Instruction: how to read information on a visa

Element of the visa sticker

Valid for:

name of the territory for which the visa is valid. In the case of national visas it will say “Poland”, in the case of a Schengen visa – “Schengen states”, and in the case of Schengen visas with limited territorial validity – the codes of countries in which the visa is valid  Austria (A),  Belgium (B),  Czech Republic (CZE),  Denmark (DK),  Estonia (EST),  Finland (FIN),  France (F),  Greece (GR),  Spain (E), the Netherlands (NL),  Iceland (IS),  Lithuania (LT),  Luxemburg (L),  Latvia (LVA),  Malta (M),  Germany (D),  Norwey (N), Poland (PL),  Portugal (P),  Slovakia (SK),  Slovenia (SVN),  Switzerland (CH),  Sweden (S),  Hungary (H),  Italy (I).

date on which the visa starts to be valid, i.e. the day of the first possible border crossing with the given visa

Please note! Often, the validity period often is not identical with the period of lawful stay pursuant to the visa

date on which the visa expires, i.e. the day of the lost possible border crossing with the given visa

visa type

it can bear one of the three designations:
“A” – airport visa (which does not entitle you to leave the airport transit area)
“C” – short-term visa which entitles you to stay up to 90 days in a 180 day period,
“D” - long-term national visa

number of entries 

it can bear one of the three designations:
“1” – with this visa you can enter the Schengen area only once,
“2” – with this visa you can enter the Schengen area twice,
“MULT” – with this visa you can enter the Schengen area an unlimited number times

duration of stay

the number of days of your stay in an area in which the visa is valid during its validity period.
If you have a C visa with a “MULT” designation for a period longer than 6 months and the field “duration of stay” contains the number 90, you are entitled to stay for 90 days in any 180 day period.

issued in

on

passport numebr

Name, Surname