Basic rules of Schengen

Schengen zone currently includes 26 countries. This is a significant part of Europe, which is of considerable interest to Ukrainian citizens. Some Ukrainians prefer to rest in comfortable, prestigious European resorts. Many study or work in the eurozone countries. The first thing that is required for a trip is to obtain a visa.

Documents for Schengen

To get a Schengen visa, you will need:

• has a foreign passport valid for at least three months after the visa expires;
• confirm the purpose of the trip (on a tourist ticket, at the invitation of a private person or organization, etc.);
• will confirm the return to Ukraine (representing return tickets);
• has medical insurance (policy valid in all Schengen countries);
• not be on the list of persons prohibited from entering the Schengen state zones;
• present a correctly completed questionnaire in two languages.

If all the rules of the Schengen zone are observed, you will be granted a permit. But the difficulties are not over yet. There are also rules for entering Schengen, which are strictly controlled.

Main country rule

By making a trip, you ensure free crossing of state borders, which are considered quite conditional. The main one is the country to which you were issued a visa. Therefore, it is necessary to stay in it most of the time. It is not always possible to clearly define such a state. There are cases that they are in several countries for approximately the same amount of time. Then the following rule is applied.

Rule of first entry

This is an optional rule, rather a recommendation, but it is controlled. According to the rule, when visiting the Schengen zone, it is advisable to first cross the border of the visa-issuing state. If you do not have proof of residence in this country, you may not be able to visit Europe for at least six months.

There are countries that have concluded an agreement between themselves and do not use the rule of first entry (Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg). It's convenient, but entry and exit must be done through one of the given states.

Rules for using the Schengen multi-visa

In 2013, the changes affected the rules for using the Schengen multi-visa. Now it is possible to stay in the Schengen zone for no more than 90 days in a half-hour period. And it is not important that you had visas issued in the given period for visiting third countries included in Schengen. Days are calculated using a simple summation of days of stay in Europe for any half-year period. This control is carried out by the entrants themselves.

Schengen rules must be carefully read and, of course, followed. If you violate them, you will lose the opportunity to visit states that have signed the Schengen Agreement.