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I will be visiting multiple Schengen countries. For which country should I apply for a visa?

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If you plan to visit the Netherlands and need a visa, but will also be visiting other countries in the Schengen area besides the Netherlands, apply for a visa for the country you plan to stay in the longest.

Attention: If you don’t know whether you need a visa for your trip to the Netherlands, check whether you need a visa.

The country where you will stay longest

If you will visit multiple countries in the Schengen area, you should apply for a visa for the country where you will stay longest.

If you will spend one day at a conference in the Netherlands and two days at a conference in France, apply for a visa for France, because that’s where you will stay longest.

Same length of stay in each country

If you plan to spend an equal amount of time in each country, apply for a visa for the country associated with your main purpose of travel. In other words: your main reason for visiting the Schengen area.

For example, your purpose of travel may be:

  • a holiday (tourism)
  • business
  • a visit to family or friends

If you will travel to the Netherlands on business and also visit Sweden before or afterwards for pleasure, and you intend to spend the same amount of time in both countries, your business trip is the main reason for your stay in the Schengen area. You should apply for a visa for the Netherlands.

Same length of stay and purpose of travel for each country

If you plan to spend an equal amount of time in each country and your purpose of travel is the same for both, apply for a visa for the country where you will first enter the Schengen area.

If you are going on holiday and will visit the Netherlands, then Germany and then Spain, and you plan to spend the same amount of time in each country, apply for a visa for the Netherlands, as this is the first Schengen country you will be visiting.

Applying for a Schengen visa

If your travel plans require you to apply for a Schengen visa for the Netherlands, how and where you do this depends on the country you are in.

Find out how to apply for a Schengen visa for the Netherlands

If you need to apply for a Schengen visa for another country, ask that country’s embassy how and where you can do this.

Information: Only make an appointment at the embassy of the country for which you are applying for a visa. If you cannot get an appointment right away, try again later. There is no point making an appointment with another country’s embassy. Your application will not be processed.

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.