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My family (wife, son and myself) got Schengen visas issued by Germany with a plan to visit Germany & Italy, for 11 days.

Given Iceland's Grindavik area is erupting right now and the formation of a rift, we wish to visit Iceland for 9 out of 11 days and spend only 2 days in Germany now.

We know this is not right and falls under a grey area. Folks who go by the books keep saying we should apply to Iceland and stuff. I wanted to know if I will be okay doing this trip to Iceland, if we arrive and leave the Schengen region through Frankfurt.

There is no way I can apply to Iceland and get the visa now, given Iceland doesn't open that many slots in India. Slots are not available in half of the centres and the ones available are already in May '24.

We will be travelling with a fully-printed itinerary and return tickets with credit cards and some money in forex cards.

Crazydre
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Mister Hacker
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3 Answers3

17

Short answer: No, that is not ok.

You got your visa from Germany because according to your original plan, Germany was the main destination of your trip. You are not allowed to change the main destination, neither because something interesting is happening in Iceland, nor because you didn't plan long enough in advance to apply for a visa from Iceland as you should have.

Chances may be low that your exact travel plans are examined at immigration control, but if they are, your visa will be cancelled, you will be denied entry and sent back to India.

Crazydre
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Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
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9

If you have a multiple-entry Schengen visa and this is not your first visit, then you can go anywhere in Schengen (as long as you meet the usual conditions in terms of time, permissible activities, etc.).

However if this is a single-entry Schengen visa, or the first visit on a multiple-entry visa, no, you cannot do that. You told them you needed a visa for Germany and had reasons for that and a matching plan, and you provided documentation to support that.

While you could make minor changes to your schedule (a day here or there), this is a major change, as you are changing the main destination and the whole reason for the trip.

While it's quite possible this would go completely unnoticed (as you will be entering and exiting via Germany, and, as far as I know, Germany doesn't track hotel cancellations like some other countries do), if they ask for details of your itinerary when you arrive in Germany they will notice the discrepancy, and they can refuse you entry, which can then lead to a dark stain on your travel history and make getting further visas (for Schengen and elsewhere) more difficult.

Spending a few days in Iceland while keeping Germany as your main destination (the place where you stay the longest) would be a possibility, though.

jcaron
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6

In addition to the above mentioned problems related to deviating from your approved itinerary, I'd like to provide some information about the eruptions in Iceland, as they are your main attraction.

Long story short, you won't get anywhere close to the eruptions to enjoy a better view than you can watch at Youtube. A large area around Grindavík is off-limits to everyone (just look at Google Maps to see how far from the volcanoes you'd have to stop your car). This is to be respected; the authorities in Iceland don't like tourists who ignore restrictions and get too close to dangerous areas. Besides, the erupting volcanoes are quite flat, nothing like Mt. Etna, so they are not visible from large distances. At best, you'll see smoke rising somewhere on the horizon. IMO, not worth compromising your future visa applications.

Johnnyjanko
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