I am a non-EU national, permanent UK Resident. Recently, my work issued me with a multiple Schengen visa with Norway as the first (main) point of entry. Now I want to go on holidays to Greece - do I need to apply to Schengen visa again, as Greece is not Norway and I am not going there for work?
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4Have you been to Norway yet?– GagravarrCommented May 9, 2014 at 7:51
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3If you have already used the visa, it's perfectly fine. If it's your first trip to the Schengen area on this visa, it's a bit of a grey area. Also, is your visa valid for more than six months?– RelaxedCommented May 9, 2014 at 7:52
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Hi, thanks for your response. This will be the first time I'll be travelling on this particular visa (great timing, eh?), and the visa is valid for 1 year.– user13581Commented May 9, 2014 at 7:59
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4See also travel.stackexchange.com/questions/9646/…– RelaxedCommented May 9, 2014 at 8:13
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1 Answer
The visa is not specific to a country or purpose, it's valid for all short stays in the Schengen area. It's also perfectly fine to enter the Schengen area through another country (say connect through an airport in France or Germany) if your main destination is Norway.
Where things get complicated is that if you don't use the visa for its intended purpose, border guards could in principle rule that the conditions for issuing it are no longer met and revoke it. However, if your visa is a circulation visa (multiple-entry visa, valid for more than six months), it should also be completely fine to use it for multiple purposes. Having used it at least once for its main purpose (i.e. going to Norway for work) should help too.
You could maybe take some documentation of past or future trips to Norway with you in case you are questioned (the point being to show that Norway is your usual main destination). In all likelihood, you won't even be asked about it. I am just guessing but I think your profile (permanent UK resident, with a multiple-entry visa from Norway) is not going to raise red flags. If you did not reside in Europe, had a single entry visa and this was your first trip to the Schengen area, border guards would probably be much more suspicious.
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Thanks :) What will happen if I decide to play goody two shoes and go to Greek Embassy? Will they give me another "tourist" schengen, valid for a time of the holiday? Cancel excisting multiple-entry one? Put some kind of a note on it, saying that I intend to go to Greece? Holiday package is booked for the second week in June, and the chances of business trip to Norway prior to this are slim to none. Commented May 9, 2014 at 8:28
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5@user13581 Not sure what they can do but they definitely can't give you another visa if you already have a valid one and they wouldn't revoke the existing one either (Norway should do it I think). With a holiday package booked and all the documentation I think Greek border guards will have no problem letting you in, they are concerned about people with incoherent stories that might try to immigrate illegally but they very much welcome tourism.– RelaxedCommented May 9, 2014 at 8:38
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3@user13581 Have you been to Norway on another visa (with entry and exit stamps still in your passport)? It could be another way to show it's your usual main destination.– RelaxedCommented May 9, 2014 at 10:12
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Do you have a proof of this statement: "The visa is not specific to a purpose"? I had several Schengen visas that explicitly said "tourism" in the "Remarks" field. Commented Aug 31, 2018 at 6:19
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1@AlexanderPozdneev There is no provision for this anywhere in the Schengen visa code. It's legally baseless and possibly questionable. For visa to have a purpose that's enforced across the area, you would need the visa code to be formulated differently.– RelaxedCommented Sep 9, 2018 at 12:31