Posted on January 27 2024
In 1985, five European countries, namely Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, entered an intergovernmental agreement and expanded as the world's most extensive accessible travel areas. Later, 27 European Countries joined the Schengen Borders Code and agreed to no internal border controls. These 27 countries are Germany, Austria, Spain, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Belgium, France, Hungary, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Sweden and Switzerland.
As part of the Schengen Agreement, these countries have a common visa named Schengen Visa. This Visa allows tourists and visitors to travel freely across the Schengen Countries without applying for separate visas for each. You can spend up to 90 days in a country or the Schengen countries in six months or as long as the Visa is valid.
According to SchengenVisaInfo, 2023 saw more than 116 million Schengen Visas issued by European countries. Among the top ten countries that gave the maximum number of visas, France tops the list with a contribution of more than 30 million visas issued alone. Statistically, it is also seen that France has been the prime contributor to issuing the majority of Schengen Visas historically. France is closely followed by Germany, which gave almost 20 million Schengen Visas last year. Other countries that provided the most Schengen Visas are listed in the table below:
Country |
No. of Visas issued (2009-2022) |
France |
30,253,370 |
Germany |
20,941,303 |
Italy |
19,359,244 |
Spain |
17,442,568 |
Finland |
11,234,436 |
Greece |
10,958,014 |
Poland |
9,378,827 |
Czech Republic |
6,505,592 |
Netherlands |
5,666,488 |
Switzerland |
5,259,842 |
As per the Schengen Visa Code, the Schengen Visa process time is around 15 days after reaching the Consulate. An applicant may apply for a Schengen Visa as early as six months before the day of the visit.
Adult |
Children from 6 to less than 12 years old |
Children less than six years |
€80 |
€60 |
FREE |
Y-Axis is one of India's leading visa and immigration consultancy. Our team of Visa and immigration experts can guide you with the following:
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Schengen visa
Schengen Countries
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