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The requirement of a visa for short-term stays in the Schengen area which do not involve employment or any self-employed activity are set out in an EU regulation. The list of the nationals which require a visa for a short-term stay (so-called Annex I list) and the visa-free nationals (so-called Annex II list) refers to the nationality of the third-country national and not to the passport or travel document he or she is holding (with an exception to holders of Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR passport holders, and another exception vis a vis holders of refugee travel documents, where the country which issued the travel document is relevant). Third-country nationals who intend to take up employment or self-employed activity may be required by member states to obtain a visa even if they are listed on the Schengen visa-free list; usual business trips are normally not considered employment in this sense.

The uniform visa is granted in the form of a sticker affixed by a Member State onto a passport, travel document or another valid document which entitles the holder to cross the border, provided that the entry conditions are met at the time of entry.

It is granted in the following categories:

• Category A refers to an airport transit visa. It is required for some few nationals for passing through the international transit area of airports during a stop-over or transfer between two sections of an international flight. The requirement to have this visa is an exception to the general right to transit without a visa through an international transit area of an airport.
• Category B refers to a transit visa. It is required by nationals who are not visa-free for travelling from one non-Schengen state to another non-Schengen state, in order to pass through the Schengen area. Each transit may not exceed five days.
• Category C refers to a short-term stay visa. They are issued for reasons other than to immigrate. They entitle holders to carry out a continuous visit or several visits whose duration does not exceed three months in any half-year from the date of first entry.
• Category D refers to national visa. They are issued by a Schengen state in accordance with its national legislation as with respect to the conditions (however, a uniform sticker is used). The national visa allows the holder to transit from a non-Schengen country to the Schengen state which issued the national visa within five days. Only after the holder has obtained a residence title after arrival in the destination country (or a different visa), he may again travel to other Schengen countries.
• Category D+C visa combine the functions of the visa of both categories: They are intended to allow the holder to enter the issuing Schengen state for long-term stay in that state, but also to travel in the Schengen area like a holder of a Category C visa.
• FTD and FRTD are special visa issued for road (FTD) or rail (FRTD) transit only between mainland Russian Federation and its western exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast.

Under specific circumstances, the territorial validity of a Schengen visa of the categories B, C, or D+C is issued with territorial validity to not all of the Schengen states. Such visa may, for example, be issued for humanitarian or other specific reasons. Territorial validity may also be restricted in case that the travel document in which it is affixed is not accepted by all of the Schengen states. In such cases, the visa authorizes a foreigner entry, stay, and exit exclusively in the territory of one or more Schengen member states for which the visa is valid.

Under certain conditions, seamen are issued visa at the border in order to board a ship or travel home from a ship in a Schengen harbor. Furthermore, visa may also be issued at the border in exceptional cases, e.g. emergencies.

To obtain a Schengen visa, a traveler must take the following steps:

• He or she must first identify which Schengen country is the main destination. This determines the State responsible for deciding on the Schengen visa application and therefore the embassy or the consulate where the traveler will have to lodge the application. If the main destination cannot be determined, the traveler should file the visa application at the embassy or consulate of the Schengen country of first entry. If the Schengen State of the main destination or first entry does not have a diplomatic mission or consular post in his country, the traveler must contact the embassy or the consulate of another Schengen country, normally located in the traveler's country, which represents, for the purpose of issuing Schengen visas, the country of the principal destination or first entry.
• The traveler must then present the Schengen visa application to the responsible embassy or consulate. A harmonized form is to be submitted, together with a valid passport and, if necessary, the documents supporting the purpose and conditions of the stay in the Schengen area (aim of the visit, duration of the stay, lodging). The traveler will also have to prove his or her means of subsistence, i.e., the funds available to cover, on the one hand, the expenses of the stay, taking into account its duration and the destination, and, on the other hand, the cost of the return to the home country. Certain embassies or consulates sometimes call the applicant to appear in person in order to explain verbally the reasons for the visa application.
• Finally, the traveler must have travel insurance that covers, for a minimum of €30,000, any expenses incurred as a result of emergency medical treatment or repatriation for health reasons. The proof of the travel insurance must in principle be provided at the end of the procedure, i.e. when the decision to grant the Schengen visa has already been made. This type of insurance can be easily found on the web from well-known insurers.

Requirements for family members of an EEA citizen differ from those indicated above. In general for family members of an EEA citizen, there is no requirement to provide information about one's employment, or to prove one's means of subsistence. In addition, no fee is required for the visa to be issued.

This content is provided by Wikipedia.