Which Schengen Country’s Embassy Should You Apply For?

 

There’s a predetermined order that needs to be followed while choosing the embassy to file your Schengen visa application.

1.         If you plan to travel only one country in the Schengen zone, apply at the embassy of the country you intend to visit. Quite obvious, I know 🙂

2.         If you are going to travel to more than one Schengen state, apply at the embassy of the country you intend to spend the maximum number of days in, called as the main or primary destination.

3.         If you mean to spend the equal number of days in two or more Schengen countries, apply at the embassy of the country you propose to enter the Schengen area through, called as the port of entry.

Denmark Embassy also handles the visa process for Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

The Faroe Islands and Greenland though part of Kingdom of Denmark is not the part of Schengen Region. So, you can’t enter here based on your Schengen visa.

You have to write a different cover letter along with the Schengen visa cover letter and choose multiple entry visa if Greenland or Faroe Islands are part of your travel plan.

You need a Schengen Visa issued by the Danish Consulate with a sticker mentioning that it’s valid for the Faroe Islands or/and Greenland too.

Apply through Danish VFS and mention on the application form Greenland or the Faroe Islands as the main destination.

Svalbard is not a part of the Schengen treaty system. To visit Svalbard, one needs a Schengen visa with two or multiple entries.

Svalbard is visa-free but Schengen Visa is required because you have to enter and exit the Schengen region while traveling to this Norwegian archipelago.

Another stratagem is to choose the country with a lower Schengen visa rejection rate.

France and Germany are known to be the fastest of the lot, however, Spain is infamous for being the toughest to grant Schengen Visa. Greece is known for its higher than normal share of personal interviews.

Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Iceland, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic have the lowest Schengen visa rejection rate which ranges from 0.5% to 2.5 %.

Poland is the easiest country to apply for a Schengen Visa from India with the fastest visa processing rate.

It’s a safe bet to check the embassy toughness index before zeroing down on the country to apply.