What is intended by “period of validity” of a Schengen visa?
The validity period is the period during which the visa holder can use the visa to enter and exit the Schengen area. Maximum validity of a short stay visa is five years.
Validity period is different from the period of authorised stay: the latter is the effective number of days that the visa holder can stay in the Schengen zone during the period of validity of the visa. The period of authorised stay is from 1 up to maximum 90 days.
The “grace period”
Interestingly, when applying for a short-term Schengen visa, consulates typically grant a 15-day grace period beyond the requested validity. In this way, the Schengen visa holder has some flexibility when travelling.
The Handbook for processing visa applications provides the following examples:
Example 1: an Egyptian national applies for a Schengen visa to attend a wedding in Italy on 25.6 and stay for tourism until 6.7. With arrival on 22.6 and hotel bookings from 27.6 to 5.7, the visa validity should be 22.6–21.7, covering the stay plus a 15-day grace period.
Example 2: a Chinese national is travelling to Svalbard (Spitzbergen) for one week. For the Schengen visa application she presents an airline ticket reservation indicating arrival at Oslo Airport (Norway), transfer, and departure to Longyearbyen via Tromsø, where border control will be carried out. As the applicant has to travel the same way back to China, she applies for a visa with two entries. This person should be granted a visa allowing for two entries and a ‘period of grace”: date of arrival + duration of stay + 15 days of ‘period of grace’
The grace period doesn’t apply to multiple-entry Schengen visas valid for 6 months to 5 years, as they already provide travel flexibility. Additionally, on the grounds of public policy or for the international relations EU Member States may decide not to grant such a ‘period of grace’.
