Currently I have a tourist visa (multi-entry for 1 year) issued by Spain. I would like to visit friends in Germany for 4 weeks and travel around. I will stay at my friends homes. Question is if I can enter Germany without a hotel-booking for those 4 weeks? And/or would I need some kind of invitation, or guarantee confirmation letter from my friends stating that they will give me shelter, food, etc. for those 4 weeks?
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8You might get in without such a letter, but it won't hurt to have it, and if you're asked about your accommodations by a skeptical border officer, it will certainly help. It's not required to have a hotel booking; people visit friends as their house guests all the time.– phoogSep 23, 2016 at 13:44
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@phoog this should be an answer.– user4188Sep 28, 2016 at 13:38
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I don´t understand why anyone would ask for where you stay in Germany? My gf is Australian and had a tourist visa for europe before, no one asks her when she traveled Europe where she stays as long as the visa is valid.– sebSep 29, 2016 at 6:31
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@Klettseb Holders of visas are often scrutinised more carefully, at least in Zurich (can't speak for other Airports). If your gf visited for 90 days or less, she did not have a visa– CrazydreOct 2, 2016 at 2:26
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@Klettseb: That must have been a long time ago; these days Austrailans cannot get short-stay Schengen visas at all, since they are already visa-free. In any case, how much questioning an arriving foreigner receives is largely up to the snap judgement of the border guards at the ground, and so varies both from country to country, from guard to guard and (especially) from traveler to traveler. If you're picked out for deeper questioning, where you're going to sleep is definitely something that can be asked about.– hmakholm left over MonicaOct 2, 2016 at 6:24
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1 Answer
Question is if I can enter Germany without a hotel-booking for those 4 weeks?
Yes (assuming the 4 weeks are within the year of your visa). You may be confusing authorisation to apply to enter the Schengen area (which you now have) with authorisation to travel around the Schengen area (which, with a few exceptions, everybody inside the Schengen area has).
In applying for a visa (for Spain) you satisfied the authorities that you would not be a drain on the Spanish state and, given that you were granted a multi-entry visa, not on other Schengen states either (even though Germany may well be considerably more expensive to live in than Spain!).
And/or would I need some kind of invitation, or guarantee confirmation letter from my friends stating that they will give me shelter, food, etc. for those 4 weeks?
No. Such considerations are relevant to deciding whether or not to grant you a visa. You already have a visa, so these are no longer relevant.
However, bear in mind days in Germany as well as Spain count towards the 90 days maximum allowed in any 180 day period.
