Calculating Schengen visa validity
I applied for a Schengen visa for me and my family, and in the application I wrote my date of entry 14-03-2019 and date of exit 29-03-2019. I even bought air tickets for the same dates. My visa arrived and shows valid for 15 days, date of entry is 14-03-2019 until 29-03-2019.
I’m worried as as per calculation, if I enter on 14-03-2019 then my 15 days would be completed on 28-3-2019. But when I ask the VSF Global agent in Riyadh, he told they will calculate days from the next day so you will finish your days on 29 so nothing to worried about. Do I need to be worried?
Added from what was posted in an answer: I applied Switzerland from Riyadh KSA.
Best Answer
The VFS agent is wrong. You can check this at the official Schengen calculator. If you enter your dates and click "calculate," you will see that it counts this as 16 days.
The method of counting days of presence is specified in the Schengen Borders Code, Article 6(2):
...the date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay on the territory of the Member States....
There is another consideration, however. The Schengen visa application form asks the applicant, at number 25, to indicate a specific duration of stay. If you entered 15 for this item, then it is your mistake and you are unlikely to get it corrected except by submitting a fresh application and paying the application fee again. This still probably better than changing your travel plans.
If you in fact entered the correct figure 16 for that item, you should file a formal complaint with VFS via their customer experience page. Explain that the 15-day visa is not adequate for the proposed trip and does not match the 16 days you requested in your application, and that you would like to have the visa corrected. I would probably mention both the Schengen visa calculator and Art. 6(2) of the Schengen Borders Code.
If VFS formally rejects your complaint, you should try to escalate it to the Swiss authorities. If VFS will not bring it to the attention of the Swiss authorities, you can try to find a way of complaining to the Swiss embassy in Saudi Arabia, but I was not able to find one. There is, however, contact information for the State Secretariat for Migration in Switzerland. These people, at least, should understand that your proposed trip requires a 16-day visa. If you explain your problem to them, they may be able to help you solve it, whether by instructing VFS to accept your complaint or by other means.
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How do I calculate 90 days in 180 days Schengen Visa?
90/180 Schengen Visa Rule The 180-day period keeps rolling. Therefore, anytime you wish to enter the Schengen, you just have to count backwards the last 180 days, and see if you have been present in the Schengen for more than 90 days throughout that period.Do you know how long your Schengen Visa is valid for?
The duration of stay within the Schengen Area is always 90 days for the type C Schengen visa, but the validity of the Schengen visa itself may change. For double or multiple entry (circulation visa) Schengen visas, the validity of the visa ranges from 6 months to 5 years.How do you calculate the 90 day rule?
Under the terms of Schengen, non-EEA nationals cannot spend more than a total of 90 days within a total period of 180 days without a visa. Furthermore, once you've used up your quota of 90 days, you cannot return to Schengen until 90 more days have passed.How many months minimum validity is there for a Schengen Visa?
The Schengen visa is a short stay visa and takes the form of a sticker affixed to the travel document. The definition of \u201cshort stay\u201d is a stay of "90 days in any 180 days period". This means that the total duration of stay is of maximum 90 days, in any period of 180 days.Schengen Visa Length of Validity (Europe Visa)
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