Schengen Visa: How to apply for it?

Schengen visas allow travelers to cross the borders of EU member countries without having any identity check. In other words, once you apply for a Schengen visa and successfully get it, you can travel to 26 European countries with one visa on your passport. How to apply for a Schengen visa, depends and varies from country to country and the embassy and consulate wise.

Luckily, here we will try to cover all aspects regarding applying for a Schengen Visa. There are several types of Schengen visas, but the most common is the “C” type (short-stay visa). Applicants can travel for a maximum of 90 days in the 6-month period starting from the date of enrollment.

Citizens of which countries do not need a Schengen Visa?

Since the Schengen area is famous all over the world for tourism purposes, many prefer it over any other country in the world because it includes 26 countries in Europe. Nowadays, more than 60 countries (some require special passport requirements) around the world can enter Europe’s visa-free zone without the need to obtain a visa in advance and stay there for 90 days over six months.

Albania* Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Australia Bahamas Barbados Bosnia and Herzegovina* Brazil Brunei Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Dominica El Salvador Georgia Grenada Guatemala Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong S.A.R***

Israel Japan Kiribati Macao S.A.R*** Malaysia Marshall Islands Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Montenegro* Nauru New Zealand Nicaragua North Macedonia Palau Panama Paraguay Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Samoa Serbia* Seychelles Singapore Solomon Islands South Korea Taiwan** Timor Leste Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Vanuatu Venezuela

Citizens of which countries need a Schengen Visa?

You must apply for a Schengen visa for freedom of movement in the region if you are a citizen of one of the following countries:

Afghanistan	Gabon	Oman
Algeria	The Gambia	Pakistan
Angola	Ghana	Papua New Guinea
Armenia	Guinea	Palestinian Authority
Azerbaijan	Guinea-Bissau	Philippines
Bahrain	Guyana	Qatar
Bangladesh	Haiti	Russia
Belarus	India	Rwanda
Belize	Indonesia	Sao Tome And Principe
Benin	Iran	Saudi Arabia
Bhutan	Iraq	Senegal
Bolivia	Jamaica	Sierra Leone
Botswana	Jordan	Somalia
Burkina Faso	Kazakhstan	South Africa
Burma/Myanmar	Kenya	South Sudan
Burundi	Kosovo	Sri Lanka
Cambodia	Kuwait	Sudan
Cameroon	Kyrgyzstan	Suriname
Cape Verde	Laos	Swaziland
The central African Republic	Lebanon	Syria
Chad	Lesotho	Tajikistan
China	Liberia	Tanzania
Comoros	Libya	Thailand
Congo	Madagascar	Timor-Leste
Cote D’Ivoire	Malawi	Togo
Cuba	Maldives	Tonga
Dem. Rep. Of Congo	Mali	Tunisia
Djibouti	Mauritania	Turkey
Dominican Republic	Mongolia	Turkmenistan
Ecuador	Morocco	Uganda
Egypt	Mozambique	Uzbekistan
Equatorial Guinea	Namibia	Vietnam
Eritrea	Nepal	Yemen
Ethiopia	Niger	Zambia
Fiji	Nigeria	Zimbabwe
North Korea	Northern Marianas

Citizens of countries that need a transit visa for Schengen countries

Citizens of the following 12 countries need a transit visa if they are traveling through a Schengen country:

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Congo (Drc)
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Iran
• Iraq
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• Sri Lanka

Other than these 12 countries, all do not require a transit visa to pass through a Schengen country.

Last year has been not that significant for travelers to Schengen countries where only 3 million short-stay C-type visa applications were submitted in the member states’ consulates and embassies abroad. The visa issued to third countries nationals was 2.5 million (exactly 2.489.146 which is 83% less than of 2019). The statistics have been issued by European Commission in May for 2020. The ratio is extremely lower than of 2019 where 17 million visa applications were submitted in member states.

Courtesy HTTPS://EC.EUROPA.EU/INFO/INDEX_EN

Steps to apply for a Schengen Visa

Find out where you need to apply for a Schengen Visa

First of all, things vary from the country-wise when you think about applying for a Schengen visa. Depending on how you apply for a visa in your home country, you will have to fill out your Schengen visa application and submit it with the required documents in one of the following Schengen countries:

• Embassy
• Consultants
• A visa application center in which the embassy of your destination country has outsourced visa submission
• Embassy / Consulate of another Schengen state in which the embassy of your destination country has outsourced visa submission

Your “destination country”, is considered the country where you are required to apply under Schengen rules as mentioned below.

Visiting single country	Visiting more than 2 countries with an unequal stay	Visiting more than 2 countries with an equal stay
If you want to visit a single Schengen country .you can submit your application to a visa center, embassy, or consultant of that country.	If you want to visit more than two Schengen countries, you can submit your application at the country’s embassy/consulate/visa center where you will spend most of the day if you will spend unequal days in each.	At the country’s embassy/consulate/visa center where you will take the first step if you are spending equal days in each.

Intended time to apply for Schengen visa

Secondly, you should set a deadline for submitting your visa application, this is made due to the need for Schengen embassies/consulates around the world to process Schengen visas. In other words, submitting the visa application in advance can allow enough time for the embassy to process the visa application. According to the latest visa application submission regulations are as follows:

• Recommended time to apply for a visit: at least 21 days before your trip,
• You can apply for a visa as soon as possible: six months before the start of your scheduled tour,
• The latest you can apply: is a maximum of 15 business days before planning to travel.

Select a correct Schengen visa category

Schengen visa categories are divided into the following:

• Short term Study visa
• Medical emergencies visa
• Transit visa
• Tourism visa
• Visa for visiting family or friends
• Business visa
• Culture and sports activities visa
• Visa for official visits

Before submitting the visa application, you should consider which visa category to apply for. Since you need different requirements for different visa categories, selecting the correct stream will help you get your visa application processed in time.

Which Schengen countries will open visa centers?

Book an appointment

You should book an appointment in order to proceed with your application process. There are two ways to book an appointment:

• Most countries offer you to book an appointment online or,
• you will need to fix an appointment in person, at the embassy or consulate of your destination country.

How to fill out the visa application visa form

You can easily download the application form, important thing is to fill it truthfully and accurately. The Schengen visa application form has the same format for all 26 countries. You will have to provide the following information on your Schengen visa application form:

Your personal information	Information on your background	What is the purpose of your entrance into the Schengen area
You can fill the form with the following guidelines	You can fill the form with the following guidelines	Other information regarding your travel

Guidelines for filling in the visa application

Fill in all the required options if you think any option is not related to your write there NA (not applicable):

• Read all the forms, answer all the questions carefully, complete them truthfully,
• you will be responsible for the serious consequences if you misrepresent yourself or hold back information on your application,
• Proofread your form
• Sign the visa form where written applicant’s signature,
• if you are a minor, your parents have to submit a written consent and sign it in the corresponding place on the application form.

Arrange the required documents

Though all countries can ask for different types of required documents in general, most are as follows:

• A valid passport or a legitimate travel document;
• Letter of invitation from your host in the Schengen country (if required);
• Enough financial support to bear your expenses in the Schengen country. It depends on your conditions such as: how long you will stay and if you will stay in a hotel, or with relatives or friends;
• You should be able to convince the immigration service officer that you will leave  the Schengen country at the end of your trip, Convince the immigration officer that you have a relationship – such as a job, home, financial assets, or family that will take you back to your country;
• The most important thing is that you have a clean history record and have no immigration-related convictions;
• Details of hotel bookings if you are traveling for sightseeing;
• In support of an application for a short-term or travel visa, applicants must show that they are in possession of adequate and valid individual or group Travel Medical Insurance, the minimum coverage is €30,000 for the intended period of stay.

Category-wise Required Documents

Personal documents:

• Personal passport with more than 6 months of expiry duration
• Visa application form
• Passport-sized photographs with white background
• Family details if married and have children

Trip documents:

• Cover letter mentioning your full details of the planned trip
• Accommodation proof for an intended stay in  the Schengen country
• Return ticket reservation proof
• Any reservations that you have made for your other visits during your stay in  the Schengen country

Financial documents:

• Complete details of your personal or sponsored financial status,
• Job confirmation letter in case you work full or part-time,
• Salary slips of the last six months (optional but extremely important),
• Bank bank statements,
• Any traveler’s cheques or bonds,
• Holidays approval letter from your employer,
• Income tax returns of previous years (options but important),
• Self-employment details,
• Business registration certificate,
• Details of tax your company or business entity pays,
• National tax number,
• Any agreement details if the business is divided into partners,
• Visiting card with details of business email and contact numbers,
• In case you get the visa, who will bear your responsibilities in your absence,
• Personal and business bank statements,
• Other income sources.

Ties documents

• You must present proper documents that show that you have ties with your country of origin,
• For married people, marriage registration certificates and children’s birth certificates,
• For single people, any property proofs, job, or studies bonding.

Where to apply for a Schengen visa?

To apply for a Schengen visa you will need to contact the Schengen consular authorities you wish to visit. If the country you intend to visit does not have an embassy or consulate, you must provide your application file to the local representatives of that country. Visa applications are sometimes processed by external service providers (such as VFS Global or TLS) who are authorized to receive application files.

Attend the visa interview

Once you submit your visa application with the required documents, you may be asked in some cases to attend the interview. In other words, during the interview, you will be asked personal questions about your whereabouts, desired travel, and other travel details. Make sure your answers are authentic and correct and they follow the information and other documents in the application form. This interview can last for about 10-15 minutes. On the day of your appointment, show up on time at the facility where you will be interviewed. There you will meet with the visa consultant who will need to hand over the required documents

Sample questions for visa interview

what is the purpose of your visit?	Who will bear your visit expenses?	Which country of Schengen you are going to visit?	Who will you stay with within Schengen country?
What is your qualification?	Why did you choose the Schengen area?	Where are you going to stay?	Are you married, what does your spouse do, how many kids do you have?

Fee payment

When applying for a Schengen visa, you will need to pay an administrative fee, so that your visa application can be processed. Member countries have adjusted visa fees. Therefore, they are stable and unchanging unless decided by the Schengen states.

Schengen Visa Category	Fee in EUR
Adult applicant	80€
Children between 6-12 years of age	40€
Children younger than 6 years of age	Free
Holders of diplomatic, official, or service passports traveling for official purposes	Free
A family member of an EU/EEA national	Free
Pupils, students, and accompanying teachers during a school trip	Free
Researchers traveling to perform scientific research	Free
Nationals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.	35€

Response to your application

In most cases, the visa process does not take more than 15 days, but there are times when the process takes a long time. In some countries, this period can be extended from 15 to 45 days by some citizens. Wait until you receive a response to your visa application.

In the case of visa approval

Getting a Schengen visa is good news – understand that you should carefully read the label attached to the visit sticker that allows you to stay in Europe because if you overstay in the Schengen area might have consequences.

What do I do if I apply for a Schengen visa extension?

In the event of any credible reasons, personal, professional, medical, or otherwise, applicants must contact the same institutions in the Schengen country of residence and apply for an extension of the Schengen visa. The extended Schengen visa will give the applicant the same right to visit the Schengen area as the original visa was issued. Visa extensions may result in a stay of no more than 90 days.

In case of visa refusal

Lastly, read the reason why they did not give you a visa and try to fulfill it the next time you apply or you think your application is valid, and if the denial decision was a mistake, you can always appeal for visa rejection. If the applicant is denied a visa due to failure to provide documentation or proof that he or she meets the criteria for traveling in the Schengen zone, then relocate to the desired destination at the embassy/consulate there. Possibility to apply.