Schengen Business Visa for Indians: How to Apply & Requirements

If you are an Indian citizen planning on travelling to the Schengen states for business reasons, you must first apply for a business visa. In this blog, we will guide you through obtaining a Schengen business visa and provide you with all the important details regarding the visa.

What Is A Schengen Business Visa?

Indian nationals travelling to the Schengen area must have a valid business visa. The business visa allows Indians to travel to the Schengen area for business purposes, such as attending meetings, conferences, or discussing business deals.

The business visa for Schengen is a type C visa, the same as the Schengen tourist visa. However, with the business visa, you require additional documents, which will allow you to conduct business activities.

Where Should I Obtain A Business Visa For Schengen?

When applying for your Schengen visa, you must apply through the embassy, consulate, or application centre of the country you plan to visit. If you plan on visiting multiple Schengen countries, you need to consider the following:

• Longest Stay: You must apply through the country's embassy, consulate, or centre where you will spend the most time.

• Enter First: If you visit various countries with the same stay period, you must apply for your visa through the embassy, consulate, or centre of the country you will enter first.

Documents Required For A Schengen Business Visa

Before applying for your business visa, you must ensure you have all the required documents. Here is what you will need:

• Passport: You need a valid passport for at least 3 more months after your departure date from the Schengen states and have at least 2 blank pages.

• Application Form: You need a complete application form for the Schengen visa.

• Photo: Provide a recently taken photo. Your photograph must meet the Schengen visa photo requirements.

• Copy Of Passport: You must submit a copy of your passport's identity page and a copy of the page with previous Schengen entry stamps.

• Cover Letter: You must submit a Schengen cover letter signed by the inviting company stating your name, trip purpose, and stay duration.

• Invitation Letter: You require an invitation letter signed by the inviting company. The letter must state planned activities and the relationship between the visiting and inviting businesses.

• Travel Itinerary: Submit a Schengen travel itinerary proving your travel plans.

• Travel Insurance: When visiting the Schengen area, you must have valid travel insurance.

• Proof Of Finances: You must prove you have enough funds to cover your stay in the Schengen area. This can be shown by providing bank statements or a sponsorship letter if being sponsored.

• Flight Tickets: You must show proof of flight tickets by providing flight reservations.

• Proof Of Accommodation: Submit proof of where you will stay by providing hotel reservations.

Additional Documents Required

Depending on the length of stay and the country you intend to visit, there might be additional documents you must submit, such as:

• Detailed Meetings Itinerary: If your stay is over 30 days, you must provide a detailed itinerary of your Scheduled business meetings in the Schengen area.

• Proof Of Employment: You might need to provide proof of employment by submitting an employment contract.

• Proof Of Residency: Sometimes, you might need to provide proof of your residency.

Each embassy varies, and they might ask for additional documents. For the most updated documents, contact the embassy of the country you intend to visit.

Applying For Your Schengen Business Visa

Let's look at what steps you need to follow when applying for your Schengen business visa from India:

1. 1

   Gather The Documents: The first step will require you to collect all required documents, like the cover letter, invitation letter, etc. To start, do some research and see what documents you need.

2. 2

   Complete The Application Form: The next step requires you to complete the Schengen visa application form. Depending on the country you intend to visit, the application form must either be completed online or on paper.

3. 3

   Book Your Appointment: You must visit the embassy, consulate, or centre to submit your application. But before you can do that, you need to book a Schengen visa appointment. The appointment must be booked through the embassy or application centre's website.

4. 4

   Attend Your Appointment: You must attend a visa interview at the embassy or centre, submit your application, and provide your biometric information. The biometrics only need to be provided every 59 months.

5. 5

   Wait For Your Visa: The Schengen visa processing time can take 15 days to complete, but delays can cause the timeframe to be longer. Once your business visa application gets approved, you can collect it from the embassy.

Use Atlys for a quick Schengen visa appointment. Atlys will ensure that you get an appointment date in no time.

Overview Of The Schengen Business Visa

Now that you know how to apply for your business Schengen visa, let's look at some important details regarding the visa:

What Are The Schengen Business Visa Fees?

The Schengen business visa fee is EUR 80. Approximately ₹7188.

Note: There might be additional service fees if you apply for your visa through an application centre.

What is The Business Visa Stay Period?

Since the business visa is also a type C short-stay visa, you can stay in the Schengen area for 90 days.

What Is The Schengen Visa Processing Time?

The processing time of your Schengen visa application takes 15 days to complete. However, the time can be longer if there are delays in processing your visa due to factors such as a lack of documents or incorrect information.

What Is The Business Visa Validity Period?

The Schengen business visa can be obtained as a single or multiple-entry visa and is valid for 6 months.

Can I Extend My Schengen Visa?

Extending a Schengen visa is generally not allowed, except in specific conditions. These conditions must be a serious reason that causes you not to be able to leave the country, such as medical emergencies or professional business reasons.

Any reason provided can only be found valid if you have spent less than 90 days in the Schengen country.

What Are The Schengen Visa Types Indians Can Apply For?

The Schengen area provides various visa types. The common types include:

• Tourist visa: The Schengen tourist visa allows you to enter the Schengen state for sightseeing, leisure, and exploring purposes. This is a Schengen type C visa, allowing a stay period of 90 days.

• Transit visa: Schengen also provides a type A visa, which is a transit visa for Schengen. This visa allows you to travel through the Schengen state while on your way to a 3rd country.

• Student visa: Indians can get a study visa for Schengen. With a study visa, you can live and study in the Schengen area for the short or long term.

• Work visa: Indians who got an employment offer from the Schengen area must have an employment visa for Schengen. The employment visa allows you to live and work in the Schengen area.

Summarised

This blog taught us that Indians can apply for a Schengen business visa. The application must be made at the embassy, consulate, or visa application centre. The business visa is similar to the tourist visa since it is also a type C visa. However, with a business visa, you can enter the Schengen states for business purposes for up to 90 days.

Government Sources

At Atlys, we recognise the importance of having accurate and up-to-date information when applying for a visa. That's why all the information from this guide was gathered from trusted government sources, such as:

• The official France Visa Website.

• Norway Business Visa Checklist.

Fees and requirements can change at any moment. So, it is advised to contact the embassy for the most up-to-date information on the business visa.