Since 2 February 2020 the Schengen Visa Code has a rule that turns visa history into longer visas. It was added by Regulation (EU) 2019/1155, and the wording is binding: if you meet the entry conditions, the consulate shall issue a multiple-entry visa of the length your history allows.
The three steps
- One year — if in the previous two years you obtained and lawfully used three Schengen visas.
- Two years — if in the previous two years you obtained and lawfully used a one-year multiple-entry visa.
- Five years — if in the previous three years you obtained and lawfully used a two-year multiple-entry visa.
The period is counted back from the day you lodge the new application. Visas from any Schengen country count, not only from the one you are applying to: three single-entry visas from Belgium, Spain and Italy are enough for a one-year visa from France. Airport transit visas and visas valid only for one country, issued on humanitarian grounds, do not count.
The steps do not add up: a one-year visa that you used correctly is enough for a two-year one, even without three visas before it. And even a five-year visa gives the same 90 days in any 180 — a longer visa means fewer applications, not longer stays.
When the consulate gives less
The visa cannot outlive the passport: in practice it ends no later than three months before the passport expires. If your passport runs out in a year, renew it first, otherwise a five-year visa will shrink to nine months.
The consulate may also shorten the visa if there is a concrete reason to doubt that you will meet the conditions for the whole period — for example, your work contract or residence permit in the country where you live ends sooner. A refusal of the longer visa in such a case is not a refusal of the visa itself.
It works the other way too. A person who travels often and can prove it — business trips, a family abroad, work at sea — may get a multiple-entry visa of up to five years without the usual history.
Countries with their own ladder
The European Commission can set special rules for applicants in a particular country, and consulates must follow them. They apply to citizens who live and apply in their own country. The current list is published on the Commission's website.
| Where you apply | What you can get |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain | A five-year visa straight away, even on the first application |
| Qatar | A multiple-entry visa until three months before the passport expires, up to five years |
| Indonesia | Five years after one visa lawfully used in the previous three years |
| Türkiye | Six months, then one, three and five years — each time if you apply within one or two years after the previous visa expired |
| Thailand, since 8 May 2026 | One year after one visa used in two years, then two years, then five years |
| Algeria | Stricter: one year after three multiple-entry visas, then two years; no five-year step |
| Iran | The usual one and two years, then two years again instead of five |
| Russia | No ladder at all, see below |
| United States, for green card holders | One year after one visa used in three years, then two and five years |
Russian citizens: one trip, one visa
Since 12 September 2022 the visa facilitation agreement with Russia has been suspended: the fee is €90 and the standard decision time is 15 days. On 6 November 2025 the Commission went further. Under its decision, Russian citizens who live in Russia get single-entry visas as a rule. The exceptions:
- close relatives of EU citizens and of Russians living legally in the EU — a one-year visa after three visas used in two years;
- seafarers, truck, bus and train drivers travelling for work — nine months after two visas used in two years;
- people who prove an exceptional need, such as journalists and human-rights defenders.
Visas issued before the decision remain valid. Russians who legally live in another country — Serbia, Türkiye, the UAE, Argentina — and apply there are not covered: the general ladder applies to them, although consulates check such applications carefully.
How to build a history that works
- Use each visa as declared: go to the country that issued it, keep to the dates, keep tickets and booking confirmations.
- Apply for the next visa while the previous ones are still inside the two- or three-year window.
- Ask for multiple entries in the form and attach proof of regular trips: invitations, a business calendar, family ties.
- For a multiple-entry visa, travel insurance is needed only for the first trip; you sign that you will buy it for the next ones.
- Apply to the right consulate: the country of your main destination, not the one where it is easier.
Vizir counts your visa history before the application and asks for the longest visa it allows — the specialist explains the request in the cover letter.