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I am an Indian citizen holding resident permit in the UK. I am planning on visiting Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Italy in single trip. My entry port is Timisoara, Romania and coming back to UK from Pescara, Italy.

Romania, Serbia and Croatia aren't in Schengen but they all allow visa-free entry to holders of valid multiple-entry Schengen visas. Would the Italian consulate consider the complexity of trip and give me multiple entry visa with a start date of when I'll be entering Romania?

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    I don't understand your question. You're visiting multiple countries, only one of which is in the Schengen zone. You need whatever visas are required for the countries you're visiting, just like any other trip. Why do think you need your Schengen visa to be valid from the day you enter Romania? Your Schengen visa only needs to be valid from the time you enter the Schengen zone, which is when you enter Italy.
    – David Richerby
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 11:39
  • Is because I don't have enough time to apply for visa to each country, and if I get multiple entry schengen visa with right starting date that will solve it. so basically I wanted to know if Italian consulate will even entertain this and give visa with starting date when I enter Romania.. thanks :)
    – Shashank
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 12:07
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    Oh. The point that you don't mention is that holders of a valid Schengen visa can enter Romania, Serbia and Croatia visa-free, even though those countries aren't in Schengen. I've edited the question and retracted my close vote: this should be answerable and isn't actually a broad question.
    – David Richerby
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 15:05
  • @DavidRicherby Only Serbia accepts single-entry Schengen visas (and I'm convinced OP's not getting more than that)
    – Crazydre
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 15:59
  • @Crazydre Yeah, I wrote "multiple-entry" in my edit to the question but forgot to mention it in my comment.
    – David Richerby
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 16:53

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The Italian embassy won't care about your trips to non-Schengen countries; to them, you're merely visiting Italy for tourism. And given that your itinerary doesn't involve exiting and re-entering the Schengen Area, you're probably not going to get a double-entry visa, let alone a multiple-entry one. There is no "hack" to make this happen

As stated by Timatic, the database used by airlines:

Romania:

Visa required, except for Passengers with a double or multiple entry C visa issued by a Schengen Member State valid for the period of intended stay

Serbia:

Visa required, except for Passengers with a multiple entry or an unused one-entry visa issued by Switzerland, USA or an EEA Member State for a maximum stay of 90 days

and

Visa required, except for Passengers with a residence permit, valid for the period of stay, issued by United Kingdom for a maximum stay of 90 days

Croatia:

Visa required, except for Passengers with a double or multiple entry C visa issued by a Schengen Member State valid for all Schengen Member States and valid for the period of intended stay

So unless you do get at least a double-entry Schengen visa valid on the Dates you visit Croatia and Romania, you will need a Croatian and Romanian visa as well, but not a Serbian visa.

Note that for Romania and Croatia, the Schengen visa must be valid when entering these countries, but for Serbia it doesn't matter, because you can enter either on the basis of a valid (single or multiple) Schengen visa or a valid UK residence Permit. You have the latter, so no matter what, you will not Need a Serbian visa

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  • Just want to add that all my Schengen visas I ever got were multiple entry even for those where I indicated I was visiting only one country. They were from the French, Spanish and German embassies in DC so I was/am of the view that multiple entry Schengens are more common than single entry and given by default to most applicants.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 16:26
  • @SheikPaulofOsawatomie You're the first person I've ever had report that. I do know some consulates are more liberal towards certain nationals (such as the Finnish consulate in St Petersburg towards Russians)
    – Crazydre
    Commented May 28, 2017 at 16:28
  • thanks for answering!! I was kind of hoping to get multiple entry visa.. and the thing is I too have had 3(from Netherlands, France, and Denmark) multiple entry visas before, even when my itinerary involved visiting only one country. I thought that was because I applied for multiple entry visa, but last month I applied to Spain consulate for multiple entry with itinerary involving spain trip and the trip I mentioned in the question but for some reason they gave me one week single entry visa.. this all seems very random and looks like it depends only on maybe mood of the person giving visa.
    – Shashank
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 16:26
  • @Shashank Right, Ok. What Kind of Uk residence Permit do you have, and how Long is it valid for in total?
    – Crazydre
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 16:29
  • @Crazydre I am on tier 2 general visa which is valid for 3yrs, I was on the same visa before which I renewed last year
    – Shashank
    Commented May 29, 2017 at 16:32

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