Travel to Europe on 10-yr GC

[Brian & Kathy 0]

My wife and I are considering traveling to parts of Europe in May. While I should be simple traveling on a US passport, my wife will likely need visas. She has a Chinese passport and a 10-yr green card which is valid for about 9 more years.

My wife said there is a single visa she might be able to get and travel most of the European countries. I tried searching, is it called the schengen visa?

Where can I find an official list of the countries (as opposed to the list provided by travel agency websites)?

We plan to go to Germany first, I would simply apply for the visa from the Germany immigration website? Hopefully an in-person interview isn't required at a consulate here?

I would love to hear any experience that anyone has for traveling on this type of visa. If it is more trouble than it is worth traveling on a china visa with a GC, then we may do something simpler like going to Canada.

Thanks!

Brian

[bigdog 376]

http://www.***removed***/visas/schengenvisa/requirements-exemptions.html Information on your visa.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Yes,

the Schengen visa will give you access to all the countries you may want to visit and then some. As a Green Card holder, your wife should have no problems getting it. My favorite places to go in Europe are a quick look at them pretty castles in Scotland, Paris (a must see, but only once), the South of France, Northern Italy, Madrid, Ibiza (maybe not for you), and the Greek Islands.

Surely a trip to remember.

[jhm3 15]

A Schengen visa is valid for most of the member countries of the European Union and for several other European countries (Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland, for example), but not for Great Britain and Ireland, which have their own immigration controls and visa requirements. The visa application should be made to the embassy/consulate of the country in Europe that will be your "primary destination," or, if you are visiting a number of countries and there really is no one place where you will be spending more time than another, application should be made to the embassy/consulate of the first country you will be entering. Perhaps the biggest hassle is that you have to provide documentation of your hotel reservations/lodging arrangements for the entirety of the trip, and then generally the visa is issued only for the duration of the trip, so you have to make a new application (with all those hotel arrangements lined up months in advance) every time you want to travel to Europe. It's worth asking for a multiple-entry visa valid for a longer period, anyway; some countries/consulates might be more generous in that regard than others, and after you have had two or three short-term visas, it also becomes more likely that they will be willing to give you a longer validity period. I believe the cost is the equivalent of 60 euros (roughly $80). As for whether or not in-person submission of the application is required, it varies. I know from past experience that Swiss consulates will take applications by mail, but Austrian (and many other) consulates require you to go in person. Hope this helps.

[Brian & Kathy 0]

It is interesting that we need documentation of all travel plans arranged before applying for the visa. Kind of a pain to arrange everything now. I assume it isn't a big deal if we make minor changes to the plans after the visa is approved? I mean like changing hotels, or staying in one country a day longer before moving on (long as we stay within the original time period).

Thanks for the info everyone! We may decide it is worth spending more days in switzerland to make it our main destination if the visa can be done by mail.

[jhm3 15]

Sure, once you have the visa there is nothing to stop you rearranging your plans a bit!

[jhm3 15]

I almost forgot -- the other thing you have to do as part of the Schengen visa application process that is a bit of a pain is submit a letter from your health insurance company showing that you have the equivalent of 30,000 euros worth of emergency medical coverage. If you can get such a letter from your current insurance provider, great; if not, you can buy a short-term travel policy quite cheaply online. (Google schengen insurance and shop around a bit; I recall paying around $10-$20 for a couple of weeks' coverage, and you can download the letter that the consulate will want right away.) Pulling the paperwork together is a bit of a hassle, but it's definitely worth it!

[ConcordUser 18]

It is my understand for these countires listed in this posting, we dont not need visa if we are a USC. Am I correct?

[jhm3 15]

It is my understand for these countires listed in this posting, we dont not need visa if we are a USC. Am I correct?

That is correct, for stays of up to 3 months. A footnote: I believe some Schengen countries (e.g., France) allow USCs to visit as tourists without a visa for up to 6 months, but if you do stay in Europe for between 3 and 6 months, make sure you depart from a country that allows longer stays. I have read about the Swiss imposing fines on tourists returning from France to the US after stays of more than 3 months because they were departing via a connection through Zurich airport, and Switzerland only allows 3-month stays without a visa.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Yes,

the Schengen visa will give you access to all the countries you may want to visit and then some. As a Green Card holder, your wife should have no problems getting it. My favorite places to go in Europe are a quick look at them pretty castles in Scotland, Paris (a must see, but only once), the South of France, Northern Italy, Madrid, Ibiza (maybe not for you), and the Greek Islands.

Surely a trip to remember.

Schengen won't get them into the UK or into Ireland.

[Harsh_77 718]

For UK you need additional visa.

[Brian & Kathy 0]

Great, thanks for all the info guys. We are going to start planning the trip. Should be a whole lot of fun! The UK will be another trip, thanks.

Just nervous about visa things... if we get a schengen visa from switzerland (because that is the main destination if we spend the most nights there), then it is still no problem to fly into Germany, correct? We have had bad visa experiences in the past and don't want to repeat.

[jhm3 15]

Great, thanks for all the info guys. We are going to start planning the trip. Should be a whole lot of fun! The UK will be another trip, thanks.

Just nervous about visa things... if we get a schengen visa from switzerland (because that is the main destination if we spend the most nights there), then it is still no problem to fly into Germany, correct? We have had bad visa experiences in the past and don't want to repeat.

That is correct. You can arrive first in Germany or any other Schengen country with a visa issued by Switzerland if Switzerland is your primary destination. I believe that if they should happen to give you a multiple-entry visa valid for longer than just the one trip (perhaps unlikely since this will be her first Schengen visa), you could go back to Europe with the same visa without having to go to Switzerland at all. In any event, to be safe, it is advisable to carry with you a copy of all the documentation that you will be submitting with the visa application, just in case there are any questions at the port of entry, but there shouldn't be any problem at all.