How to choose the right Schengen VISA for me

Once you’ve found out whether or not you need a Schengen visa based on your nationality and other criteria, you will need to decide which type of visa is best for you.

Broadly speaking, two types of Schengen visa apply in the Schengen Area:
Short stay
Airport transit 

Short-stay visa

If you are travelling to Europe on holiday as a tourist, it is likely that you will need to apply for a short-stay visa. These typically allow the bearer to stay in the Schengen Area for no longer than 90 days in any 180-day period. Your visa may entitle you to enter the Schengen zone once, twice or multiple times within that period (this will be indicated on the visa itself).
 
For example, a single-entry visa would generally allow you to travel from your home country to France and then cross as many borders between Schengen countries as you wished in the next 90 days. If your visa allowed multiple entries, you could travel from your home country to France, fly from France to Romania, and then fly from Romania to Germany within the 180-day period, so long as the total length of your stay within the Schengen zone was no longer than 90 days.

Airport transit visa

An airport transit visa allows the bearer to travel through the international transit areas of airports within the Schengen zone. Whether or not you need to apply for this kind of visa depends on your nationality. It is also important to point out that airport transit visas only grant you access to international transit areas within the airport while you wait for your connecting flight. If you wanted to officially enter the territory of the Schengen country in question (for example, to stay at a hotel overnight), you would need to apply for a short-stay visa.

Non-tourist visas

Are you intending to travel to the Schengen Area to study or work, or for longer than 90 days? If so, you will need to apply for a residency or work permit in the country in question instead of a short-stay or airport transit visa.