Combined Business and Tourism Trip to Schengen Area. Which consulate am I supposed to approach for a visa? [closed]

I am traveling to France for X days on a business event and following that am going on a vacation trip to Iceland where I will be staying for X+6 days and X+5 nights.

As I understand the procedures for visa applications, I should send my application to:

France consulate -- as the main purpose of my trip is the French business meeting, and France is my port of entry to Schengen.
Iceland consulate (taken care of by the Denmark consulate) -- as I spend more days of my travel in Iceland.

According the the Schengen rules and guidelines for visa applications (and those of France & Iceland), to which consulate should I send my application? Does it matter (according to the official rules and guidelines)?

(Note: To keep this question from being too opinion based, let's limit it to what the official rules and guidelines say, rather than speculating on what will happen in my particular case.)

Best Answer

The "longest stay" rule applies only if no main purpose for your trip can be identified, so as far as I can see you should have applied to France instead.

If the Danish consulate has this opinion too, they should return the application to you undecided and refund the application fee -- in other words, you won't get a visa, but you also won't have a visa refusal that you'll need to explain later. You can then immediately apply to France instead.

On the other hand, there's nothing much you can do now other than wait and hope they don't share my understanding of the rule.

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Should my first trip be to the country which issued my 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.

Which embassy is best for Schengen visa?

Last year, the Greek embassies abroad approved 95.1% of the applications received. Greece is the fifth most favorite country for those intending to visit the Schengen area for short-term stays, with 855,285 applications received last year.

Can Schengen tourist visa be used for business?

Visa holders can visit any country within the Schengen Area for tourism purposes. Holders of this type of visa are not permitted to carry out any business activities, study or obtain employment. Visa holders can visit any country within the Schengen Area for business purposes.

Can I enter and or exit the Schengen area via a country other than the one for which I have a visa?

As a general rule, you may cross any Schengen border with visa issued by any Schengen country. However, you should try and stick to your itinerary as filed when applying for your Schengen Visa.

THE SCHENGEN ZONE TRAVEL EXPLAINED - DIGITAL NOMAD TV

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