Schengen Visa Extension

Whether you are a traveler who wishes to experience more of Europe, a business person who has some unforeseen business to do after the expiration of your visa, or a patient seeking medical treatment in one or more member states of the Schengen Zone that needs to continue their medical treatment, you will not be permitted to stay in Europe after the expiration of your Schengen visa, unless you extend the visa.

Schengen Area signifies a zone where 26 European countries, abolished their internal borders, for the unrestricted movement of people, in harmony with standard rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality by strengthening the standard judicial system and police cooperation.

Schengen Area covers most of the EU countries, except Ireland and the countries soon to be part of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Cyprus. Although not members of the EU, countries like Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein are also part of the Schengen zone.

According to the Schengen rules, one can obtain a short-stay European visa for three months within six months. However, for many foreigners, 90 days are just not enough, especially for travelers who want to visit all of the 28 Schengen Member States, each of which is an exciting attraction with rich culture and traditions, making these travelers wish not to leave.

Though many believe that it is impossible to extend a short-stay Schengen visa, that is entirely possible. It is very hard, but if you have a strong reason on which you base your application, then you have quite a chance of getting that visa extension. However, you can always check the visa calculator for a maximum of three months within six months.

Extension of Visa to Stay:

If you traveled to Luxembourg on a nonimmigrant visa and want to extend your stay, you must apply with Luxembourg LCIS before your authorized stay, denoted on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, expires. It is recommended you apply well in advance of your expiration date. To learn more select Luxembourg LCIS,

Important Note: Providing permission to enter and remain in Luxembourg. to persons holding a nonimmigrant visa is not the responsibility of the Department of State, and therefore Visa Services is unable to assist you in this regard. All inquiries must be directed to Luxembourg Customs and Immigration Service (LCIS).

What is Schengen Visa?

The Schengen Visa, is also known as the short-stay visa. It's the type of visa that allows you to stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within 180 days. Your visa will be valid for a specific period. This period may be shorter than 90 days. You can travel freely between the 26 Schengen countries while your visa validates.

Schengen Visa Validity:

Before deciding to apply to extend your Schengen visa, know the validity of the visa you hold and the type you hold. A short stay-stay Schengen visa can be either:

• Single entry – which means you will have a limited amount of days to remain in Schengen, and after you leave, you have no right to go back
• A double-entry visa applies for the same policy as mentioned above. However, you are allowed to enter the Schengen Area twice, meaning that for a certain period permitted by your visa, you can enter the Schengen Zone, leave, and enter again without any problems. Once you are out of the country for the second time, the visa expires.
• Multiple entries – which means you will be granted a visa that permits you to enter any of the Schengen member states as many times as you wish, for as long that you do not surpass the 3 months limit within a six months period.

In all cases, you can apply for a visa extension if you have a strong reason why you wish to remain.

Below in this article, you can find the ultimate guideline on extending a Schengen visa, the reasons under which the extension may be granted, as well as what the required documents are and how to apply to extend a short-stay Schengen visa.

Schengen Visa Extension:

Short-stay Schengen visa extensions are permitted by the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EC) No. 810/2009 of 13 July 2009, establishing a Community Code on Visas (Journal of Laws of the EU of 2009 L243/1). However, you will have a very low chance to get one if you do not have a strong reason as the basis of your application.

Schengen Visa Extension Requirements:

After you figure out the reasons which will be the basis of your application, where and when to apply, move to the other step, which is gathering the required documents. Unlike when collecting the Schengen visa required documents, for a visa extension, you need to submit quite fewer documents.

The list of documents you need when applying for a Schengen visa extension is as follows:

• Passport, which must have the current visa under which you entered the Schengen
• Application form, for a short-stay Schengen visa extension
• One photo fulfills all the criteria and visa photo requirements.
• Proof of Income, which shows you can financially maintain yourself during the period of time you have applied to get a visa extension.
• Travel Health Insurance – covers the whole Schengen Area as well as the whole period for which you have applied to extend your visa.
• Documents, which prove your situation, and the need to get a visa extension.

After you collect these documents, schedule an interview appointment online with the immigration authorities (or they're equal). In some of the member states, you may not have to schedule an interview; however, try to check out if this applies to the country you are currently residing in or not.

If you need to schedule an interview, do it, and on the day of the interview, show there on time with all of the required documents. The interview is crucial to get a visa extension in the countries that apply for it since, during it the interviewer will decide if you need to extend your visa and the reasons you have presented are true or if you are just trying to remain a little longer in the country.

Processing Time for Visa Extension:

Usually, your visa extension application can take a few days, up to a month to be processed by the relevant authorities. During this time, you are permitted to remain in the country where you submitted your application even after your visa expires but not to travel to the other Schengen countries.

If you are granted a visa you will be able to remain, while if you do not you will have one or two days to leave.

Schengen Short-Stay Visa Extension Fee:

A Schengen visa extension fee is different from a standard Schengen visa fee, which you apply for prior to your trip to the Schengen Area. Depending on the reasons for your application to extend your short-stay Schengen visa, as well as if it is the first or second extension you are applying for, you may or may not have to pay a fee.

First Visa Extension Fee:

If this is the first time you are applying for a Schengen short-stay visa extension, then you will not have to pay any fee if your application is based on the following reasons:

1. humanitarian reasons
2. major reasons

Whereas, you will have to pay a fee of 30 euros if you have based your application on one of the following reasons:

• Important personal reasons
• due to late entry
• Second Visa Extension Fee

If you have already extended your visa once, but you need to extend it once again, for whatever reasons, then you will have to pay a fee. The cost of the second Schengen visa extension fee depends on the age of the applicant as follows:

Late Entry:

Only if you have a single-entry, short-stay visa can you use this justification to apply for a visa extension. Nevertheless, this is your best opportunity to extend your visa. If you entered Schengen after your visa expired, you might apply for this visa extension.

Thus, if your visa became valid on August 1, but you entered Schengen on August 15, you can apply for a two-week visa extension and have a strong chance of being granted it.

Humanitarian Reasons:

The Schengen visa policy has made it possible to extend a Schengen visa for short stays to prevent or alleviate hardships for nationals of third countries.

You will be granted an extension of your short-stay visa based on humanitarian grounds if you need to remain in one of the member states to continue receiving medical treatment, attend the funeral of a family member who died unexpectedly, assist a close relative who is experiencing hardship, etc.

Bottom Lines:

"Schengen Visa Extension" is an article that details how to extend your Schengen visa.

The article further explained the meaning of the Schengen visa, Schengen visa validity, Schengen visa extension, Schengen visa extension requirements, the processing time for the visa extension, Schengen visa extension fee, first visa extension fee, where to apply for Schengen visa extension, late entry, and humanitarian reason.