With Europe's beautiful summers come a ton of Schengen visa applications. Applying for Schengen visa can be super stressful and time consuming task. And the cherry to top it all is, you will never know how long or how quickly your visa will be processed when you apply your visa in VFS Global which is an official agent for Schengen visa for Indian passport holders.
In this article we are giving you expert tips from travel agents who know how to make your application bulletproof.
What is a Schengen Visa?
In case you are unsure of what a Schengen Visa is, it is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any member of the Schengen Area, per stay up to 90 days for tourism or business purposes.
The Schengen area refers to the EU passport-free zone. This zone is an area which covers most European countries. Once you get a Schengen visa you can travel anywhere within this area.
Check this list of countries where you can check whether you need a Schengen Visa to travel to one of the Schengen member countries.
Travel Documents and Entry Requirements for Non-EU Nationals
You will have to present several documents in your visa application. The basic documents you need to provide when entering the Schengen Area are as follows:
1. Valid Passport, issued within the previous 10 years and valid for at least 3 months after the date you intend to leave the EU.
2. If you are an employee leave letter from company stating the position you are in and salary and a Cover letter stating reason for vacation.
3. 3 month latest bank statements, stamped and signed from the bank
4. Hotel and air tickets confirmations
5. Itinerary showing which countries you will be visiting in the Schengen area.
Cost for Schengen Visa
The cost for Schengen visa varies as per the country you are applying for. It will also change if you go through a travel agent or apply directly through VFS. Please check the VFS website for further details.
Your Cheatsheet To Bulletproof Your Schengen Visa Application
1. Which country's embassy in the Schengen area should you apply?
The first step is to apply for a Schengen visa to a country you will be spending the most time in. Don't apply to any other country you will not be spending the maximum time in, or worst not even planning to visit. For a multi-country trip within the Schengen area, it is mandatory to apply to the country's embassy where you will be spending the most time in.
So if you’ve planned a 10-day trip to Switzerland, and a four day trip to Austria, you will have to apply for a Swiss visa since you are spending the most time in Switzerland. The most popular tourist destinations within the Schengen area include France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.
2. Pick your destination per visa processing times
While planning a trip to Europe you need to know the processing time for the visa approval of the particular country to want to visit. Pick a country which has an appointment available and gives visa faster.
“The Schengen visa challenge is two pronged: elusive appointment slots coupled with extended processing time,” says Mr Daniel D’Souza, President & Country Head - Holidays, SOTC Travel.
For instance, France is currently processing visas quicker than some other countries (two to five business days). Last checked, it also has appointments available as early as 27 June at its New Delhi centre.
3. If you have travelled to Europe before, show them you’ve been there
During the Schengen visa application you are required to give biometrics. So if you have travelled a Schengen country in the past four years you can avoid that one biometric trip within the jurisdiction as well.
Your biometric data remains in the system, and if allowed you can send documents virtually to an agent in that city and let them apply on your behalf. “Also send photocopies of visas and other documents from that trip to help make a strong case for this time,” adds Pratim Akash, founder of Elite Tours & Travels.
4. Blocked for too many appointment requests? Use your hotspot
Pratim Akash, the founder of Elite tours & Travels has a way to saving your time while applying for a Schengen visa. When you are applying via VFS, the peak season of incessant logins to check for new appointment openings seldom block the user account and IP address, saying ‘account blocked due to multiple attempts’.
You can create a new ID or log in from your mobile hotspot to override the block. “People have to waste days waiting for their account to get unlocked, but this trick has always worked for all our clients,” said Akash.
5. Hotel and flight booking confirmation email
As per travel agents, Schengen visas are getting turned down due to dummy bookings.
Nihal Daswani, co-founder of EASA, a company that provides end-to-end visa solutions, suggests going the extra mile. Nihal says, “Book all your hotels and flights before applying for a visa. But also contact each hotel and ask them to send you a letter with their official letterhead, stating that your booking is confirmed and non-refundable.”
Provide a No Objection Certificate from your company stating your leave if you’re an employee.
6. Check for premium services for faster approvals
VFS offers the option of upgrading your appointment to Premium Lounge at an additional cost which offers travellers benefits like quicker processing. Although not all Schengen countries provide this service as Greece visas are handled by Global Visa Centre World and not VFS which does not offer a Premium Lounge option on the website.
As per Nihal, in that case you can personally write to the visa centre to avail this service. “A few of our clients emailed the centre instead of applying online, and it came back with Premium Lounge appointments that hadn’t been visible online,” he shares. Nihal said that the Sweden’s visa centres are usually accommodating since lesser tourist as the demand for travel to that country is lesser than some others in the Schengen area. However, be prepared to wait a couple of hours when you arrive at the embassy.
7. Country that gives the Schengen Visa Easily
Slovakia rejected only 2.7% of visa applications, and Luxembourg rejected 1.2% of visa applications. These two countries are the easiest due to less demand.
8. 10 countries that have the lowest rejection rate
Italy (12.7 per cent)
Greece (12.5 per cent)
Switzerland (12 per cent)
Poland (11.6 per cent)
Luxembourg (10.5 per cent)
Finland (9.7 per cent)
Slovakia (9.7 per cent)
Latvia (9.5 per cent)
Lithuania (7.8 per cent)
Iceland (1.9 per cent)
9. Countries with a high rejection rate
Malta (36.4 percent)
Sweden (29 percent)
Belgium (28.4 percent)
France (22.2 percent)
These above tips should help you whilst applying for a Schengen visa next time. With your application bulletproof as you take all the precautions, nothing can stop you from exploring Europe!
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