Visa application procedure
The procedure for obtaining a Schengen visa for children under 18 years of age is provided for by the general rules established for all countries of the agreement on the common borders of the zone. Compared to the required package for adults, additional documents and correctly completed documentation for accompanying persons are provided.
What are the advantages of a separate international passport for a small citizen and how to obtain a document, read the article “International passport for a child.”
Documents for a Schengen visa to Europe in 2021:
- A passport for traveling abroad for a minor or a parent’s document where the visa will be affixed.
- Birth certificate, internal passport (from 16 years old), its copy.
- Entry applicant application form.
- Photo 3.5x4.5 cm.
- Medical insurance with coverage starting from 30,000 euros.
- A copy of the notarized consent to travel from the parent, if they are not traveling with the child (the original consent must be carried with you, it is presented when crossing the border).
- Original certificate from the educational institution (for schoolchildren and students). Applicable if departure occurs during studies. Not needed during summer holidays.
- Copies of civil passports of father and mother.
- A certificate from the work of one of the parents, indicating the full name, position, since when they have been working, and salary. Be sure to make a note that the certificate was issued at the place of request.
- Documents on financial support during your stay in Europe in accordance with the standards established for each country.
- If a child travels without parents, a sponsorship letter must be provided.
- Notarized permission to travel with an accompanying person.
Design nuances
Experts note that obtaining a Schengen visa for a child takes the same amount of time as for an adult. When going to a visa center or consulate, you need to collect the entire package of necessary papers. In addition, it is taken into account with whom the minor will be in the Schengen zone. By law, children under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
Child travels with parents
A child's departure abroad can take place with mom and dad. In such a situation, to obtain entry permission, parents attach their own notarized copies of Russian passports to the child’s documents. In addition, adults bring certificates from their place of work and receive bank statements stating that their financial situation allows them to travel with the child.
Dad (or mom) must write a sponsorship letter according to the template established by law.
The child is traveling with one of the parents
In the case when you have to travel only with mom or dad, to obtain Schengen a person from 0 to 18 years old will need, in addition to the basic documents:
- permission to leave from the parent remaining in the country;
- document on relationship;
- certificate of absence of father or mother.
Permission to leave from the other parent is always required. This rule applies even if the spouses are married.
If the surnames of the child and the mother are different, the consulate requires a document proving the relationship. This can be a child’s birth certificate or a marriage or divorce certificate certified by a notary.
If a child is being raised by one parent, then the embassy must provide documents about why this happened. For example, a woman may have a single mother certificate or a parent may have been deprived of rights to a child. In addition, the reason for the absence of a second adult in the life of a minor traveler may be death, and in this case, a copy of this certificate, certified by a notary, is included in the package of documents.
Child travels without parents
It happens that children go on holiday abroad without their parents. Some are taken to a children's camp or on vacation with relatives, while others study. In this case, the following is attached to the usual package of documents:
- parental consent to travel;
- sponsorship letter;
- power of attorney;
- Schengen adult;
- round trip air tickets;
- information about your place of residence abroad.
Consent from parents for the child to travel abroad.
When releasing a teenager with an adult escort (relative or stranger), both parents must write to a notary and officially certify the power of attorney and consent to travel. The package of documents includes copies of the Schengen card and international passport of the accompanying adult, copies of round-trip tickets and information about where you will be staying during the trip.
Schengen visa for children under 6 years old
The Russian government has brought legislation into line with the standards of the European Union countries. Federal Law of 09.03. 2021 N 24-FZ “On the procedure for leaving Russia” (hereinafter referred to as the Law) provides that a citizen of the Russian Federation may be issued a foreign passport from birth. After the introduction of this norm, there is no need to affix a child visa to the parents’ passports. The identification procedure is unified and it is simplified for a child to travel abroad if it is necessary to travel without parents, accompanied by trusted persons.
To obtain a visa, minors under 6 years of age do not come to the visa center. The application is submitted on behalf of the child by the parents.
Both sign it, regardless of whether they are divorced or not.
In addition, if the child does not have a foreign passport, you can paste in a Schengen visa for the child if the parents already have information about the child entered in an old-style (non-biometric) passport. You just need to submit an application for this child. The submitted document must have blank pages for a visa for the baby.
A copy of the birth certificate (or, upon request, a notarized copy) is attached to the application form for a young citizen, and to obtain a Schengen visa for children under 12 years of age, you do not have to appear at the embassy or service center. When preparing documents for such Russian citizens, fingerprints are not taken, however, when crossing the border, the border authorities of a Schengen country can make an imprint of the traveler’s entire palm.
Thus, obtaining a visa for a newborn, a Schengen visa for a child 2 years of age and older, inclusively up to 6 years of age, will be the same and free procedure, since the consular fee for Schengen for children under 6 years of age is not charged.
Features of a Schengen visa for children
If you are planning to travel with children or send a minor on your own to a foreign camp or for treatment, you must obtain an entry visa. If we consider the documents that the embassy of the host country will require from a visitor under 18 years of age, then their list is almost no different from the list of papers required by an adult citizen of the Russian Federation.
Children's Schengen visa.
Adults fill out and collect documents for children. At the same time, experts recommend additional consultation at the visa center about how a Schengen visa for children is issued.
Up to 1 year
In order to travel to relatives or for treatment with a child under 12 months of age, the baby must also obtain official permission from the authorities of the receiving country. Upon birth, a newborn can receive not only a birth certificate, but also, starting in the spring of 2010, an international passport. The child receives Schengen within the same time frame as adult applicants.
Children under 6 years old
In order for a minor child to travel with or without his parents, he needs to apply for Schengen. Until six years, the list of documents required by the embassy is small. If children under 2 years of age leave the Russian Federation, then adults fill out a Schengen application form for them online or by hand in black ink.
To apply for Schengen for a preschooler, a copy of the minor’s birth certificate and civil passports of mom and dad are attached to the package of documents. In addition, they include a child’s foreign passport and a photo of the person leaving, 3.5 * 4.5 format.
A minor is provided with health insurance, the amount of which should not be less than 30,000 euros. Along with it, a certificate of financial support for the baby during the trip and a certificate of professional employment of both guardians or one of them is submitted.
A child under 6 years old cannot travel to a country that has signed the Schengen Agreement without a sponsorship letter from the person paying for the tour. The document must contain the full name of the parent and child, the date of birth of both persons and the passport details of the sponsor. The contact phone number and e-mail of the child paying the expenses are also indicated.
Biometric data from children from 0 to 6 years old is not taken at consulates, but when crossing the border, a customs officer can take a photo of the minor’s palm print. The procedure takes a few seconds and the child will not feel any discomfort.
Children from 6 to 18 years old
In order for minors from 6 to 18 years old to be able to travel to countries where a Schengen entry permit is required, parents collect the same package of documents as for children under 6 years old. At the same time, 16-year-old citizens who have received a Russian passport include a copy of the document in the Schengen package. Students of secondary schools or technical schools attach a certificate from the place of study to the above list of papers if the departure is planned during the school period. For example, if a child is 10 years old, then such paper will be required.
For children under 12 years of age, it is not necessary to appear at the embassy to obtain a Schengen visa, but this may be required due to the legislative characteristics of different countries. Travelers who have reached the age of 12 come to the embassy and visa center in person to submit biometric data. In addition, if the parents have an old-style foreign passport, then a traveler under 14 years old can paste the permit there.
Visa to Schengen countries for minors from 6 to 18 years old
Obtaining a visa sticker for traveling to Europe for young people aged 6-18 years, as well as for children under 6 years old, depends on whether the child will receive a visa in his or her foreign passport or whether it will be pasted into the parents’ document. A simple option is to add a children's Schengen visa to the father/mother's passport if it is an old one, but this is only possible for a child under 14 years old if he is traveling with his parents.
From 14.09. 2021 visa software has been migrated to the EU Visa Information System (VIS) and applicants over 12 years of age, if they have not previously completed the procedure, apply in person as their fingerprints are taken.
After 14 years of age, you can submit documents and cross the border on your own.
The need for Schengen registration for a child
This type of visa became mandatory for children not so long ago. Previously, all minors were included in their parents’ passports, so Schengen applied to them as well. Today, kids have their own foreign passports, so they need their own visa. As with adults, Schengen status is indicated on a blank page of the child’s foreign ID.
A Schengen visa is a mandatory document for children under 12 years of age entering the EU countries, but sometimes exceptions are made for children under 2 years of age. You need to learn about this from the rules of entry into a particular country.
Schengen up to 14 years of age is quite quick and easy. The main thing is that such a paper must be approved by one of the parents. The child is not fingerprinted, and he does not have to prove his income. With a Schengen visa, children and their parents can freely visit European countries.
Where to apply for a visa
A visa is issued depending on the purpose of the trip in the following authorities:
- Type C visa (short-term, tourism, trip to relatives):
- at visa service centers in Russia;
- through tourism organizations.
- Type D visa (for study and residence in another country, from 90 days per six months):
- at the consular section of the embassy of the country of entry.
Cost and duration of visa processing
The European Code of April 5, 2021 exempts children under 6 years of age from paying the consular visa fee. It is paid only in case of urgent travel to the eurozone. When submitting documents through visa centers of Schengen countries, the applicant pays a service fee as decided by the country of departure; the equivalent in rubles is set quarterly depending on the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
Cost of consular visa fee:
Austria, Spain, Germany, France, other European countries – 35 euros.
The service fee for individual countries differs slightly:
Service fee for Germany:
- without fingerprinting 18.85 euros;
- with fingerprinting 20.35 euros.
Service fee for Austria – 19.47 euros.
Processing times for visa requests:
- C visas up to 2 weeks;
- D visa from one to three months.
Cost of a child visa
How much does Schengen cost - a frequently asked question from parents. A Schengen visa for children under 6 years of age is usually issued free of charge. Sometimes a fee is charged for resolving a visa issue. Its size is 1000 rubles.
In the Schengen countries there are uniform rules for the admission of foreigners, but it is recommended to clarify the following information at the consulate of the country:
- nuances of obtaining a child visa, based on the purpose of the upcoming trip;
- How long does it take to resolve the issue of obtaining a visa?
- what package of documents is required to cross the border;
- what are the requirements for the child, depending on age;
- Do I need to pay a consular fee and what is its amount?
How and with whom can a minor travel?
A minor can cross the border accompanied by:
- both parents;
- one parent: a family court order is granted if only one parent has custody of the child;
- guardians - you must attach a notarized parental permission signed by both parents.
According to Article 20 of the Law:
If a citizen under 18 years of age leaves the country without adoptive parents, guardians or trustees, it is necessary to have a passport and notarized consent from these persons to leave, indicating the time of departure and the country where the child is going.
Article 21 of the Law:
If one of the parents, adoptive parents, guardians or trustees disagrees with the child’s departure from Russia, only a court can give such permission.
After 14 years of age, a Russian has the right to travel independently.
