Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026
Applying for a Schengen Visa, Step by Step
NEW Published 30 October 2026
From the 6-month window to the 59-month fingerprint rule — the application process as the Visa Code structures it.
A Schengen application is a sequence with legal timing on both ends: a window that opens 6 months before travel and closes, as a rule, 15 days before it; a decision the consulate normally owes you in 15 calendar days; and biometrics that, once given, serve you for 59 months. This guide walks the process in order, separating what the Visa Code fixes for every consulate from what each location sets for itself.
Work out your competent consulate, complete the application form, assemble the supporting documents for your purpose, book the appointment, attend in person to lodge the file and give fingerprints, pay €90 (€45 for ages 6–12), and expect a decision in 15 calendar days — up to 45 if your file needs further scrutiny.
SECTION 01Step 1 — File inside the window
The Commission's rule is symmetrical: applications may be lodged no earlier than 6 months before the intended journey, and must be lodged at least 15 days before it as a rule. Between those bounds, the practical constraint is the appointment — the Commission notes you may have to book one before lodging, and appointment availability is set locally. Early in the window is where the slack is.
SECTION 02Step 2 — Build the file
The core file is common to all Schengen applications: a passport valid at least 3 months beyond your departure from the area (for multiple-entry visas, beyond your departure from the last country visited); the application form; an ICAO-standard photograph; travel medical insurance meeting Article 15; and supporting documents evidencing the purpose of the stay, your means, your accommodation and your intention to return. Consulates publish harmonised local lists building on that core — the documents checklist guide in this section works through them, and the consulate's own list for your location is the one your file is judged against.
SECTION 03Step 3 — Lodge it, in person the first time
- RULE — First application: appear in person. Article 13(2) requires the applicant to appear in person when the first application is submitted, for the photograph and the 10 fingerprints taken flat and collected digitally.
- RULE — Fingerprints then serve 59 months. Article 13(3): fingerprints entered in the Visa Information System (VIS) less than 59 months before a new application are copied across to it — no fresh set needed, unless the consulate has reasonable doubt about identity, or the earlier collection cannot be confirmed and you ask for them to be taken.
- RULE — Who is exempt from fingerprints. Children under 12; people for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible; and heads of state or government, senior royals and their official delegations on invitation. The photograph requirement stands for everyone.
- RULE — A service centre may take the file. Biometrics and applications may be collected by an external service provider under the consulate's supervision (Article 13(6)); the decision remains the consulate's alone.
SECTION 04Step 4 — Pay the fees
The visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6–12, charged in euro or in local currency at the ECB reference rate, with a receipt issued. No fee is charged for under-sixes, students and pupils travelling for study, researchers travelling for research, and the other Article 16 waiver categories. A visa service centre may add its own service fee, capped by Article 17 at half the standard visa fee (higher caps only where the deciding state has no consulate in your country). If the application is refused after examination, the visa fee is not refunded; if your file is ruled inadmissible or was lodged at a consulate that is not competent, it is reimbursed.
SECTION 05Step 5 — The decision clock
Article 23 sets the clock: an admissible application is decided within 15 calendar days of lodging; the period may extend to a maximum of 45 calendar days in individual cases, notably where further scrutiny is needed; justified urgent cases are decided without delay. The outcome is one of the Code's four: a uniform visa, a visa with limited territorial validity, an airport transit visa, or a refusal notified on the standard form. Silence past 45 days is not a decision — chase the consulate through its own channels rather than assuming either result.
SECTION 06Common questions
I gave fingerprints two years ago for another Schengen visa. Again?
No — inside 59 months they are copied from the VIS to the new application. Take the appointment for the file, but the fingerprint step is already done, subject to the identity and confirmation exceptions.
Can someone else submit my application?
The first application is in person by law. Later applications, with fingerprints on file, follow the consulate's local arrangements — check its list rather than assuming.
When is the fee actually taken?
At lodging, against a receipt. The fee buys the examination, not the outcome — which is why a refusal after examination does not refund it.
Official references and verification status
The application window and appointment position come from the European Commission's applying page; the biometrics rules from Article 13, the fee and refund rules from Articles 16–17, and the decision clock from Article 23 of the Visa Code — all read on 30 October 2026. The current fee figures (€90/€45) are the Commission's, reflecting the delegated revision of the Code's original amounts.
- European Commission — Applying for a Schengen visa: home-affairs.ec.europa.eu
- Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (the Visa Code), Articles 13, 16, 17 and 23: eur-lex.europa.eu
Book the appointment first in peak season — the window is generous, the slots are not.
General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.