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Visa - FAQ

How to apply online?

  1.  Register a user profile on the website.
  2. Log in to the ApplyVisa website.
  3. Fill out the necessary data (see detail notes below).
  4. Pay the visa fee by credit card online.
  5. Submit the online application.   
  6. Print the cover letter from the website and sign it. Application is not possible without the printed and signed cover letter.
  7. Make an appointment with the visa application centre.
  8. The signed cover letter must be submitted to the visa appliation centre along with the necessary documentation listed on the website of the visa application centre.

Please see below for more information.

Point 2, ApplyVisa login

The Embassy and the visa application centre cannot assist you with technical errors in the ApplyVisa website. Are you experiencing technical problems, you can contact support via 'Contact' in the left menu when you are logged in.

Point 3, necessary data

When you fill out the online application form, do not use the category "Other" for the purpose of your visit or for your occupation. Use the main categories which best match your travel purpose and your occupation. For example, participation in conferences and non-commercial meetings belong to the travel purpose category "Business".

Point 4, visa fee

When you apply online on the ApplyVisa website, you have to pay the fee by credit card. Please note that there is also a service fee which you must pay in cash at the visa application centre. Please see the visa application centre website.

Rules about fee exemption and reduced fees can be found in the Visa Code Handbook, which contains the common visa guidelines for all Schengen countries.

Please note that applicants who are family members of EU citizens, who are exercising their rights to free movement within the EU under Directive 2004/38/EC, are fee exempt. Please be aware that in order to be fee exempt in this regard, it is not sufficient to be a family member of an EU citizen. The EU citizen must be exercising their right to free movement under Directive 2004/38/EC. This, in principle, means that the EU citizen must have moved to another Schengen country in order to work. Please consult the Visa Code Handbook for details.

Japanese national travelling to Denmark?

Japanese nationals do not need a visa to travel to Denmark for tourism, business, conferences, short courses or visits for up to 90 days. For more information about visa free travel, please see this page on the website of the Danish immigration authorities.

Please note that work in Denmark always requires a residence permit, regardless of the duration of the stay.

Other national travelling to Denmark?

Depending on nationality, travel to Denmark for tourism, business, conferences, short courses or visits may require a visa. Other nationals can check this page of the website of the Danish immigration authorities to find out if they need a visa for travel to Denmark.

Please note that work in Denmark always requires a residence permit, regardless of the duration of the stay.

Travelling to Iceland?

The Danish Embassy only issues Schengen visas to Iceland. The rules and guidelines for application for a visa to Iceland are the same as applying for a visa to Denmark.

Please note: All inquiries regarding visa free travel and residence permits to Iceland must be directed to the Icelandic Immigration Bureau.

Going to Denmark or Iceland and another Schengen country - With which country should you apply for a Schengen visa?

The visa must be issued by the country of your main destination. This means the country where the primary purpose of your stay takes place. It is usually also the country in which you will be staying for the longest period of time. If you are going to stay for exactly the same amount of days in more than one Schengen country, you must apply to the first country of your longest period of stay in Schengen. For example: For at trip to the Schengen area, planned with 1 day in Denmark, 5 days in Spain and 5 days in Germany, you must apply for a visa to Spain. The Danish Embassy in Tokyo issues Schengen visas for travel where the main destination is Denmark and Iceland.

What is a Schengen visa?

A Schengen visa is a sticker which is inserted in the travellers passport. The visa allows the traveller to enter Denmark and the rest of the Schengen area for a specified number of days within a specified period of time. The maximum number of days which can be granted in a Schengen visa is 90 days counted in a period of 180 days.

What does a Schengen visa entitle you to do?

Schengen visas are issued for the purpose of one or more short stays in the Schengen area. The purpose of the entire travel must be something other than work, for example tourism, business, conferences, short courses or visits to family and friends.

A Schengen visa may be granted for a shorter or longer period of time and for one or more entries into the Schengen area depending on the purpose of the travel and the documentation presented by the applicant.

A visa never allows you to work, no matter how short the stay is. If you are going to carry out salaried work in Schengen, you must always apply for a work and residence permit. You must apply for a work permit to each individual country where you are going to work.

A visa never allows you to stay for more than 90 days, no matter what the purpose is. If you are going to stay for more than 90 days, you must apply for a  residence permit which allows you to carry out the specific type of activity (for example study or working holiday). You must apply for a residence permit to each individual country where you plan to go.

Please note: Possession of a visa does not confer an automatic right of entry to Schengen. The holder of a visa may be requested to present proof that they fulfil the entry conditions at the external border, as provided for in Article 5 "Entry conditions for third-country nationals" in the Schengen Borders Code.

Understanding duration of stay and period of validity

Your visa will be issued with a “duration of stay” and a “period of validity”. Duration of stay is the number of days you are allowed to stay in the Schengen area. Period of validity is the period of time between two dates, in which you are allowed to stay in the Schengen area. Your travel to the Schengen area must be within the limits of both the duration of stay and the period of validity.

Applicants who wish to apply for a long-term visa (multiple entries with 90 days stay for every 180 days) must specify this wish with a separate note attached to the application documents. However, applicants in Japan can under normal circumstances only be issued up to 9 months validity. This is due to an unfortunate combination of Danish and Japanese re-entry permit rules. Only applicants in possession of a 3- or 5-year re-entry permit to Japan, can apply for a visa valid for more than 9 months validity. Visa to Iceland falls under the same rules.

15 days of flexibility

The Schengen visa regulations allow visas to be issued with a period of validity of 15 days more than the duration of stay. The purpose is to give the traveller some flexibility in case of delayed departure to Schengen.

Please note that the 15 days of flexibility do not extend the total number of days the traveller can stay in the Schengen area – it only gives the option of postponing the departure to Schengen in case of delay.

For example, a visa which allows the traveller a duration of stay of 10 days in the Schengen area, the traveller can stay in Schengen for 10 days, but the stay can be scheduled within a period of 10 + 15 days = 25 days. In other words, the traveller can delay the entry into Schengen up to 15 days after the original travel schedule and still stay in Schengen for the full 10 days.

If the traveller needs to postpone the entry into Schengen more than 15 days, the number of days of stay in Schengen must be reduced equally, in order not to violate the last legal date of departure from Schengen. In the example above, if the traveller postpones the entry into Schengen with 20 days from the original schedule, the stay in Schengen must be reduced by 5 days and the traveller can then only stay in Schengen for 5 days without violating the terms of the visa.

Biometric data

Biometric data consist of the applicant’s fingerprints and photo. Before the recording of the photo, applicants may be asked to remove glasses or adjust head coverings if they hide facial features.

Certain categories of applicants are exempt from the requirement to give fingerprints, including:
- Children under the age of 12
- Persons for whom fingerprinting is physically impossible
- Heads of State and members of national governments, and members of their official delegations when invited for an official purpose.

The introduction of biometric data is part of the Schengen Visa Information System (VIS). For more information about VIS, fingerprints, data protection and legal background, please see information from the European Commission about the Visa Information System (VIS).