To keep my schengen visa valid, do I have to enter within FIRST 90 days of validity?

Question

I was given a multiple entry schengen visa for 60 months with no restrictions. To keep my schengen visa valid, do I have to enter within first 90 days of validity OR can I enter next year too?

FYI, I was not able to make the trip I got the visa for because of personal reasons, and I have entered the schengen area on previous visas.

Answer 1

A 5-year multiple-entry visa is basically the highest possible privilege which can be granted to a Schengen visitor.

It is normally granted after multiple visas of increasing durations or if your circumstances are very favourable.

In short, it means “we trust you, you can come and go as you want”, as long as you continue to meet the conditions of the visa, i.e. the 90/180 rule, no overstaying, no working in Schengen, and so on.

In theory, you are expected to do what you said you would do on your first visit, with minor changes. But:

• such visas can be granted in circumstances where you just say “I will come multiple times over the next few years for a given reason” (for instance, you need to visit a local subsidiary of the company your work for on a regular basis). In this case no issue at all.
• If you actually gave plans for one specific trip and nothing else, in theory you should do that trip, with minor variations, before you can do whatever you want. But this is not your first overall visit to Schengen, and whatever country granted you the visa trusts you enough that it most probably doesn’t matter at all. Border officers probably yawn when they see your visa.

There is no obligation to use the visa within a given period.

If you want to be absolutely safe you can contact the embassy or consulate which issued your visa and advise them of your change in plans, but I really don’t foresee a problem.