Multiple entry shengen visa

[TKADWA]

Hi all.

I'm currently on a tier 2 ict visa in the UK with my family. We are South African passport holders so require shengen visa to travel to Europe.

We hoping to travel to a number of shengen countries. At this stage I don't know all the countries I'd like to visit; I've shortlisted a couple.

Ideally I'd like to get a multiple entry shengen visa for say 6 months. This will allow me to make short 'weekend' trips to various countries.

Since I know I want to go to Spain in March, I thought I'd apply to Spanish embassy with my booked trip in March, and provide a covering letter explaining my intentions of visiting Spain and other counties again during the year.

I've heard from others that Spain don't typically give multiple entry visa. I really don't want to be applying for a visa for each trip.

Any advice on the best route to get this multiple entry visa for approx 6 months?

Thanks

[pentaya]

Yes, Spanish/Italian and most of the embassies are stingy offering the length of visa. They typically give for the exact number of days with single entry.

France and Netherlands are known for generousness but not if that has been changed.

If I were you, I would apply for French visa by booking in/out flights France on either side of 6 months. For example, A Eurostar booking with hotels for the month of April and another France booking (say South France) in September.
Add any existing bookings which you may have. The more bookings you have the more lengthy visa you get.

Nonetheless, you must apply to the country the first travelling destination and the destination with most number of days. For example, if you're travelling to France as part of travel plan as the entry point to validate you Schengen, then you must apply to French embassy.

Hope it make sense.