Armenia`s MFA reminds citizens of order of Schengen visa acquisition 

ArmInfo.The Armenian Foreign Ministry reminded its citizens about the procedure for obtaining a  Schengen visa and warned against making changes to their travel schedule after receiving an entry visa.

The statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry draws attention to the  fact that recently the Armenian Foreign Ministry has been receiving  statements that RA citizens receive Schengen visas from the embassies  of European countries operating in Armenia, but upon arrival in this  country they are denied entry and are forced to return to Yerevan.

"The Armenian Foreign Ministry and the embassies of the Republic,  having met and listened to citizens who faced such a problem, and  having clarified the details of the events, as well as having  discussed the problem with the competent authorities of the relevant  countries, found out the following circumstances.

Citizens are prohibited from entering certain countries because, when  obtaining a Schengen visa, the purpose of the trip to this country is  indicated exclusively in the application form and accompanying  documents, and later, after receiving the visa, the purpose of the  visit (destination, program) or hotel reservation is changed or  cancelled.

A hypothetical example: in the application form for a Schengen visa,  the purpose of the trip to Bulgaria for 10 days was indicated, a  plane ticket and hotel reservation were presented, but later it  turned out that this person was going to stay in Bulgaria for 3 days,  and then go to Italy or another country in the Schengen area for 7  days.

Such a change in the purpose of the visit gives grounds for the  competent authorities of this country to refuse entry, since this is  regarded as a discrepancy between the declared and actual purpose or  conditions of the visit," the Armenian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry also drew attention to the fact that  having a Schengen visa does not give a foreigner the unconditional  right to enter the Schengen area.

"During passport control, additional documents may be requested to  justify the purpose of the visit. They may also check for sufficient  financial resources, payment and validity of hotel reservations, a  written (paid) return plane ticket, as well as possible information  about travel to other countries, etc. Such verification actions are  more typical for those countries where migration risks are assessed  as high.

Therefore, it is important to remember that in order to obtain a  visa, you must contact the embassy of the Schengen country where you  plan to visit, and in the case of visiting several countries, the  embassy of the Schengen country that is the purpose of the main  (longest) visit," the Armenian Foreign Ministry noted.

Earlier, ArmInfo wrote in detail about the humiliating manner in  which Armenian citizens are treated upon arrival at the Bulgarian  airport.