I am from Egypt and I'm planning a vacation to Spain and France. While filling the visa application, should I choose a single or a multiple entry visa?! If i got a single entry Schengen visa, I still can travel from Spain to France and then back to Spain as long as it is during the valid dates of my visa right?!
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4i know this thread is old but just to clarify for future readers. i live in andorra and i know of a case that somebody entered andorra with only a single-entry visa which was already used landing in spain. he wasnt controlled when entering andorra but spanish boarder control noticed when he wanted to re-enter spain. they denied him entry to schengen. he was therefore "stranded" here. but not very long since andorra immediately expelled him....so did spain....... that poor asian guy had to pay many thousand euros for police transport&flight&etc. plus he got a block for future schengen visas....– user4760Commented Mar 5, 2013 at 6:10
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2 Answers
As long as you stay within the Schengen area, you only need a single entry visa. Travelling between Spain and France is not counted as a new entry.
You should perhaps be aware of a few pitfalls though. Andorra (on the border between Spain and France) is not part of the Schengen area. You are allowed to enter Andorra with a Schengen visa, but traveling back to Spain or France is counted as a new entry into the Schengen area and would require a multiple entry visa.
Edit: Even if immigration controls on the borders between Spain/Andorra or France/Andorra are very relaxed and some resources even indicate that leaving Andorra is not counted as a new entry into the Schengen area, other resources site stories where controls have been made and the rules strictly enforced. Here es even a story, where a holder of a single entry Schengen visa was rejected entry to Andorra on the bus from Barcelona, since leaving the Schengen area into Andorra would prevent him from leaving Andorra again legally.
answered Jun 18, 2012 at 17:29
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Re: Andorra, while you're technically absolutely correct, in practice that regulation is not enforced -- after all, the only way to get to and from Andorra is via Schengen, there isn't even an airport. lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1587851 Commented Jun 18, 2012 at 23:19
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2@jpatlokal: Even if you often run a very low risk being caught when violating visa conditions, the consequences if you are, are often very terse. In theory, Rowan could be controlled by immigration when entering Spain or France from Andorra and not only be immediately rejected without a valid visa, but also be flagged as "not wanted" in SIS. As a final consequence, he would be stuck in Andorra without any practical way to leave the country, since both neighbouring countries would reject further attempts to gain entry privileges. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 0:05
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2Being rejected entry to Andorra is no big deal, you've still got your valid Schengen visa and can go pretty much anywhere else in Europe. (Also, the post you link to says (even though the post you quote says "this is extremely rare, in fact the first time I have heard of this".) But you're scaring the OP with being "stuck in Andorra without any practical way to leave the country", and I'm asking you for the tiniest shred of evidence that this has actually ever happened to anybody. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 6:43
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2Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating knowingly going to Andorra on a single-entry visa. (Or even advocating going to Andorra, come to think of it, plenty more interesting places in France and Spain.) All I'm saying is that in practice, you're very likely to get away with it, and even if busted, the actual consequences will be minimal. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 6:45
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1Because first time applicants are generally not granted multiple-entry Schengen visas. Having a demonstrable reason to visit Andorra would be a good reason to get one, but if you have no "need" to go there, odds are you won't get it. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 23:04
My first Schengen visa was a single entry Visa issued by Italy. I traveled from Italy to France to Spain by planes, and there was no issue.
