There are many instances where you need to apply for a Schengen visa and the reasons are vast. One common reason is that you will be traveling to another country in the European Union or Schengen Area-like Germany, France, Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Nordic countries.

The South African passport still remains one of the more powerful in Africa. With visa free travel to the United Kingdom, Schengen Zone, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Japan the SA passport is still a desirable one in this region.

The Schengen Agreement is an international treaty which allows citizens of European Union countries to travel freely around the continent without any border check-ins or passport stamps. The Schengen Area has abolished all internal borders, effectively making them beacons of cross-national travel. However, there are certain hurdles you need to overcome in order to legally travel within the Schengen area.

Applying for a short-stay Schengen visa in South Africa

If you live in South Africa and want to apply for a short-stay visa for the Netherlands, find out about the rules and how to apply below.

Attention:You can only travel to the Netherlands if you are exempt from the EU entry ban. Please read the entry rules on Government.nl.

Coronavirus: extension of visa validity is not possible

It is not possible to extend a visa. Not even if, due to circumstances, the visa expired unused. You will have to apply for a new visa.

What do I need to do?

• You must submit a passport or other travel document issued within the last 10 years. This must have at least 2 blank pages and be valid for at least another 3 months after the date you intend to leave the Schengen area.
• You must submit a completed and signed visa application form. Each person travelling with you on your travel document must submit their own visa form. Forms for children under the age of 18 need to be signed by a parent or guardian.
• If you are under 18 and are travelling without one or both of your parents or guardians, ask them to sign a consent form. Border guards may ask to see this form when you arrive in the Netherlands.
• In a country where visa applications are processed by an external service provider, in most cases your digital photo will be taken at the Visa Application Centre. In all other cases you yourself will have to submit a photo with your application. This photo must meet Dutch requirements for passport photos.
• When you submit your application your fingerprints will be taken. These will remain valid for 59 months. Some applicants, such as children under the age of 12, do not need to have their fingerprints taken. Did you provide biometric data (fingerprints and photo) within the last 59 months prior to your current application? Then you can choose to have someone else submit your application for you. You do not have to appear in person. This also applies if you had your fingerprints taken within the last 59 months for a visa application submitted through another Schengen member state.