Glossary

Period of grace

Last verified 2026-08-17

Article 24(1) of the Visa Code, as amended in 2020: "the period of validity of a visa for one entry shall include a 'period of grace' of 15 calendar days", which states may withhold for public-policy or international-relations reasons. A single-entry visa for a ten-day trip is therefore normally valid for 25 days, but the duration of stay printed on the sticker still governs how many days you may spend inside the Schengen area. See single vs multiple entry.

Schematic of a Schengen visa sticker: validity, entries, duration of stayVISA (SCHEMATIC, NOT TO SCALE)VALID FOR / VALABLE POURÉTATS SCHENGEN1FROM / DU15-09-262UNTIL / AU09-10-262TYPE OF VISAC3NUMBER OF ENTRIESMULT4DURATION OF STAY155ISSUED INMUMBAI6ON01-09-266NUMBER OF PASSPORTZ12345677SURNAME, NAMESHARMA, PRIYA8REMARKS91Territory: SCHENGEN STATES for a uniformvisa; a state name for an LTV (Article25).2The validity window. For single entry itincludes 15 days of grace (Article24(1)).3C = short stay; A = airport transit; D =national long stay (not in this data).41, 2 or MULT: how many times you mayenter during the window.5Days you may be inside Schengen withinthe window; never more than 90 in 180.6Issuing consulate and date of issue.7Must match your passport exactly.8Check the spelling before you leave thecounter.9Conditions, e.g. the represented stateor restrictions.Read the three numbers separately: the window (2), the entries (4), the days of stay (5).A sticker valid for 30 days with duration of stay 10 allows ten days, not thirty.Field names follow the uniform format for visas (Regulation (EC) No 1683/95). Layout schematic; sample data fictional.
The three numbers on a Schengen visa sticker are independent: the validity window, the number of entries and the days of stay. Schematic of the uniform format; sample data fictional.