If you're traveling to the Schengen Area from a country without visa-free arrangements, you'll need to apply for a Schengen visa, which comes in four main types: A, B, C, and D. The Uniform Schengen Visa, the most common type, includes categories A, B, and C. It permits stays of up to 90 days every six months in any Schengen Zone country and covers airport transit. This visa is essential for short-term visits to Europe.

The Schengen Area consists of 26 countries. Among them, 23 are members of the European Union, while the remaining four are part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and are not EU members. These non-EU nations include Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Switzerland.

The 23 EU member countries in the Schengen Area are Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Belgium, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, France, Sweden, Spain, and Croatia.

The Schengen visa facilitates travel or short-term stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period within the Schengen Area. A visa issued by one Schengen state is valid across all others, but you must apply for it in the country where you intend to spend the most time.

If your visit involves multiple Schengen countries but none is your main destination, you must apply for the visa from the country where you will first enter the area.

The EU Visa Code allows the issuance of multiple-entry visas for visits to multiple Schengen member states; however, the criteria for this were not clearly defined.

The new Visa Code sets out several conditions that visa applicants must fulfill to obtain a Schengen Visa. It came into effect on February 2 and applies to the foreign embassies, consulates, and visa centers of Schengen member states.

A type of Schengen visa accessible from India for traveling to any Schengen country is the 5-year multiple-entry visa. To qualify for this visa, individuals must have previously obtained and lawfully used a multiple-entry visa within the last three years, which must have been valid for at least two years.

Over a span of five years, this visa allows unrestricted travel to 26 European countries, as long as the 90/180-day limit is not exceeded.