Type A — airport transit
If you're flying through a Schengen airport without leaving the international zone, you might still need a Type A. It depends entirely on your nationality. Most Indian, Pakistani and Nigerian passport-holders need one even for a six-hour layover.
Type A doesn't let you exit the airport. If you want to nip out for dinner in Frankfurt during your transit, you need Type C.
Type A is the visa equivalent of "you can wait in the lounge but you can't go to the city."
Common Type A list (Annex IV)
Eleven nationalities require Type A even for international-zone transit. The full list is set by EU Regulation 810/2009; Schengen states may add their own.
Type C — short-stay
This is the one most travellers want. Type C covers tourism, business, family visits and short courses, up to 90 days within any 180-day rolling window. It can be single-entry, double-entry or multiple-entry depending on your travel pattern and history.
| Variant | Best for | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Single-entry | First-time tourists, fixed dates | Trip dates only |
| Double-entry | Round-trip with side excursion | Trip + 30-day buffer |
| Multiple-entry | Frequent travellers, business | 1, 3 or 5 years |
Type D — long-stay
For stays over 90 days: study, work, family reunification, retirement. Each Schengen country issues its own Type D under its national rules — there's no unified procedure. Schengen Visa Pro doesn't currently support Type D applications; we'll point you to specialist immigration advice instead.
LTV — limited validity
Issued in narrow circumstances when you don't quite meet the requirements but the consulate believes there's a humanitarian or strategic reason to let you travel. The visa is valid only for the country that issued it — the rest of the Schengen zone is off-limits.
Which one for you?
Most travellers reading this want Type C, multiple-entry if their travel history supports it, single-entry otherwise. Run the free eligibility check on our homepage and we'll confirm in two minutes.
Ready to apply?
Schengen Visa Pro covers Type C visas to all 29 Schengen states. Twenty minutes from start to download.
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