Schengen visa

If you are unable to apply for a Working Holiday, Work and Holiday or Youth Mobility Visa all is not lost. You can still apply for a Schengen Visa which will allow you some extra options rather than just a straight tourist visa. The Schengen Visa is for the European area only and is classified as a visitor visa. The visa has a purpose of tourism or business, but you are not allowed to take up employment or live permanently.

The Schengen Visa allows the holder to travel to member countries using one single visa. This means you can effectively extend your travelling time to 90 days limit in a 6 month period. The visa also removes the issue of having to obtain individual visas for each country. This is really useful for travellers who are visiting several European countries on the same trip.

The Schengen Visa is useful if your country of origin has no particular arrangements with the country you intend to visit. The Schengen Visa is a very popular choice for South African independent travellers when visiting Europe.