Schengen visa for children

Your child will travel to Europe. Perhaps you are going on vacation, the child goes to a competition or an international competition. He is in anticipation of new impressions, and moms and dads are puzzled: there are too many incomprehensible nuances concerning the correct documentation of children leaving the country.

With the passport everything is more or less clear, but it remains to deal with a special visa, which is called the Schengen visa. Is it necessary for a child? How to make it? Can you do it yourself?

As an entry document, a Schengen visa is very convenient, and therefore such a desirable document that gives a person the ability to move freely, travel without unnecessary bureaucratic "problems" in the states that are members of the "Schengen" policy. It was decided back in 1985 to simplify the verification of identity cards when crossing state borders. What and concluded an agreement. At first, only five powers went for it - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany.

The agreement was valid until 1999, after which the whole Schengen legislation appeared. We'll talk about him a little later, but for now we’ll find out which corners of the world it is possible to go with a registered visa.

These places on the world map exactly 26:

• Austria;
• Belgium;
• Hungary;
• Germany;
• Holland;
• Greece;
• Denmark;
• Iceland;
• Spain;
• Italy;
• Latvia;
• Lithuania;
• Liechtenstein;
• Luxembourg;
• Malta;
• Norway;
• Poland;
• Portugal;
• Slovakia;
• Slovenia;
• Finland;
• France;
• Czech Republic;
• Switzerland;
• Sweden;
• Estonia.

The visa has its own special category, which is directly dependent on its intended purpose:

1. Single document marked "A" permits a person to move around the airport of a Schengen member, his owner has the right to calmly change from one flight to another where the Schengen legislation applies.
2. Transit Document Permits Travel by car, motorbike, bus and on foot through the country participating in the agreement, but only for 5 daysand also fly over its air borders by plane.
3. Mark "C", affixed in the entry document, indicates that its holder is allowed to reside directly within the state. Naturally, for as long as the document is valid.

A cherished visa is one-time, for one trip, and reusable. To issue such a document, you need to collect the required papers and go with them to the diplomatic mission of the country where you want to go or fly.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the video, where a competent specialist will tell about the design of the Schengen visas for a child, how much it costs and what documents are needed.

Entry document for children – mandatory requirement when traveling. This is done by the applicant, and in most cases this requires a personal presence. The documents for the child are filled in by the parents, but the presence of a minor in a responsible conversation at the embassy is mandatory.Thus, getting a child Schengen is quite troublesome.

First you need to evaluate the available documents. If information about the child is in the parent's passport, it is inscribed on a separate page of the still old passport, true acting, then children, who are not yet fourteen years old may well go abroad according to the parent document. A child visa in such a position is made on the basis of the child’s first and main document - his birth certificate and the “paper” foreign passport of the mother or father.

After 14 years, a separate document is also required.

In terms of escorting children, Schengen legislation is adamantly wandering around states bound by Schengen legislation,A juvenile can only be with adults.

This means that those who are planning to accompany the child must also submit documents to the consulate. If there is a family voyage, then the required package is prepared by both parents or guardians of the baby.

If a child travels with another adult (teacher, sports school leader, coach), the child must have an individual foreign passport and written notarized consent from the parents for the trip.

For practical reasons, it is better to apply for a visa before you buy plane tickets, because the embassy is unpredictable by and large and always reserves the undeniable right to refuse a visa without justifying the reasons for its decision.

• For children under 6 years of age, entry to most Schengen countries is free.However, there are exceptions (in Holland, for example, in Denmark and in France, a special fee will be charged to the consulate for the child - about 1000 rubles, but this can be done only when the child has his / her passport). Many countries generally do not take any money from children under the age of 2 years. Refine this nuance at the embassy to avoid unpleasant surprises and embarrassing situations.

• Children from 6 to 18 years old give a visa in the same order as the younger children. However, young Russians after fourteen must have their own international passport, and now from the age of twelve children must pass through biometrics, but you can not do it until 12.

Two years ago, the paperwork for a Schengen entry visa has changed, and now the child requires mandatory biometric identification, as well as for adults. Children from 12 years old will have to undergo additional fingerprinting and leave their fingerprints in a single database.

Accurately and correctly filled out questionnaire is of paramount importance, because it is not uncommon for a visa to be issued only because the questionnaire is filled with errors.

The form of the questionnaire can be downloaded from the website of the embassy, ​​fill it preferably with a non-colored pen, preferably in block letters, in Latin. The data that you specify in it must be confirmed to the smallest detail with all the documents attached to the package. Any, even minimal contradiction, can be the basis for a negative response from a diplomatic worker. A sample of the completed application form is on the website of any embassy or consulate. If you approach the matter thoughtfully, the filling will not cause any special difficulties.

The child's name should be written exactly as it is written in the passport, otherwise problems may arise at the initial stage. When referring to the previous surname, the situation is meant if the child had to change it due to circumstances. If there were no such situations in the biography of the child, leave the second paragraph blank.

Date of birth should be written carefully, legibly, each number - in a separate cell. In the section "Birthplace" you should not paint everything, like a child's birth certificate, write, as in the passport. The country of birth is the state code adopted in the international arena, in our case Russia is RUS. When specifying the marital status, the child is put “Free”. Be sure to specify the period of validity of the passport of the child, according to the rules, it must expire no later than 3 months from the expected day of departure from the country.

If you have relatives abroad in the EU, fill out 34 and 35 points, but this information may not be filled out if you do not want to disclose some information concerning your family. The questionnaire ends with a signature, if the child is more than 14 years old, he signs an autograph himself and additionally someone from his parents, if the child is younger, the parents sign for him.

Exact lists of what is required to obtain a child Schengen published on the websites of each embassy, ​​they may vary somewhat in detail, but only slightly. A standard set of papers to be collected looks like this:

• Passports of parents, with a mark about the child inscribed there (in the case of a child under 14 years of age).

• The international passport of the child, if he has already turned 14 years old.

• Child's birth certificate.

• Copies of Russian passports of the parents and child, if he already has his passport.

• Filled visa application form and application.

• Photos of the child 3,4Х4,5 (from 2 to 4 pieces), made maximum six months before the submission of documents, and better - very fresh.

• Help from the place of study of the child.

• Documents confirming the purpose of the trip. If this is tourism, then show a hotel reservation or a tourist voucher. If you are going for treatment, you will have to present a contract for the provision of medical services with a certain European or other clinic at the consulate. If the child goes to study abroad, he will have to take an order to enroll him in a college or university with him for a conversation with the diplomatic department.

• Documents about the financial condition. They are required to confirm solvency. These may be certificates from the workplace of adults indicating the amount of income (2 NDFL), an extract from the bank about how much money is in the person’s account. Each country has its own requirements for the amount of money in the account of a potential guest, usually the amounts are quite reasonable, at the rate of no more than 100 euros per day of stay.

• The unemployed will not be able to count on a visa without providing a sponsorship letter, a document confirming that someone from family members, people with whom you have family ties, is ready to pay your expenses. You must attach documents to him proving that the sponsor is related to you, his certificate of employment, an extract from his bank account and a copy of his Russian internal passport.

• Health insurance. So far, medical insurance is not mandatory, but a number of countries have already begun to request such a policy when deciding whether to issue a visa. It is better if the children have it. This in extreme situations can help a lot. It is easy to issue a policy in any insurance company, the cost is about 3-5 thousand rubles.

Suppose that the purpose of your child's journey is to participate in competitions, international art contests, as well as a group tourist excursion. In this case, he will also need a Schengen visa. It is obligatory for parents to obtain a notarized consent to leave the child in the company of a certain person who, naturally, has reached the age of majority. The agreement of such a plan must give both the mother and father. Adults who will accompany other children must be listed in the application for issuing an entry Schengen document.

How much your entry document will take, and how much you can be visiting, directly depends on its type. Considering the objectives of the visit, the tasks of the trip and your wishes, the embassy makes an informed decision and gives permissions and sets restrictions.

Most often, a tourist visa for residents of our country is valid for no more than 90 days from the date of entry into the country, you can come on it every six months for such a period. This is the most common visa - one. There is also a national visa; it is issued to our compatriots who need to work, study or live in one of the countries of the Schengen zone on a permanent basis. The validity of such an entry name document is determined at the discretion of the employees of the diplomatic mission.

In most cases, after making a positive decision for a visa you need to pay a fee, which is on average equal to 35-40 euros. Urgent visa will require double costs - about 70 euros. Children under six years old are exempt from paying this fee.

If there is no time, and you want someone to take care of you, contact any travel agency that provides visa services. This service will cost 3-4 thousand rubles.

After you decide on the country of destination, it is time to determine where exactly to issue a Schengen visa. If through an intermediary, be vigilant, study on the website of the representative office of the selected country the list of organizations that are accredited for such work.

Do not fall for the scam! If you decide to go all the way by yourself, then study the information on the list of documents on the embassy website. Collect the entire package, use the preliminary appointment for an interview, talk in advance with the embassy official on the phone about the date and time of the conversation.

You can also listen to a brief webinar on how to get a children's Schengen visa.