Where Can I Go With Schengen Visa (Philippines Passport)

Some people might argue that the gateway to Europe is Turkey’s West region or France’s capital city. But for Filipino travellers like us, the true gateway to Europe is getting that challenging Schengen visa sticker on our passports.

Perhaps you landed on this article because you weigh in if applying for a Schengen visa is worth it or looking at how you can maximize your visa.

Regardless, this guide will answer the question “where can I go with Schengen visa”. But, this is specifically for Philippines passport holders.

WHERE CAN I GO WITH SCHENGEN VISA HOLDING A PHILIPPINES PASSPORT

Apart from the obvious that you can use your Schengen visa to enter and travel throughout the 29 members of the Schengen Area, you can also use this visa to countries outside this region.

For example, as a Filipino passport holder who possesses a Schengen visa, you can use this visa to enter and travel around Turkey. You don’t need to go to the Turkish Embassy and apply for a specific tourist visa.

This is sometimes what we call a “substitute visa”. You are using the Schengen visa as a substitute for a Turkish visa.

What’s the catch

There’s one caveat that you must remember. Not all substitute visas work the same. They all have different policies or “catch” depending on the country.

For example: Georgia (the country) requires Filipinos to get a Georgia eVisa online to travel there.

But if you have a Schengen visa, you can bypass that eVisa and just your Schengen one.

However, the Schengen visa must be valid during your entry and exit from Georgia.

I made this error when I visited Georgia. I entered using my valid Schengen visa. But I thought it only matters upon entry.

When I was catching my flight from Tbilisi, Georgia to Hanoi, Vietnam, I was questioned for overstaying. My Schengen visa expired the day before.

I honestly thought as long as my Schengen visa was valid upon entry, I could stay for 30 days. I only stayed for 2 weeks. Anyway, I overstayed due to my poor due diligence. If I had known better, I would have applied for the eVisa instead.

I was luckily enough the immigration officer gave me a pass and let me through. I didn’t have to pay any overstay fees – but that’s definitely a lesson learned.

How to use this in building your travel profile

For countries like Italy, they will approve your visa 15 days more than you asked for. This is to give your travel planning a bit more legroom in case your original departure date changes. And you had to leave a few days later than the initial plan.

I was just in Italy and I applied for 30 days. They gave me a visa validity of 45 days but only allowed me to stay in the Schengen zone for 30 days.

This means that if I wanted to, I could have travelled to countries outside the Schengen area which includes Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia – which are all in Europe but are non-Schengen members.

My stay in those countries will not count towards my 30 days.

So, when applying for a Schengen visa, you should add a few more days than your intended plan.

A sample would be: You can apply for 30 day stay with multiple entries, then spend 20 days in the Schengen Area and 10 days in the non-Schengen.

You don’t have to trick your itinerary; just write it according to how you plan to.

Crossing between the Schengen zone does give you passport stamps. But if you go to neighbouring countries, you can get stamps making your passport more impressive.

Europe (Schengen Members)

1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Croatia
4. Czechia (Czech Repubcli)
5. Denmark
6. Estonia
7. Finland
8. France
9. Germany
10. Greece
11. Hungary
12. Iceland
13. Italy
14. Latvia
15. Liechtenstein
16. Lithuania
17. Luxembourg
18. Malta
19. Norway
20. Poland
21. Portugal
22. Romania
23. Slovakia
24. Slovenia
25. Spain
26. Sweden
27. Switzerland

Europe (Non-Schengen Members)

1. Albania
2. Andorra
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Cyprus
5. Holy See (Vatican City)
6. Monaco
7. Montenegro
8. North Macedonia
9. San Marino
10. Serbia

Asia

1. Armenia
2. Georgia
3. Turkey

Latin America

1. Antigua and Barbuda
2. Argentina
3. Mexico

WHAT OTHER VISAS DOES THIS

Travel or tourist visas from other countries can also be used this way. This is possible for the tourist or visitor visa issued by the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and sometimes even Japan.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A SCHENGEN VISA AS A FILIPINO

That first thing you need to know if decide which embassy you’re applying for. Basically, knowing which country is your first destination in the Schengen Area.

Each embassy or country has their own set of rules and list of requirements.

We have a few Schengen visa application guides:

• General guide: How to apply for a Schengen visa for Filipinos
• Schengen visa through Germany
• Schengen visa through Lithuania

CONCLUSION

If you’re looking at applying for a visa, perhaps you want to consider one that can be multi-use. In this way, you can save money, spare yourself from visa applications for other countries, and you can easily decide where to go without worrying about visa requirements.