travelling with a passport and scanned visa copy
 

Hi,
I am an Indian, currently studying in innsbruck, Austria for 4 months.
I lost my passport and visa while travelling in France. although I have a new passport, I dont have a visa yet.
I just wanted to know if I can continue to travel in the schengen area during the period of my visa validity, given that I carry my documents: my passport, visa(scanned copy), police report , and meldezettel. I also have my university ID card. will this suffice if there are any police checks at borders/ trains?
I intend to travel to germany, italy, netherland, slovenia and switzerland.

You should be OK as your Passport will show it has just been issued and you can explain the situation. There is of course only one way to find out. Travel and see what happens.

As I have no clue how the Schengen Information System which stores all that data for police and border controls actually work I can only guess that your old visa should be stored on the system with your old passport number. If your police report (from France, I guess) has this information in it, i.e. the # of your stolen passport, a border control agent should see in his computer that a valid visa has been connected with that passport.
Otherwise I can only (again) guess that German and Swiss border controls will be more likely to understand that your Austrian Meldezettel means that you have legal residence status in Austria and thus have Schengen travel privileges... but again, this is just guessing and deducting and not knowing..
OTOH, spot controls do not happen that often on trains between Austria and Germany - but they do happen.
If you want to be on the safe side, you should ask your local Ausländerbehörde in Innsbruck and get some official answer.

Travel and see what happens might be an unpleasant experience for you. You need an official answer.

Thing is, though, as your travels are entirely within Schengen, there will be no formal passport checks. When flying, there will be ID checks at check-in, security and boarding, and if they notice lack of Schengen visa in your passport, you will be prevented from flying. Scanned copy, police report etc is unlikely to suffice. When travelling by train or bus, there may not be any checks at all but spot checks by the police (looking out for illegal immigrants) and customs (drugs mainly) are possible. Again the lack of Schengen visa in your passport is likely to lead to being taken off the train or bus and interrogated.
I suggest you don't travel internationally until you get your replacement visa, or at least residence permit.

Well, no.. whether or not you have ID checks when flying totally depends on the airline within the Schengen area.
If OP was flying Austrian from Innsbruck to Berlin or Lufthansa from Munich to Rome, he'd have to show no ID at check-in, bag drop, boarding.
You never show ID at security. Just your boarding pass.
If he was flying Ryanair, he'd have to show ID to use the toilet - almost.
Given the current location of OP, one would guess that train travel will be the most obvious choice, though.

<<There is of course only one way to find out. Travel and see what happens.>>

This has to be some of the worst advice I've seen. If the OP is not eligible to travel, then he can be arrested and deported.

To the OP: Call your consulate, ask the local Schengen consulate, do some bloody thing that will get you a correct legal answer instead of relying upon comments on this board.

<< ...he'd have to show no ID at check-in, bag drop, boarding. >>

?? Flying without showing any ID? When? Forty years ago?

No. That is standard procedure. I do it once a week to once every other week.
You check in online or with your mobile phone.
You drop your bags (if you have them) at the self-service kiosks.
You show phone with bp or print-out at security.
You use same to go thru the turnstiles to board.
No ID requires (i.e. you do not have to show ID to anyone, just your boarding pass)

Since we don't know which methods of travel the OP will be using, and which airlines they will be using, there is a possibility of passport or ID check, and lack of Schengen visa in the passport will become an issue. So the correct advice is to get the visa vignette placed in the new passport before travelling internationally.

The correct advice is to ask the local authorities in Innsbruck. It may or may not be necessary to have the new visa in place.

Ryanair will ask for passport and visa at ticket window, at least in that is so in Spain. Other airlines not strict like that. just photo ID through security when within Schengen

Since the Schengen rules require a Type D visa in the passport for an Indian national student, there is no alternative. Even if the Austrian officials are reassuring, it will cut no ice when a Slovenian official demands to see the visa, as they are entitled to.

The OP is legally resident in Austria, no one is going to get deported. Sometimes people really do like to try and make a mountain out of a mole hill.

There are two rules to a happy life Bhav.

Rule #1: Don't sweat the small stuff.
Rule #2: It's all small stuff.

Just enjoy your travels and don't worry about it. You have more than enough official documents to satisfy anyone.
"given that I carry my documents: my passport, visa(scanned copy), police report , and meldezettel."

Bhav: poster alec is very expert on immigration/visa rules and requirements. Please pay attention to what he has written. He has helped countless others on Fodors.

(some posters just try to be 'cute' - but you need serious advice)

Everyone is entitled to an opinion janisj, even you have one, however wrong it might be often be.