How to Read a Visa Sticker: Complete 2026 Field-by-Field Guide

By Salar Jadoon · Updated July 2026 · Sourced from the European Commission (Schengen) and national immigration authorities

You’ve just picked up your passport with a fresh visa sticker inside, and the text is dense, mixed across languages, full of codes that don’t mean anything at a glance. Here’s the problem worth taking seriously: that sticker is a legal travel document, not decoration, and every field on it carries real consequences. Missing one detail — a duration field, an entry count, a remark you skipped past — is a common, entirely avoidable reason travelers get refused boarding or turned away at immigration.

This guide walks through every field on a Schengen visa sticker, plus what changes for the UK, US, and other major destinations.

Table of Contents

1. What a Visa Sticker Actually Is
2. Field 1: “Valid For” — Which Countries
3. Fields 2 & 3: “From/Until” — Your Validity Window
4. Field 4: Duration of Stay
5. Field 5: Number of Entries
6. Field 6: Visa Type — A, C, or D
7. Field 7: The Visa Sticker Number
8. Fields 8 & 9: Issued In / On
9. Field 10: Passport Number
10. Field 11: Name — Where Small Errors Cause Big Problems
11. Field 12: Remarks
12. Security Features to Check
13. If You Find an Error
14. The 90/180-Day Rule Explained
15. UK, US, and Other Countries
16. FAQ

What a Visa Sticker Actually Is

It’s a physical label the embassy or consulate affixes to a blank page in your passport — not a stamp, not decoration, your actual visa document. Border officers scan it at every checkpoint to verify identity, visa type, and permitted travel dates, all printed directly on that small sticker.

All 27 Schengen member states follow an identical sticker format, defined under EU Council Regulation (EC) No 1683/95 — a German-issued visa looks structurally identical to a French or Italian one, differing only in the issuing country code. Information appears in three languages (English, French, German) throughout, which is why the same field often shows up written three different ways side by side — that’s normal, not an error.

Non-Schengen countries — UK, US, Canada, Australia — run their own formats, but the core information (validity, entry count, visa type) always appears in some form.

Field 1: “Valid For” — Which Countries

Printed at the top: VALID FOR / VALABLE POUR / GÜLTIG FÜR. Check this first — it determines exactly which countries your visa actually covers.

“ETATS SCHENGEN” and “SCHENGEN STATES” mean the same thing — full-zone coverage, no separate visa needed per country. If specific country codes appear instead, look them up rather than guess: F = France, D = Germany, E = Spain, GR = Greece, and so on.

Fields 2 & 3: “From/Until” — Your Validity Window

“FROM” is the earliest entry date; “UNTIL” is the last date you must have exited the Schengen Area. This is where the most common misreading happens — people confuse this window with how long they can actually stay.

A visa reading FROM 01-04-2026 UNTIL 30-06-2026 gives a three-month window to travel within, not a three-month permitted stay — your actual allowed duration is set separately, in Field 4.

You can’t enter before the “FROM” date, not even by one day — airlines check at check-in, and border officers check again on arrival. You don’t have to enter exactly on the “FROM” date, but you must have fully exited by “UNTIL,” or you’re overstaying, which risks fines, deportation, and a future visa ban.

Field 4: Duration of Stay

A number followed by DAYS / JOURS / TAGE — the actual maximum days you can physically spend inside the Schengen Area, regardless of how wide your validity window is. Common values: 15, 30, 60, 90 days; most standard tourist visas show 30 or 90.

Example: your window runs April 1–June 30 (a 90-day span), but the duration field shows 30. You get to choose when within that window to travel, but your actual stay tops out at 30 days total — staying 31 is an overstay, even with 60 days left in your validity window.

Field 5: Number of Entries

Answers whether you can leave and come back.

• MULT (Multiple Entries) — enter and exit as many times as you want, provided you stay within your duration and validity window
• 2 (Double Entry) — two entries total; after the second, the visa is used up even with days remaining
• 1 (Single Entry) — once you leave the Schengen Area, that’s it, even if the “UNTIL” date hasn’t passed

If your itinerary briefly exits and re-enters Schengen — a cruise stop in Morocco, for instance — apply for multiple-entry specifically, and explain the full itinerary during your application so the embassy issues the right type.

Field 6: Visa Type — A, C, or D

A single capital letter defining what you’re actually permitted to do.

A Type C visa never permits employment — working on a tourist visa is illegal across every Schengen state, regardless of how the work is structured.

Field 7: The Visa Sticker Number

Top-right corner, usually 9–11 characters, often starting with the issuing country’s two-letter code (DE = Germany, FR = France, NL = Netherlands) followed by a unique sequence. This is what immigration systems reference, linking to your full visa record including biometric data in the Schengen Visa Information System (VIS).

You’ll need this number for: Schengen travel insurance applications (most require it), local registration in some Schengen countries on arrival, visa extension/renewal forms, and any official correspondence with the issuing embassy. It’s the same identifier most official forms call the “visa number” — distinct from your application reference number or passport number.

Fields 8 & 9: Issued In / On

“ISSUED IN” names the city/embassy that granted the visa (e.g., “ISLAMABAD” if processed through the German embassy there). “ON” is the actual grant date — not your entry date, which lives separately in the “FROM” field. If you ever need to report a problem, contact the embassy shown here specifically; they hold your record.

Field 10: Passport Number

Listed under NUMBER OF PASSPORT / NUMÉRO DE PASSEPORT, linking the visa to your specific passport. Compare it against your passport’s bio-data page the moment you get it back — a single transposed digit makes the visa technically invalid, and both border officers and airlines check this.

If you’ve renewed your passport since applying: the visa stays in the old passport. Carry both — current passport for bio-data, old one for the sticker — and never remove pages from the old one.

Field 11: Name — Where Small Errors Cause Big Problems

SURNAME, NAME / NOM, PRÉNOM must match your passport exactly — every letter, space, hyphen. Embassies process large volumes and typos happen: missing middle names, transposed letters, wrong hyphenation. None of these are minor at the border.

Check this the moment you collect your passport, not the day before your flight — give yourself 2–3 weeks buffer to fix any error. Put your passport bio-data page and the sticker side by side and read letter by letter.

Field 12: Remarks

REMARKS / REMARQUES / BEMERKUNGEN — embassies use this space for conditions specific to your visa, and skipping it is a genuine mistake since remarks can meaningfully restrict what you’re allowed to do.

Translate anything you don’t understand before travel — don’t board with an unread remark.

Security Features to Check

Modern visa stickers carry real anti-counterfeiting layers: a light-refracting hologram that shifts color when tilted, UV-reactive ink visible only under ultraviolet light (border officers carry lamps specifically for this), microtext invisible to the naked eye, a machine-readable barcode linked to the VIS database, and an intricate guilloche background pattern that’s genuinely hard to reproduce with standard printers.

A genuine sticker feels slightly raised, shows a clear hologram, and has a legible barcode. If yours looks flat, faded, or plain, contact the issuing embassy before you travel.

If You Find an Error

Errors happen more often than people expect — misspelled names, wrong passport numbers, incorrect dates. The moment you spot one, act:

• Contact the issuing embassy or consulate immediately
• Never attempt to fix the sticker yourself — any alteration invalidates the visa entirely
• Bring your passport, original application receipt, and supporting documents
• If the error is the embassy’s fault, correction is typically free, taking 3–7 working days
• Reschedule travel if needed — airlines can’t work around a passport-visa mismatch

Don’t travel on a visa with a known error. Refusal at the border costs a flight, a hotel booking, and leaves a mark on your travel record that can complicate future applications.

The 90/180-Day Rule Explained

Applies to every Type C visa holder: within any rolling 180-day period, you can spend a maximum of 90 days total inside the Schengen Area. The window isn’t fixed to a calendar — it rolls forward daily, and there’s no resetting it by waiting for a new year.

Practically: look back 180 days from today and count your Schengen days. Hit 90, and you can’t re-enter until enough early days roll out of that window to bring you back under the limit.

Example: 90 days spent January–March 2026 means no re-entry until July, once January days start clearing the rolling count. Track this carefully — a simple spreadsheet noting every entry and exit date, backed by your passport stamps, protects you if an officer ever questions your history. Online Schengen calculators can also do this math for you.

UK, US, and Other Countries

United Kingdom. Post-Brexit, the UK runs an independent format outside Schengen. For most categories, it’s moved to a digital eVisa linked electronically to your passport rather than a physical sticker.

United States. Called a “visa stamp” rather than a sticker — shows name, category (B-1/B-2, F-1, H-1B, etc.), issuing post, validity, and entry count, using “M” instead of “MULT” for multiple entries. Critically, the stamp’s validity period is not your permitted stay — CBP sets your actual allowed duration separately on your I-94 record at the border.

Canada and Australia. Increasingly rely on electronic travel authorizations (eTA) rather than physical stickers for visa-exempt travelers. Where a physical sticker is still issued, it covers validity, entry type, and purpose of visit — check each country’s immigration site for exact field meanings, since formats aren’t standardized the way Schengen’s is.

FAQ

Is the visa sticker number the same as the visa number? Yes, in most official forms. It’s distinct from your application reference number and passport number, both separate identifiers.

Can I travel on my old visa after getting a new passport? Yes — carry both. The visa stays linked to the old passport; bring the new one for current bio-data and the old one for the sticker itself, always together.

What does “MULT” mean on a Schengen visa sticker? Multiple entries — enter and exit as many times as needed within the visa’s validity period, while still respecting the separate duration-of-stay limit.

My visa sticker is peeling. What do I do? Don’t re-stick it, tape it, or glue it yourself — contact the issuing embassy immediately. A physically altered sticker can be treated as tampered and rejected at the border.

Do I have to enter through the country that issued my Schengen visa? Ideally yes, especially for your first entry — the general rule is entering through your main destination country. If your itinerary changes, entering through a different Schengen state is fine as long as your visa covers the full zone.

What if the embassy made the error? Contact them immediately with your passport, original application, and supporting documents. Embassy-caused errors are typically corrected free of charge — don’t travel until it’s fixed.

Can I work in Europe on a Type C tourist visa? No — Type C covers tourism, business meetings, and family visits only. Working requires a national work visa or a Type D long-stay visa; working on a tourist visa is illegal across every Schengen country.

Your visa sticker is small, but every field carries real weight — where you can go, how long you can stay, how many times you can cross, and what you’re actually permitted to do while there. Reading it carefully once, right after you collect your passport, is a lot cheaper than finding out what it says at the departure gate.

While this guide covers physical stickers, many countries now issue e-Visas and digital permits instead. For a broader look at reading every type of travel document, see our How to Read a Visa master guide.