Can I travel to Schengen countries that were not on my itinerary when I applied?
I have applied for a Schengen visa in the Consulate of Italy. I will be visiting for a 2 month period to attend a dance workshop. However, I plan to visit my boyfriend twice. He is studying in Germany currently and we made plans to meet up while I'm there. I will be visiting for a week or so both times. I did not put this in my itinerary. Will I still be able to visit?
Also, I just made some random hotel booking on booking.com in order to apply. Can I cancel those bookings and book an accommodation elsewhere if I want, once I get the visa?
Best Answer
You can make reasonable changes to your itinerary after the fact and a Schengen visa is in any case valid for the whole area (see e.g. Should my first trip be to the country which issued my Schengen Visa? but also Can I change my route and hotel reservation after getting a Schengen visa?).
But your question suggests you withheld some important facts and lied about your intentions. If you always planned to visit your boyfriend and submitted hotel bookings you never intended to use, that could be construed as fraud and it could have serious consequences if you are found out. If you just spend a couple of weeks in Germany and the dance workshop is still your main purpose, it's not so bad but there is always a risk.
In practice, because the visa is valid in Germany and there are no systematic border checks within the Schengen area, you're very likely to be OK but in principle you should have disclosed all your plans with the initial application.
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Can you change your itinerary after getting Schengen Visa?
"can i change my itinerary within the schengen area ?" You should follow the itinerary you gave when you applied for the visa. You cannot change your itinerary so completely that the information you gave in the visa application is no longer true.Is travel itinerary required for Schengen Visa?
One of the required documents for the Schengen Visa is a complete travel itinerary.Should my first trip be to the country issued by Schengen Visa?
There is no general requirement that you must enter the Schengen Area through the country that issued your visa. Your main destination may be different than your first destination. To prevent complications, stick to your itinerary as best you can.Do they check passport between Schengen countries?
Any person, irrespective of nationality, can travel between Schengen countries without going through border checks. However, national authorities can carry out police checks at borders between these countries and in border areas.THE SCHENGEN ZONE TRAVEL EXPLAINED - DIGITAL NOMAD TV
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Answer 2
You have asked a few questions; so I'll try to address your concerns:
Once you are inside the Schengen zone (that is, once you have arrived in Italy), there are no border controls so you can easily travel to Germany.
Your visa will be granted on the strength and merits of your application; so if you are applying for a dance workshop - then the relevant documents should be in order.
As far as the hotel reservation goes, yes you can change it later.
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