Okuzeka
Immigration & Visas vocabulary · Visa Types

Schengen visa

Meaning in immigration & visas, with examples

/ˈʃeŋən ˈviːzə/nounCore term

In immigration & visas, Schengen visa means: A short-stay visa for the Schengen Area, a group of European countries that have removed regular passport checks at their shared borders.

In Turkish: Schengen vizesi

How it is used

It usually allows stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You normally apply to the country of your main destination, or to the country you enter first if there is no main destination. People talk about single-entry and multiple-entry Schengen visas.

Example sentences

  1. I'm applying for a Schengen visa through the Italian consulate because I'll spend most of my trip in Rome.

  2. With a Schengen visa you can travel from France to Spain without another passport check.

Common collocations

  • apply for a Schengen visa
  • Schengen Area
  • 90/180 rule
  • multiple-entry Schengen visa
  • multiple-entry visaA visa that lets you enter and leave a country as many times as you like while it is valid, as long as you follow the limits on length of stay.
  • tourist visaA short-stay visa for holidays, sightseeing or visiting friends and family, which does not allow you to work in the country.
  • travel insuranceInsurance that pays for medical treatment and other problems, such as cancelled trips or lost luggage, while you are travelling abroad.
  • visaOfficial permission from a country that allows a foreign citizen to enter, stay in or pass through it for a particular purpose and period.
  • visa application centreAn office, usually run by a private company for a government, where applicants hand in documents, give biometrics and later collect their passports.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Visa Types

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.