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I am planning to go to Amsterdam on May 20, 2018 from New Delhi, India. However, when I tried to apply for a visa appointment with the Netherlands VFS in Delhi, the earliest appointment date was May 9. Since the visa processing time is 2 to 3 weeks, it doesn't make sense for me to schedule an appointment as the departure date is too close to the appointment date.

So can I apply for my visa through the German VFS, as I can get an earlier appointment date there? My port of entry and exit would be Amsterdam, and yes, I will be travelling to Germany and other EU countries as well, but my main duration of stay would be in Amsterdam. Around 8 to 9 days there, 3 in Germany and so on.

Everywhere it's written that you have to apply for your visa at the country where you will be staying the most or the port of entry. But here, I will be applying through the German VFS and staying the most in the Netherlands and the port of entry and exit is Amsterdam.

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  • I will show in my itinerary that ill be staying in getmany for 8 days and in netherlands for 4 . But in actual, will be staying in netherlands for 8 days. And , dont alot of people change their itinerary anyway after they get the visa?
    – user76569
    Apr 18, 2018 at 2:10
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    People do change their itineraries for various reasons, but if you change it significantly after applying for your visa, you could face suspicion at the port of entry or even be denied entry (as a random example, see this previous question).
    – Zach Lipton
    Apr 18, 2018 at 9:41
  • Europe is tiny, but with good roads and railways. Emmerich DE is a 90 minute drive from Amsterdam. (it's 2 hours by rail with awkward train changes, but I wasn't looking for "easy access by rail". A search actually for that would do much better.) That's what I do when I visit any large city, stay in the 'burbs and train/drive in, and 1:30 drive/2:00 rail is only about 30 minutes longer than what I do. Your hotel reservation is in Germany, you sleep in Germany, you evening dine in Germany, sounds like "visiting Germany" to me.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Apr 18, 2018 at 16:31

3 Answers 3

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No. Generally, only one Schengen country is competent to receive your application, and the others will send it back to you if you've submitted to the wrong place. As described here:

You must apply for the visa at a mission of the Schengen country of your journey’s main destination or the Schengen country where you intend to stay the longest. If you will be staying an equal length of time in more than one Schengen country and cannot designate one of these countries as the country of your main destination, you must apply for your visa at the mission of the first Schengen country you intend to enter.

Your main destination is generally where you intend to stay the longest (or the first for equal lengths), though if you're traveling mainly for some particular purpose (e.g. a conference in Germany), you might convince that country it is your main destination.

To apply for a visa from Germany, you'd need to change your itinerary to actually make Germany the main destination of your trip.

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    So he would have to prove that 3 days in Germany are more important to his plans than 9 days in Amsterdam for his idea to work, do I understand it correctly?
    – Mołot
    Apr 18, 2018 at 9:30
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    @J... according to the rules, it does work. If you're going for a work meeting, for example, in Germany for three days, and you also plan to have a vacation in the Netherlands for 9 days, but the flight is being paid by your employer because it's a work meeting, then Germany is clearly the main destination. The actual text in the Schengen Visa Code is the main destination of the visit(s) in terms of the length or purpose of stay (emphasis added).
    – phoog
    Apr 18, 2018 at 14:24
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In addition to what Zach wrote, Consulates in India are wary of 'visa shopping' (applying to countries within Schengen more likely to give you a visa). In theory, you can make a `dummy' itinerary showing more days in Germany and might get away with it, but there is always a possibility it can be checked - if, for e.g. the hotel in Germany says you're booked for 3 days and not 8, your visa can be denied.

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  • Could such a denial result in a ban?
    – Bent
    Apr 18, 2018 at 10:52
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    @Bent It sort of depends, but generally, lying on a visa application can lead to permanent ineligibility for a visa.
    – Nzall
    Apr 18, 2018 at 11:24
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yes apply for visa at vfs generally they say 2 to 3 weeks but after appointment visa comes within a week if all documents is in order .the visa you apply which country where you first go and visa is multicity

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