5 Types Of Schengen Visas For Nigerians Looking To Travel In 2024

Who needs a Schengen visa?

Anyone travelling to Europe or entering  the Schengen Area and is a citizen of a  nation without a visa-free travel agreement with any Schengen country.

Here are (5) five types of Schengen visas 2024

1. Type A Schengen Visa or Airport Transit Visa: Just to travel through a Schengen airport from a non Schengen country to another non Schengen country. One cannot exit the airport.

Note : UK is no longer part of Brexit. So you need this visa if traveling to UK via a Schengen country. Some Airlines like Ethiopian airlines have technical stops  in Europe cities like Geneva, Zürich en route other destinations. For such flights  technical stops usually do not last more than an hour, involves no aircraft change or passengers disembarking from plane and passing through security checks. For such flights, one does not need a transit visa.

However it is always good to confirm visa requirements and check air routes before finalizing on air tickets.

2. Type B Schengen Visa: Similar to a transit visa to be used for a period less than 5 days. One can leave  the airport ,go into the city (to book an hotel or brief tourism) and return back to the hotel for an onward  journey. One can also go to  another Schengen country and exit from there all within the stipulated days.

3.Type C Schengen visa or Short Visit Visa: This is the most common visa given to tourists and business visitors. Different countries have different issuing authorities with different rules. For example, a country can give one a multiple entry visas of just 30 days, others can give 6 months or one year or even two weeks. While some will give a single entry for  just five days or a week. But one can use this type of visa to enter any Schengen country within the visa validity period.

a. A single-entry visa allows its holder to enter the Schengen area once. Any exit is final, no reentry.

b. A double-entry visa similar to a, but valid for entry twice.

c. A multiple-entry visa allows its holder to enter and leave as many times as they want. This authorization is valid for a maximum of 90 days over a 180 day period. However, this is only permitted once every six months during a period of no more than 90 days.That is one can't spend more than 3 months within 6 consecutive months.

Multiple entry visas (MEV) can be granted for a month, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years or 5 years.

1 year MEV : Can be obtained by those who have used three previous visas within two years period.

3 year MEV: Can be obtained by those who have successfully used a previous 1 year MEV.

5 year MEV: Can be obtained by those who have lawfully used a previous multiple-entry visa valid for at least two years over the past three years.

4.  Type D Schengen Visa or National Long-stay Visa: This is for any foreigner wishing to study, work or live, visit family, partake in professional activities (sports, internships, trainings, religious) in a Schengen country for longer than 90 days.

5. Limited Territorial Visa : This restricts travel through just one or more countries which you were issued visa for. Travel is only limited to the countries listed on the visa application.