So after many long discussions (or arguments), you and your travel buddies have finally settled on Europe as your next trip destination. Great! Well, the next step is not so great and will test how much you really want to visit Europe.
Don't take it lightly. Many weak-spirited men and women have given up the idea of their dream trip and resorted to visiting some nearby visa-friendly destinations.
But be strong and keep on checking out few pictures of European cities now and then to keep your resolve firm.
1. What is Schengen Visa?
This is the golden ticket which you need if you are planning to visit any of these 26 countries in Europe.
- Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Schengen visa can be issued by any of the participating country but the rules and processing duration may slightly vary from embassy to embassy.
2. When to Apply?
You can apply for a visa at minimum 10 days or maximum 3 months before your intended date of travel. But needless to say, apply as early as possible to avoid last minute panic.
Being an early bird has 3 benefits :
a. In case of any missing/incorrect documents, you can provide corrections or alternatives. You get the time for the to and fro with the embassy.
b. Since, most probably, you would make all bookings before applying for visa, you do not want the courier guy to be holding your passport while your flight takes off.
c. Peace of mind.
3. Roadmap - Dates and places
Once you have identified the countries you wish to travel, chalk out an itinerary. Shortlist the cities/countries you are interested in and decide on how many days you want to spend in each. Now, list them down in the order you would be visiting them. That is your itinerary. Only after figuring this out, move to next step. Here is the itinerary that we followed.
4. Travel Agent or not?
We started with consulting an agency but then later on went ahead with applying by ourselves as the process looked simple enough.
For you it might depend upon how much time you can spend on planning your trip. In case you are a busy bee, its best to contact some travel agency and go with a predefined package that they offer. This option is best for first-timers or aged people who would rather comfortably enjoy, knowing that someone has already taken care of their journey. It saves them from confusing and tricky situations in a foreign land.
If you are looking to create your own custom plan, good for you, because that is how we should travel, right. As per our interests and pace. Not in a "arrive, click, next stop" format. At many places, we saw hordes of people arrive in a bus, someone then herding them and telling them the time they can spend at the place, clicking pictures at every angle they could think of and then leave for the next stop. I just cannot imagine myself traveling like that. I wonder if they really saw the place without their camera lenses. Needless to say, custom plan is also the cheaper option.
Having decided on either of the above two option, you need to start collecting your documents for the visa which again can be applied via travel agents or personally. Its not a very difficult choice, since travel agents will ask you to furnish the same list of docs that VFS does. So better do this yourself to save the service charges of agents. Read on to know about the documents needed.
5. How to Apply?
Visa for many European countries are facilitated by VFS Global.
Now you need to book an appointment with VFS Global for visa application.
Visa appointments are not very readily available. The first available slot could be 1 week or even 1 month away. So, get a checklist of documents from the VFS site. Scan what all you have and what you need to apply for (like certain ids, marriage certificate in some cases). If everything looks okay, take the appointment. Start collecting your documents only after taking the appointment.
Check this official link with process details. (Ignore the bit about providing the documents in Italian)
6. Document checklist :
Official checklist - This link is a concise compilation of what is required. But a google search brings up so many websites and blogs that recount 'n' number of extra documents that are not even needed. (One of the travel consultant advised my husband to get a signed consent from my father. Why in the world!!). My advice would be to stick to this list.
The basic thing that visa guys are looking for is how sound you are financially and that you do not plan to live in Europe as illegal migrant later on. For this, they check how well connected to your family, job and country you are.
Although official site does a pretty job, I would add helpful one-liners here for the docs needed.
a. Passport/Travel Document : Pretty obvious.
b. Visa Application Form : same as above
c. Cover Letter : Short summary of your plans. Include the purpose of visit, members travelling with you, brief travel plan and how you plan to sponsor your trip. Be concise and write point-wise with proper headings.
d. NOC from employer : This is very easily obtained from the HR department. Chances are that they already have a format for such requests. Else, you could chalk out one yourself and get it stamped by HR. This is important as it tells the embassy that you have a stable job in your home country and are not looking to run away for work elsewhere.
e. Travel Itinerary : Your dated schedule of all places of visit. More details here.
f. Financial Status : ITR, salary slips, attested bank statements, employment letter etc. Make sure you have balance in your account from as early as possible. Last minute transfers look fishy. Funds should cover per person per day cost of 80 euros atleast to be on safe side.
g. Overseas medical insurance : Required for the duration of your travel. Major insurance companies give custom plans for different geographical region. You can compare 2-3 plans and easily buy one online
h. Air Tickets : This is what scares the first-timers most. With costly air-tickets and chances of visa being rejected/delayed, one fears purchasing tickets in advance. Although we got advice from friends that visa rejection case is very rare if the documents are all available and finances are adequately mentioned, we still did not take confirmed tickets in advance. Instead, we went ahead with flight reservations/itinerary booked online. This reservation is simply a token booking that is valid for the embassy to cross-check the itinerary and costs a fraction of the actual amount. Once the visa was approved, we booked actual tickets. It is actually advised by the embassy itself to prefer reservations over confirm ticket.
That broadly covers the process and tips for getting a Schengen visa. If I have missed something or you need more details on some point, do point out in the comment section. Hope I helped in lightening up your Booking Blues!! :D
