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In 2013, over 16 million Schengen visas were issued for non-EU travellers to the Schengen area
What if I’m from a non-EU country?
Martine is a Canadian student who won a scholarship
that will allow her to spend two months at the Sorbonne
University in Paris to carry out research for her thesis. Before
going back to Canada, she would like to travel for three
weeks throughout Greece, Spain and Italy. As a citizen of a
non-EU country, Martine may enter and travel within the
Schengen territory for up to 90 days, as long as she fulls
certain entry conditions. In the rst place, she needs a valid
passport. She must also be able to demonstrate the purpose
of her journey, that she has the means to live in Europe for
the intended duration of her stay and that she has already
bought her return ticket (or that she has enough money to
buy one). As a Canadian citizen, Martine is exempt from the
short-stay (Schengen) visa requirement.
Punjit is from India. He is planning to spend his holidays
visiting several Schengen states: Greece, Spain, France and
Italy. He will stay in Europe for a month. Punjit needs a
short-stay visa to go to Europe because India belongs to those
non-EU countries whose nationals must have a visa when
crossing the Schengen area’s external border. Since Punjit
does not have a main destination, he should apply for a visa
at the embassy or consulate of the EU state where he will
stay the longest. If his stays in the dierent Schengen states
are of the same length, he should apply at the consulate of
the state of entry into the Schengen area. e visa obtained
will allow him to move throughout the Schengen area.
Hisham is Tunisian. He lives in Germany and spends his
holidays with his parents in Tunisia. On his way back, he
would like to go and visit his brother in Portugal. He has
a valid residence permit issued by Germany, which belongs
to the Schengen area. is residence permit, together with a
valid travel document, ensures that he does not need to apply
for a Schengen visa. As a non-EU national, Hisham can enter
Portugal, another Schengen state, for a short stay without a
visa simply by showing his passport and the German-issued
residence permit. If Hisham had a residence permit issued
by one of the non-Schengen EU states, he would not be able
to enter the Schengen area without a short-stay visa.
Solinas is Bolivian. She would like to move to Spain
because she has found a job in Madrid. As Solinas is
planning to stay in Madrid for more than 90 days, she needs
a long-stay visa or a residence permit. For some categories of
workers, such as highly skilled workers or researchers, EU
law sets the requirements that non-EU nationals must full
to reside and work in the EU. For the categories of workers
not regulated under EU law, it is up to the Schengen states
to set their own requirements for issuing long-stay visas and
resident permits.
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