As of the 17th of September, I can legally stay in Schengen for more than 90 days! I figured why not talk about details here! The visa I got is called „Working Holiday Visa.“ The main purpose of applying this visa is for holiday, but you have a legal permission to work to fund your trip with this visa. Generally, young people (18-30 of age) without a dependent are eligible to apply for this visa for once. Although you can only apply for a Working Holiday visa once per country, you can apply for more than one working holiday visas from multiple counties in Schengen. However, you can only work in the country where issued the visa. For example, I can apply for a Working Holiday in Austria, and if I want to extend my stay, I can apply for another Working Holiday in Sweden. Citizens from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, sometimes Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea can apply for Working Holiday visas in many (most) countries in Schengen.

In order to apply, besides an application and a valid passport, you need a medical insurance that fulfills Schengen standards, proof of sufficient funds, a return ticket (or proof of sufficient fund to purchase a return ticket), and sometimes proof of residence (I had some trouble with the embassy because of this, more to come in another post).

Tip! Austrian working holiday visa lasts only for 6 months or 180 days, but after the visa expires, you can stay 90 more days as a tourist (visa free time).