Procedure for Schengen visa invitation letter and documents from EU nationals

Question

I wonder if anybody can explain me the correct procedure if I want to visit EU national friends in Italy and Spain. I hold an Indian passport.

I am visiting a Spanish friend in Spain for 3 days first and then visiting my Italian friend in Italy for 6 days.

Since my maximum stay is in Italy, I will apply for my Schengen visa at the Italian consulate.

To get this visa for visiting friends, I need to submit invitation letters, accommodation proof, plus the passport copies of my friend. I have these from my Italian friend already.

But what about my Spanish friend? Do I need an invitation letter from my Spanish friend, too? Do I need to submit some proof of my Spain journey at the Italian consulate? Is it needed?

I am confused about this part. My accommodation will not be in hotels but in both my friends' houses.

Answer 1

Yes, you are supposed to submit a comprehensive and, obviously, truthful itinerary. So if you intend to go to Spain you need to indicate that in your application. And if you mention the Spanish part of the trip, submitting relevant evidence is indeed necessary. Having an officially sanctioned invitation from your friend accounts for the accommodation, strengthen your premise and helps show you can afford the trip.

Under the Schengen system, countries effectively delegate (a part of) their authority to issue short-term visas to other Schengen countries (under certain conditions) but the Italian consulate certainly can and should evaluate the whole trip.

In practice, if you have a decent application and you dot the i's and cross the t's for your Italian trip, you could probably get away with omitting your trip to Spain. Once you have the visa, changing your mind and adding an incidental stay in another Schengen country isn't forbidden. But it could theoretically backfire if someone somehow notices you initially misrepresented your intentions.