A visa is a necessity for all South African passport holders for them to enter the Schengen area. The Schengen countries comprise Austria; Belgium, Finland, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Spain.
If you are planning to visit just one Schengen country, you have to process your application for a Schengen visa at the embassy or consulate of that particular country.
If your plan is to visit several countries within Schengen territory, you need to apply for your Schengen visa at that country’s embassy or consulate where you are planning to spend the majority of your visit. If you are visiting France for five days, and the Netherlands and Germany for three days each, you need to process your Schengen visa application at the embassy or consulate of France.
However, if you wish to visit multiple Schengen countries, but have no major destination, you need to apply for a Schengen visa at the embassy or consulate of the country which is your first point of entry.
One Schengen visa is equivalent to a multiple visa, which allows you to enter all Schengen countries. There are different types of Schengen visas: a short-stay visa, a long-stay visa, a transit visa, a group visa, and an airport-transit visa.
For any visa application, just contact your respective embassy or consulate.
South Africans will be granted visas as a temporary passport if they are travelling in two months’ time and if they have South African identity documents. Be sure to inquire before you travel, as some Schengen countries do not permit access on a temporary passport.
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