Schengen Visa question: Can I enter Schengen area in a different country than the country which issued me visa?

[CARDBITRAGE]

How will someone know if one has visited a particular country or not? Passport check happens only at first port of entry and exit. Even if I got a visa from Denmark but haven't used their port, how will Denmark know if I entered them or not.

Asking as I am planning to apply my visa from another country (not from the one I am going), as the country I am going doesn't have appointment slot. Regarding city tax their might be a situation, wherein I would have stayed at friends place.

Knowing some of the EU country, I am sure most of these data will just be their in some files of police stations

Only the Entry and Exit from the Schengen region get recorded, so you're right. Unless someone hires a PI, they'd never know.
They have become very stringent of late, and I have heard about cases where airlines refuse to board such passengers. Even if someone manages to fly into the region, during the immigration check, they may refuse to allow entry to the Schengen zone if things seem off(like not even visiting the country that issued you the visa!). If by some miracle they do allow you, I'm sure they will inform the concerned embassy about you not visiting their country. This info will obviously be shared across all the embassies of the Schengen zone and will remain a black mark on your part. A few years back, you could've gotten away. They have become brutal in the past years as illegal immigration is at an all-time high and they are rightfully doing everything to curb it. So if you raise even a small suspicion, that will suffice in ruining everything for you.
But yes, one way to remedy that would be to make a different set of refundable bookings. This is something I'd not advise anyone to do in the current times for obvious reasons.

If visa appointments are not available at a nearby location, you are free to apply from anywhere in the world. So try to find an appointment in a different city. The same thing happened to me as there were no slots available in Bengaluru. Though not ideal, I had to apply from Chennai.

PS: Visa officers are really not that naive and more often than not, they will identify that you are applying through their country only to get the Schengen visa. I don't want to get into the specifics of that, but make sure your cover letter and travel plan seem logical and genuine. At the end of the day, it is a risk. If you are willing to take it, then it's all on you.

 

[ThriftyPlasticPundit]

I don't understand the fuss here - it's simple.

You can apply for a visa either at embassy for your first entry or most days stay. If the question is how countries will know, you'll state your intentions in your application and provide hotel reservations or a friend's invitation. The embassy will issue the visa based on that information and will share it with immigration. When you present your passport, the officer can see a note from your visa application.

They may ask why you're visiting a different country than the one stated in your application, so you better have a good excuse. Next time you apply, the consular can see your entry and exit points and may ask again. If something seems off, you could end up on a blacklist or receive a warning.

 

[Harry1]

In the visa application, we fill the contact details of inviting person as First Hotel details where we would be staying at.

Is it recorded anywhere? Is it okay, if I change that hotel within same city?

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

In the visa application, we fill the contact details of inviting person as First Hotel details where we would be staying at.

Is it recorded anywhere? Is it okay, if I change that hotel within same city?

No issues. The embassies demand it just to ensure you have a booking arrangement. Which country are you applying for?

 

[Harry1]

No issues. The embassies demand it just to ensure you have a booking arrangement. Which country are you applying for?

Switzerland, already got the visa. But now I want to cancel the current hotel and go to different hotel in same city.

I am wondering if they try to contact the hotel later during/after immigration to make sure that person stayed here.

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

Switzerland, already got the visa. But now I want to cancel the current hotel and go to different hotel in same city.

I am wondering if they try to contact the hotel later during/after immigration to make sure that person stayed here.

The immigration people will not have access to that info. Just make sure you have all the bookings on hand. They will check your flight(inwards and outwards) and hotel bookings. As long as it adheres to your visa validity and you have bookings with the country that issued you the visa, you're golden. I recently applied with Switzerland as well and I'm waiting for the response. How long did it take for them to process your application? I intend to travel by the last week of May.

 

[Harry1]

The immigration people will not have access to that info. Just make sure you have all the bookings on hand. They will check your flight(inwards and outwards) and hotel bookings. As long as it adheres to your visa validity and you have bookings with the country that issued you the visa, you're golden. I recently applied with Switzerland as well and I'm waiting for the response. How long did it take for them to process your application? I intend to travel by the last week of May.

Mine was pretty fast. Overall 10 days including date of submission and delivery.

If I exclude the courier time, submission and delivery days and holidays, it took only 3 working days. Applied around Holi.

Similar travel dates as yours. Paris-Switzerland-Germany for 2 weeks.

 

[ThriftyPlasticPundit]

The immigration people will not have access to that info. Just make sure you have all the bookings on hand. They will check your flight(inwards and outwards) and hotel bookings. As long as it adheres to your visa validity and you have bookings with the country that issued you the visa, you're golden. I recently applied with Switzerland as well and I'm waiting for the response. How long did it take for them to process your application? I intend to travel by the last week of May.

That's incorrect. at the immigration window, once your visa/passport is scanned into the system, border control officers have access to the information you submitted to the embassy. As long as your booking details are valid at border control, you should be fine. However, it's important to note that if you initially had an invitation but later changed to a hotel stay, and you fail to provide a valid reason if asked, you risk being refused entry. Just because it hasn't happened to a few people doesn't mean it can't happen to others.

 

[Harry1]

That's incorrect. at the immigration window, once your visa/passport is scanned into the system, border control officers have access to the information you submitted to the embassy. As long as your booking details are valid at border control, you should be fine. However, it's important to note that if you initially had an invitation but later changed to a hotel stay, and you fail to provide a valid reason if asked, you risk being refused entry. Just because it hasn't happened to a few people doesn't mean it can't happen to others.

My planned itinerary is France-Switzerland-Germany (same as shown during application). As my most days were in Switzerland, I applied to Swiss embassy with first hotel at Switzerland as contact address.

So, if I keep the original booking (free cancellation till one day before) till I clear immigration in paris, then should be safe enough. I assume no further checks in Paris-Geneva Train.

 

[ThriftyPlasticPundit]

My planned itinerary is France-Switzerland-Germany (same as shown during application). As my most days were in Switzerland, I applied to Swiss embassy with first hotel at Switzerland as contact address.

So, if I keep the original booking (free cancellation till one day before) till I clear immigration in paris, then should be safe enough. I assume no further checks in Paris-Geneva Train.

you can always re-book your hotel ( if there is a better deal ) and don't need to wait until last day. if your accommodation was/is hotel then you are good but if you had initially invitation from family and friends but then later changed to hotel then you may have to explain.

Embassy and Border control have your initial details but that's not a problem if you changed it.

No, there are no control once you in schengen space but there might be random checking at each border.

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

That's incorrect. at the immigration window, once your visa/passport is scanned into the system, border control officers have access to the information you submitted to the embassy. As long as your booking details are valid at border control, you should be fine. However, it's important to note that if you initially had an invitation but later changed to a hotel stay, and you fail to provide a valid reason if asked, you risk being refused entry. Just because it hasn't happened to a few people doesn't mean it can't happen to others.

I'm pretty sure you are assuming all that. It's highly unlikely the embassies share a database of the submitted documents across all immigration checkpoints. I am travelling through the Schengen zone for 60 days and I have submitted close to 100 pages of documents. I don't think they will have the time to go through all that during immigration 😛
And can you share something to corroborate this? So far in all my years of travelling, I have never once found an immigration officer pulling up documents I had submitted to process the visa. At max, they will ask for your flight, hotel bookings, proof of funds and itinerary to make an assessment. They won't go digging up what you had submitted while applying for the visa. For that, they may have to contact the concerned embassy if they find something to be off.
The only reason the immigration official scans your passport is to get all the details available on your passport into their system(so that they don't have to type it in).

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

My planned itinerary is France-Switzerland-Germany (same as shown during application). As my most days were in Switzerland, I applied to Swiss embassy with first hotel at Switzerland as contact address.

So, if I keep the original booking (free cancellation till one day before) till I clear immigration in paris, then should be safe enough. I assume no further checks in Paris-Geneva Train.

The first time I visited the UK, I had made all the bookings to show where I'd be staying during my trip. I cancelled all of that after receiving my visa. At the time of applying, my sister who lives in the UK still hadn't closed in on the apartment she was looking at. At immigration, they asked me where I would be staying and I mentioned that I would be staying with my sister. They asked a few more questions, and I was on my way. Don't think too much about it. If they ask you why you cancelled your booking, you can always tell them that you found a better deal or that you found a better accommodation option.

Coming to inter-border check, it is EXTREMELY RARE(like when there is information of a group of suspected illegal immigrants travelling on a particular route). You wont be subject to any border check within the Schengen region as that is what the Schengen treaty stands for!

 

[ak93]

Inter border checks are not extremely rare. It is random and can happen anytime to anyone. There was a check when we crossed from Denmark to Sweden via bus at the border.

If someone is ready to take that risk for being denied visa in future, they can apply from different country.

 

[Himanshuch]

Hi Folks,
Needed an answer to this. Can I enter Schengen area in a different country than the country which issued me Schengen? In my case, I have a Denmark Schengen visa but landing in Austria (I have all travel & stay documents to show that I’m traveling to Denmark the day after landing in Austria)

Anyone who has faced this situation and can throw some light ?

As per my limited knowledge, the first port of entry should be same as the visa issuing country for a newly issued visa. Later you can travel to any country you want.

This is important for the first visit. In subsequent visits (if your visa is multiple entry), you can enter any country you want.

 

[Harry1]

As per my limited knowledge, the first port of entry should be same as the visa issuing country for a newly issued visa. Later you can travel to any country you want.

This is important for the first visit. In subsequent visits (if your visa is multiple entry), you can enter any country you want.

I applied and received visa from Switzerland showing entry from France and exit from Germany. So, no such rule. You have to apply visa, where u will stay for most time. Port of entry comes into picture, when u have multiple countries with same number of days in ur itinerary.

 

[chasni]

The first time I visited the UK, I had made all the bookings to show where I'd be staying during my trip. I cancelled all of that after receiving my visa. At the time of applying, my sister who lives in the UK still hadn't closed in on the apartment she was looking at. At immigration, they asked me where I would be staying and I mentioned that I would be staying with my sister. They asked a few more questions, and I was on my way. Don't think too much about it. If they ask you why you cancelled your booking, you can always tell them that you found a better deal or that you found a better accommodation option.

Coming to inter-border check, it is EXTREMELY RARE(like when there is information of a group of suspected illegal immigrants travelling on a particular route). You wont be subject to any border check within the Schengen region as that is what the Schengen treaty stands for!

I applied and received visa from Switzerland showing entry from France and exit from Germany. So, no such rule. You have to apply visa, where u will stay for most time. Port of entry comes into picture, when u have multiple countries with same number of days in ur itinerary.

I have also changed bookings even flights after visa. I have booked a refundable, expensive flight for visa and then changed it to cheaper non-refundable flight after visa approval. In my opinion, as long as you have the proofs for your stay and return flight, you should be fine in most circumstances.

 

[ThriftyPlasticPundit]

I'm pretty sure you are assuming all that. It's highly unlikely the embassies share a database of the submitted documents across all immigration checkpoints. I am travelling through the Schengen zone for 60 days and I have submitted close to 100 pages of documents. I don't think they will have the time to go through all that during immigration 😛
And can you share something to corroborate this? So far in all my years of travelling, I have never once found an immigration officer pulling up documents I had submitted to process the visa. At max, they will ask for your flight, hotel bookings, proof of funds and itinerary to make an assessment. They won't go digging up what you had submitted while applying for the visa. For that, they may have to contact the concerned embassy if they find something to be off.
The only reason the immigration official scans your passport is to get all the details available on your passport into their system(so that they don't have to type it in).

As I mentioned, just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it won't happen to others. For instance, when I applied to the Norwegian embassy, immigration asked me detailed questions about my finances, hotel stays, and even questioned changes in my initial travel plans. This level of scrutiny is standard as every detail about you is available in EU systems including biometric data when they scan your passport. While officers may not delve into every detail unless something appears suspicious, they have access to it all.

I emphasized that immigration won't scrutinize minor changes like a different hotel, but significant deviations from your initial request could raise doubts about your intentions. As someone who has been traveling for over a decade, I'm well aware of how their systems operate, and they indeed have access to all your details.

Regarding the number of documents requested, my experience has typically involved submitting only 6-7 documents.

 

[CARDBITRAGE]

As I mentioned, just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it won't happen to others. For instance, when I applied to the Norwegian embassy, immigration asked me detailed questions about my finances, hotel stays, and even questioned changes in my initial travel plans. This level of scrutiny is standard as every detail about you is available in EU systems including biometric data when they scan your passport. While officers may not delve into every detail unless something appears suspicious, they have access to it all.

I emphasized that immigration won't scrutinize minor changes like a different hotel, but significant deviations from your initial request could raise doubts about your intentions. As someone who has been traveling for over a decade, I'm well aware of how their systems operate, and they indeed have access to all your details.

I wasn't particularly talking about the change in accommodation/transportation either. That's quite trivial and a lot of people make those changes as they make refundable booking reservations(at a premium) just for the visa. It would be stupid not to safeguard yourself and even the visa/immigration officers know that. I'm intrigued because I've travelled to more than 33 countries so far and never have they asked why I had changed my original bookings or travel plan(as I tend to make changes last minute after learning more about the place I will be travelling to), and this is the first time I'm hearing this. Albeit it will be my first time travelling to the Schengen area next month, and I'll probably find out myself. Everyone I have interacted with who has been to the Schengen region never had the immigration officer question about a deviation in the travel plans either. They were only asked about their itinerary and questioned on the same to ascertain whether they were legitimately travelling and to confirm whether they would leave the zone post their travels.
If one is travelling to multiple countries, there's a high chance of adding new experiences or destinations to your travel plan. I'm sure the immigration officers will understand that as well. But it is key to travel to the country that issued you your visa and the fact that most airlines check your hotel bookings and itinerary before check-in shows how vital that is.
Once you establish that you have visited and respected the issued visas in the past, the immigration will tend to be smooth. One of my relatives obtained a 2-year Schengen visa from France last year and when they visited two months ago, they were only asked for the return flight tickets and to briefly explain about her travel plan. The immigration official even made recommendations to visit certain places. All in all it was smooth and hardly took 5 minutes of her time.

Regarding the number of documents requested, my experience has typically involved submitting only 6-7 documents.

Well, I intend to travel to 15 countries in the span of two months within the Schengen zone. Hence the sizable, comprehensive documentation. In most cases, it won't be so voluminous. 🙂

 

[chasni]

I wasn't particularly talking about the change in accommodation/transportation either. That's quite trivial and a lot of people make those changes as they make refundable booking reservations(at a premium) just for the visa. It would be stupid not to safeguard yourself and even the visa/immigration officers know that. I'm intrigued because I've travelled to more than 33 countries so far and never have they asked why I had changed my original bookings or travel plan(as I tend to make changes last minute after learning more about the place I will be travelling to), and this is the first time I'm hearing this. Albeit it will be my first time travelling to the Schengen area next month, and I'll probably find out myself. Everyone I have interacted with who has been to the Schengen region never had the immigration officer question about a deviation in the travel plans either. They were only asked about their itinerary and questioned on the same to ascertain whether they were legitimately travelling and to confirm whether they would leave the zone post their travels.
If one is travelling to multiple countries, there's a high chance of adding new experiences or destinations to your travel plan. I'm sure the immigration officers will understand that as well. But it is key to travel to the country that issued you your visa and the fact that most airlines check your hotel bookings and itinerary before check-in shows how vital that is.
Once you establish that you have visited and respected the issued visas in the past, the immigration will tend to be smooth. One of my relatives obtained a 2-year Schengen visa from France last year and when they visited two months ago, they were only asked for the return flight tickets and to briefly explain about her travel plan. The immigration official even made recommendations to visit certain places. All in all it was smooth and hardly took 5 minutes of her time.

Well, I intend to travel to 15 countries in the span of two months within the Schengen zone. Hence the sizable, comprehensive documentation. In most cases, it won't be so voluminous. 🙂

33 countries? do you have a YouTube channel? Lol. You're my inspiration.

I traveled to 10 countries in the last 2 years and my family has been criticizing me non-stop.

 

[telescope]

I traveled to 10 countries in the last 2 years and my family has been criticizing me non-stop.

Why criticising? It's good to travel.