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Schengen Visa Information
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration hereby gives notification that Luxembourg’s Benelux partners, i.e. Belgium and the Netherlands, have recently been outsourcing the receipt of visa applications in certain third country jurisdictions. This affects the following cities: Accra (NL), New Delhi (B), Mumbai (B), Islamabad (B), St Petersburg (NL), Ankara (B) and Istanbul (B), Kiev (B).
Additional information concerning this new procedure with regard to applying for a visa for Luxembourg may be obtained from the following websites: www.diplomatie.be and www.mfa.nl .
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On 26 March 1996, the Schengen Agreement entered into force which removed internal border controls between the signatory states of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Subsequently Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Norway and Sweden joined the aforementioned countries. These fifteen countries make up an area without borders, also known as the Schengen area. Border control for entry into the Schengen area is carried out on the external borders of these countries.
Communal laws, for example in terms of visas and external border controls, have been adopted in order to allow the free circulation of people within the Schengen area. This means that a visa issued by one of these states also enables the holder to move freely within the other states whilst the visa is valid. This visa is commonly known as the "Schengen visa" as it is named after a small Luxembourg village on the river Moselle on the Franco-German border where the Schengen agreements were signed.
The Schengen visa is a short stay visa (maximum stay of three months within a six month period) for business, tourist visits, family visits etc.
There are three types of Schengen Visa
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Type A: Visa de transit aeroportuaire (Airport transit visa)
This visa constitutes an exception to the general rule allowing transit without a visa in the international zone of airport transit. The visa does not allow access to the Schengen territory. -
Type B: Visa de transit (Transit visa)
This visa allows the holder to pass through one or more Schengen states in order to get to another state. The necessary duration for this transit cannot exceed 5 days. -
Type C: Visa de court séjour (Short stay visa)
This visa allows entry into the Schengen territory for a maximum uninterrupted stay of 90 days over a period of six months. The visa can be issued for single or multiple entry. In the event of multiple entries, the total duration of the different stays spent in the Schengen area cannot exceed 90 days over a period of six months. The maximum validity of a visa during which authorised visits can be made is one year.
Visas A, B, C can also be affixed to a collective passport for a homogenous group of between 5 people and 50 people for a journey not exceeding thirty days. A homogenous group is understood to mean a group of people sharing common interests e.g.: sports teams, cultural organisations, opera orchestras, youth associations etc. The collective passport must be issued by a competent administrative authority in the country in which the members of the group reside. The collective passport must include the name of the person in charge of the group.
Applications for a Schengen visa should be made to the Embassy or Consulate of the country which is the principal destination of the visit.
Click here for information on how to obtain a Schengen Visa.