8.4.3.1 The ‘Cascade’ System

A multiple-entry visa must be issued in the following cases (the ‘cascade’ system):

  • If the applicant, within the previous two years (counted from the date the fourth application is made), has obtained and lawfully used three uniform* visas. As long as the validity of the travel document permits, a multiple-entry visa valid for one year must be issued;
  • If the applicant, within the previous two years (counted from the date the present application is made), has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry uniform* visa valid for one year. As long as the validity of the travel document permits, a multiple-entry visa valid for two years must be issued;
  • If the applicant, within the previous three years (counted from the date the present application is made), has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry uniform* visa valid for two years. As long as the validity of the travel document permits, a multiple-entry visa valid for five years must be issued; and
  • By analogy, in the event that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry uniform* visa valid for five years within the previous six years, a multiple-entry visa valid again for five years must be issued if the validity of the travel document permits.

*Pursuant to Article 25(3) of the Visa Code, limited territorial validity visas issued solely because the travel document is not recognized by all Member States must also be taken into account (article 8.5.3.). Airport transit visas or limited territorial validity visas issued pursuant to Article 25(1) of the Visa Code shall not be taken into account.

The conditions for issuing a long-validity multiple-entry visa are not cumulative. For example, an applicant who has obtained and lawfully used a multiple-entry visa valid for one year within the previous two years must be issued a multiple-entry visa valid for two years, even if they did not hold three visas in the earlier two-year period.

On the basis of the content of this Section, the consulates of the Member States in any given location should, taking local conditions into account, prepare the application of these general rules with the aim of offering more (or less) generous ‘cascades’ for all or specific categories of applicants. The local application must be adopted by the Commission after consultation with the Visa Committee in accordance with the procedure set out in the Visa Code (Article 24(2d)), and is described in greater detail in the organization of the visa sections and in the local Schengen cooperation handbook (Visa Code Handbook II, Part II, article 1.1).

The implementing decisions that establish the local ‘cascades’ for the issuance of multiple-entry visas are legally binding on the Member States.

Example:

An Omani citizen residing in Muscat wishes to travel to Sicily (Italy), where his family owns property, and applies for a short-stay visa.

Omani citizens residing in Oman and applying for a visa are subject to special local rules (the ‘cascade’ system) regarding the issuance of multiple-entry visas. Applicants must be issued a multiple-entry visa with a validity period of five years by the Italian consulate, even if they are first-time applicants (as long as the validity of the travel document permits).

Example:

A bona fide Tunisian citizen has traveled to the Schengen area lawfully three times in the last two years, with three single-entry visas issued respectively by the Belgian, Spanish, and Italian consulates in Tunisia within the previous two years. He now wishes to visit Czechia, and his travel document is valid for the next four years.

The Czech consulate must issue a multiple-entry visa with a validity period of one year.

In individual cases, the period of validity may be shortened when there is reasonable doubt that the entry conditions will be met throughout the entire period.

Such doubt must be based on objective criteria that make it likely that the applicant will, at some point in the future, cease to meet the entry conditions due to foreseeable changes in their personal/economic circumstances.

Examples:

  • A visa applicant works under a fixed-term employment contract on a large-scale construction project that will end in three years. The consulate should consider limiting the validity of the visa to the duration of the employment.
  • A third-country national holds a fixed-term residence permit in their country of residence that will expire in four years. The consulate should consider limiting the validity of the visa to three months less than the duration of the residence permit.

8.4.3.2 Other Categories of Frequent and Regular Travelers

A long-validity multiple-entry visa must also be issued, regardless of the purpose of travel, to persons who travel frequently and regularly and who are not eligible under the ‘cascade’ system above. This may particularly concern persons who have proven their integrity and reliability through the lawful use of previous uniform visas or limited territorial validity visas issued by any Member State (pursuant to Article 25(3) of the Visa Code, article 8.5.3 of this Handbook), and who prove the need to travel frequently or regularly or justify their intention to do so.

For this reason, particular attention should be paid to persons who travel in order to carry out their profession:

Business People:

Example: A Chinese businessman working in the tourism sector who does not have the visa history required to qualify under the ‘cascade’ rules wishes to travel to Croatia and attend the international trade fair held in the country twice a year. He is continuously employed under contract by a reliable company and demonstrates his intention to return to China after attending the fairs.

The Croatian consulate may consider issuing a multiple-entry visa with a validity period covering at least the trade fairs in the first year. If the businessman reapplies after lawfully using the one-year visa, a two-year visa must be issued in accordance with the general ‘cascade’ rules.

Seafarers:

For this particular category of persons, there may be unforeseeable changes in the schedules of the ship on which the seafarer is to embark or disembark (for example, due to weather conditions).

For this reason, seafarers who have proven their integrity and reliability, in particular through the lawful use of previous uniform visas or limited territorial validity visas and by holding a relevant employment contract, generally qualify as a category for the issuance of a multiple-entry visa with a longer validity period.

Example: An Indonesian seafarer who has worked in the sector for several years and has proven his integrity and reliability by correctly using his previous visas applies for a visa at the Italian Consulate in order to begin an 8-month contract on a ship departing from Genoa (Italy). At the end of the contract, the seafarer will briefly return to Indonesia and then begin a new contract on another ship departing from Piraeus (Greece).

A multiple-entry visa with a long (at least one-year) validity period must be issued.

Example: A first-time Indian applicant who is a seafarer will travel to Sweden and board a ship to complete a 10-month contract.

In order to allow the seafarer to disembark the ship at a Member State port at the end of the contract and reach the airport to return to India, a visa with a validity period long enough to allow them to disembark at the end of the contract must be issued.

Other Categories:

  • Officials who establish regular official contacts with the Member States and the institutions of the European Union;
  • Representatives of civil society organizations who travel for the purposes of training, seminars, and conferences;

Example: Doctors Without Borders is inviting a Bhutanese practitioner to attend a series of conferences in several Member States as part of a 2-year fellowship program. The Bhutanese practitioner plans to fly to Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in order to reach Barcelona (Spain), where the operational center responsible for the fellowship program is located and where the first conference will take place.

The Spanish consulate must issue a multiple-entry visa with a validity period of two years.

  • Human rights defenders and/or dissidents supported by reliable inviting organizations may be regarded as bona fide applicants, and if the entry conditions are met, consulates may issue long-validity multiple-entry visas.

Example: A well-known Ethiopian human rights defender travels regularly to the European Union to attend conferences and to meet with relevant stakeholders and colleagues in European NGOs, and demonstrates the intention to return to Ethiopia before the visa's period of validity expires. The most frequently visited country is Germany, but the first planned trip is to Sweden.

Since Germany is the most frequent destination Member State, the German consulate should process the application and issue a long-validity multiple-entry visa.

  • Researchers traveling to the Member States for the purpose of conducting scientific research;
  • Athletes who carry out regular training or competitions in (a) Member State(s);
  • Artists who perform regularly in the Member States (without prejudice to the need to obtain a work permit for this purpose);
  • Members of the professions;
  • Drivers of trucks, buses, and coaches working in international transport.

A long-validity multiple-entry visa must also be issued, regardless of the purpose of travel, to persons who travel frequently and regularly and who are not eligible under the ‘cascade’ system above. This may particularly concern persons who have proven their integrity and reliability through the lawful use of previous uniform visas or limited territorial validity visas issued by any Member State. For this reason, particular attention should also be paid to the following categories of travelers:

  • Persons traveling for the purpose of tourism;
  • Persons who own real estate within the territory of a Member State;
  • Family members of EU and Swiss citizens, and family members of third-country nationals legally residing in the Member States.

Regarding the special rules applied to the categories of persons covered by the visa facilitation agreements concluded by the EU, see the relevant guidelines (Part I of this Handbook, article 6).