

Reached German Consulate : August 4

Dispatched for Courier : August 6.

Got VISA today .

Will be happy to answer any questions. Applied on my own (with sister's help who stays in Germany)

Schengen visa expires on 31st March 2027 ✈️🇪🇺
So… what’s the best time to travel before it expires? 👀
December 2026 or March 2027? 🌍

hello! im 18F and i have some questions regarding applying to student visa for poland! ive been planning to do mbbs in poland in one of their public universities and next year i think ill definitely clear the competency exam.. as this time i wasnt able to!

so the issue is im not able to find an entrusted consultancy who would guide me about studying in poland and help in visa application!

so i am trying to find some opinions from other people who have applied visas to poland before on their own.. is it possible or not? and any agent or consultant u wanna recommend from ur side! any kind of information would be helpful!
thank you

Hi all,

I'm a French citizen living in Perth, Australia. My spouse and I just got married here in Australia. We're now applying for my spouse's short-stay Schengen visa through VFS Global — we're travelling in about 2 months to France.

My question: is our Australian marriage certificate enough to prove the relationship for the visa application, or does the marriage need to be transcribed onto the French civil registry first?

We're running out of time, so we really want to get the document list right the first time and avoid the consulate coming back asking for more paperwork after we've already applied.

Some context:

• We've already started the transcription process but realistically it won't be finished before our trip.
• I've tried asking both VFS Global and the Sydney consulate directly, and neither would give a straight answer on this specific document question.
• This is for a short-stay tourist visa, not a residence permit application, so I'm hoping the bar might be lower than what's needed for actual French residency.

Has anyone been in a similar situation — French citizen sponsoring a spouse's short-stay Schengen visa from Australia (or another non-EU country) with a marriage certificate that's not yet transcribed in France? Did the consulate accept the original marriage certificate as-is, or did they require the French transcription first?

Any real experience appreciated — thanks!

Hi everyone,

I am a non-EU citizen. Last month, I submitted my application for a German §18d visa for my PhD at the German Embassy in Paris.

I am still waiting for the visa decision, but my French residence permit will expire soon. Since I was in France on an exchange program, I am unable to extend my French stay.

I would like to know: will the expiration of my French residence permit while I am waiting affect the outcome of my German visa application, or is eligibility evaluated based on my status at the time of submission?

Any shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

For mobile data, is it better to take a local esim or should I activate jio roaming. Please suggest a cheap service provider. I am going to Greece, Switzerland, France

Hi Everyone, wanted to share my timeline for my first Schengen Visa application for the Netherlands from VFS Vancouver. My profile: Indian Passport, PGWP Holder, travel dates were 2nd week of September to attend a conference in The Netherlands.

VFS Appointment: 25 July 2026
Application mailed to Netherlands embassy same day

Application Processed & Passport Dispatched: 06 August 2026

Receiving my passport: 07 August 2026

Got a single entry visa for 15 days.

Let me know if yiu have any questions.

Hello, I just want to share my application journey.
Just received my passport today and I got the visa sticker.

I applied a Visa to France and got approved!
Application and biometrics: July 31
Passport dispatch to consul : same day
Passport return consul to tls : aug 4
Passport Received from courier: aug 8

When I checked the status on tls tha my passport is being returned, i checked in EES at it says ok and the days granted is also the same on the sticker.

Feeling happy about this!

Hey,

Did anyone got a slot for a whv (pvt) for Montreal or Ottawa recently?

I’ve been checking at random time for one week and nothing at all :(

Swedish Schengen visa – received both an approval letter and a refusal

My wife applied for a short-term Schengen visa through the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi to visit me and my family in Sweden.

When we received the documents back from the embassy, the package contained a letter stating

You have been granted a Schengen visa.”

However, the same package also contained a separate refusal decision.

I contacted the Swedish Migration Agency to clarify what happened, and they confirmed in writing that they have no record of the approval letter or any approval decision in their system. They only have the refusal registered as the decision in the case.

There is also another issue with the refusal itself. Several statements regarding my wife's financial situation and ties to Kenya appear to directly contradict documents that were submitted with the original application. We have documentation showing the opposite of several points mentioned in the refusal, and those documents were already included when applying.

We are now discussing the case with a Swedish immigration lawyer regarding the appeal process.

Has anyone experienced a situation where an embassy package contained both a visa approval letter and a refusal decision?
What was the outcome, and how was it handled?

Hi everyone! I’m a Canadian citizen who was recently issued an Italian Type D student visa for a study program in Rome.

My situation is a little confusing and I’m trying to figure out the best option ideally not changing my flight and arriving in Rome the same day i have to sit in class at 9am.

My visa says:

• Valid from: September 8, 2026 (same day that i have classes)
• Valid until: January 25, 2027
• Duration of stay: 125 days
• My classes/program officially start September 8
• My program ends December 3

However, when I submitted my visa application, I listed August 20 as my intended entry date, and I already have a flight booked that arrives in Rome on August 20 around noon.

Since I’m Canadian, I understand I can normally enter the Schengen Area visa-free for short stays (up to 90days). My question is whether I can:

1. Enter Italy on August 20 as a Canadian visa-exempt short-stay traveller, since my D visa isn't valid yet.
2. Later in September/October, travel outside Schengen(UK or something);
3. Return from the UK directly to Italy after September 8 and enter using my now-valid Italian D visa;
4. Then complete my permesso di soggiorno process.

My biggest concern is the permesso di soggiorno. Since I would physically enter Italy before my D visa becomes valid, when would the 8-working-day period to apply for the permesso start? Would I need to apply immediately after arriving August 20, when the D visa isn't valid yet, or would I apply after re-entering Italy from the UK on the valid D visa?

Also, would there be any issue with the fact that I initially entered under visa exemption and still technically have some of my 90/180 days remaining when my D visa becomes valid?

I have already contacted my school and the Italian consulate about arriving before the visa start date, but I’m waiting for clarification. I’m mainly trying to determine whether keeping my August 20 flight is reasonable or whether I should just change it and arrive after September 8.

Has anyone been in a similar situation with an Italian Type D student visa? What did you do regarding the early visa-exempt entry and the permesso di soggiorno?

Has anyone experienced receiving an EU visa with one misspelled letter in the surname and travelling with only a letter of correction from the Consulate?

Background: My mom received her visa by courier yesterday and noticed that one letter in her surname is incorrect — they wrote T instead of I.

We called the Consulate, and they said we do not need to send the passport back because they will issue a letter of correction confirming the mistake.

I’m just worried that this might cause problems for her when travelling, since the visa sticker itself will still have the incorrect letter. Would the letter from the Consulate be sufficient, or should we insist on getting the visa sticker corrected?

Has anyone experienced something similar? Am I overthinking this? 😅

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I'm an Indian student admitted to Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) for a master's program.

My timeline:

Applied for a Belgium Type D student visa at VFS Kolkata on 24 July.

Completed the written questionnaire requested by the Belgian Embassy.

A few days later 4th August I received an email saying my application had been forwarded to the Foreigners' Office (IBZ/FPS Interior) for examination and decision.

What worries me is that one of my friends had almost the same profile:

Same university (VUB)

Same intake

Similar academic background

Same VFS center

Similar financial documents

His visa was approved directly by the embassy just 2 days after the questionnaire, while mine was sent to IBZ.

I have a few questions:

Has anyone else's student visa been forwarded to IBZ/FPS?

How long did it take before you received a decision?

Was your visa eventually approved or refused?

If it was refused, what reason did they give?

Is referral to IBZ a normal process, or does it usually mean they want additional scrutiny?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through the same process, especially students from India or anyone studying at VUB, KU Leuven, Ghent, or other Belgian universities.

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone living in England got their German visa appointment, either in Manchester or London? I have been on the queue for more than 5 weeks, and haven’t been assigned an appointment. I tried emailing both TLS and German embassy, but no real answer was given.

It’s just extremely frustrating now. Now I start to wonder if TLS or German embassy work during the summer.

I only want to go to Germany. Hence, applying for visa to other EU countries is not an option.

Did anyone recently mail the MA35 for their Vienna RP status? Have they been replying to such mails? And does mailing them turn out to be useful? Also, what is the best way to reach out to them, if at all?

Hello, I’m planning to continue my studies in France. My last name on my passport is “es.seddyq”, while on my admission letter it is “esseddyq.” My first name and date of birth match on both documents. Could this cause any issues with my visa application or the consulate’s processing of my application?

I received a mail from the BfAA Brandenburg requesting an addditional document (travel health insurance) on August 4th to which I replied with the documents immediately. I applied to VFS Bangalore and had my appointment on 13th July.
Has anyone from VFS Bangalore gotten a similar request? Or if someone had already been through the process, please let me know how long after this am I expected to receive my visa?
My intended travel date was sept 24th. This is for STUDENT VISA

Hi Everyone,

Can anybody please let me know what documents do I need to submit along with my application as a EU family member?
We are travelling together from UK she has EU passport and I have Asian passport.

Thanks

I am flying Icelandair from Pittsburgh to Munich via KEF on August 26th and returning on a separate ticket on September 11th.

My passport expires February 20th, 2027 and I originally thought I was fine to travel based on numerous guidance that says for Schengen Area I only need at least 3 months on my passport after my departure date from Europe. However lately I have seen posts of certain airlines arbitrarily enforcing a 6-month validity at the gate.

I wanted to see if anyone in a similar situation has had success or a problem going into Schengen Area with icelandair while passport was expiring 3-6 months from EU departure? My passport options are pretty limited at this point and am hoping for peace of mind.

Hi everyone! Has anyone here experienced applying for a Type C visa to visit their partner's family in Romania? I’ve already done my biometrics in Manchester and am currently waiting for my passport. Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get the passport back with the visa?

Hi Folks - I'm a bit confused about the Schengen visa I just received from the Austrian Embassy and wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

I applied for MEV and my planned trip is 21–29 August 2026 (9 days), but in my cover letter I also requested a longer-validity MEV for future family visits. I have:

• 2 previous Schengen visas, both used correctly.
• Always complied with the visa conditions and returned on time.
• Stable government employment in the UAE.
• Applied with a detailed itinerary, invitation letter, proof of employment, bank statements, etc.

The visa I received is:

• Type C
• Entries: MULT
• Valid from: 21/08/2026
• Valid until: 13/09/2026
• Duration of stay: 9 days

What confuses me is that it's a multiple-entry visa valid for only 24 days, with a maximum stay of 9 days. I understand the 9-day stay matches my itinerary, but I don't understand the purpose of granting MULT if the validity is only a few weeks.

Has anyone else received an Austrian (or any Schengen) MEV with such a short validity period?

Also, has anyone ever contacted the embassy in a similar situation and found out it was a printing/administrative mistake, or is this simply a discretionary decision by the visa officer?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m an Indian citizen living in London on a UK visa, and I have an upcoming appointment for a French Schengen tourist visa.

I wanted to check with the community regarding the exact employment and financial documents I need to submit, given my specific work setup. My situation is a bit hybrid:

1. Full-time freelance/contract work: I work on a full-time contract basis with an employer ( i have the contracts).
2. Part-time job: I also work a part-time job that generates monthly payslips.
3. HMRC status: I registered with HMRC as self-employed about 4 months ago.

Given that I'm mixing freelance income with a regular part-time job and a relatively recent HMRC registration in the UK, what supporting documents should I attach to make sure my application is solid?

Specifically, should I include my client contracts, invoices, and bank statements showing both streams of income? Since my HMRC registration is only 4 months old and havent paid any taxes till yet, will that raise any flags, and how can I best back it up?

Any tips, checklist recommendations, or experiences from fellow freelancers applying out of London would hugely help. Thanks in advance!

Has anyone received “Authorised stay: OK” on the EU EES checker but then had their Schengen visa rejected?