0

I will be flying to Austria, then driving to Slovakia and the Czech Republic. I am not an EU or US citizen. I will be flying out of and back to JFK (Indian passport with a valid US visa).

Do I need a Schengen visa for this trip? Which embassy should I apply to, or do I need to apply/notify the embassies of all three countries?

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    I can’t answer the core question, but if you need a visa, it will be for the whole Schengen area, and it will come from the country you enter first (so Austria). It depends alot on what citizenship you have, you need to add that to the qestion.
    – Aganju
    Dec 27, 2017 at 23:07
  • 1
    @Aganju first port of call if only all length of stays in individual schengen countries are equal - otherwise, you need to apply for a visa from the country classed as your "main destination".
    – user29788
    Dec 28, 2017 at 3:42
  • 1
    There is a long list of countries whose country citizens do not need visas. Without knowing whether you are a citizen of one of those countries, we cannot answer your question.
    – phoog
    Dec 28, 2017 at 3:48
  • "I am not an EU or US citizen." Yeah. But that leaves a lot of possibilities... Without knowing your citizenship, your question is unanswerable.
    – user67108
    Dec 28, 2017 at 6:24
  • Citizenship added.
    – Quest Monger
    Dec 28, 2017 at 6:29

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

Travel to the Schengen area requires a visa unless you are a citizen from a nation which is allowed visa-free entry (Austrian list here), or you qualify for different travel rules some other way. If you need a visa:

  • US residency makes getting a visa more likely because you already live in an industrialized country. There are relatively few illegal immigrants from the US to Europe, and Europeans don't worry much about them.
  • A valid US visa makes getting a visa slightly more likely because you have already been vetted by a relatively strict country, and because you would have the "opportunity" to overstay in the US instead of Europe. That makes it less likely that you become an illegal immigrant in Europe.

If you do require a visa, you have to apply only once. You apply at the main destination of your trip. Usually this is the country where you will stay longest.

Improve this answer
1

Yes, you need a Schengen visa.

I sense from the way that you've written your question that you've misunderstood what Schengen is. "Schengen visa" is like, say, "U.S. Visa", not like "tourist visa". The countries of the Schengen zone have decided that they will issue visas collectively, rather than each country issuing its own visas. There is no longer any such thing as an Austrian visa, Slovak visa or Czech visa: anybody travelling to any of those countries (and 23 others) who requires a visa requires a Schengen visa. (Analogously, there's no such thing as a Massachusetts visa: anybody who wants to travel there and who needs a visa needs to get a U.S. visa.)

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .