Are you planning for a trip to Europe from India? Are you looking for articles to help you out in applying for the Schengen tourist visa from India? You have come to the right place.

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I went to Paris, Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam in Europe in the month of April (2019) which is the best time as it is Spring, the weather is good and all the trees blossom to its peak to make everywhere you go more beautiful. Also, if you are also going to Amsterdam during Spring time, you will be welcomed by tulips everywhere in Netherlands.

If you are planning a Europe trip in the next six months, this article will help you in applying for Schengen Visa, as I have done it recently, I had done it all by myself and from scratch without any help from travel managers like Thomas Cook etc. Following article has been written from the perspective of my trip. I was on a 10 day trip and my longest stay was in Paris, France. So I had to apply for Visa addressing French Embassy in India. Since I applied from the VFS center in Bengaluru and it has a French Consulate, I got my Passport with the Visa stamped in just two days.

TIP – Start filling the application on the VFS website without booking a slot for submission of documents and biometrics, because this will give you an actual idea of what documents you need to have.

The link to the VFS France website – (If you are applying for some other countries’ embassy, they do have their own VFS links)
https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/welcome-page

For Netherlands –
https://www.vfsglobal.com/Netherlands/India/

The above website has all the tools to tell you what documents you need, how to start filling the application, how to submit the application and book a slot and track your application after you pay the fees at the document collection center (VFS, in India’s case).

For instance, the tool which generates the list of documents one needs by entering a few details like the Passport number etc. – https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/ai-je-besoin-d-un-visa

The tool for filling up the application –
https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/ma-demande-en-ligne

NOTE/TIP – If you have any doubt regarding your documents, the best person to help you would be the VFS Customer Care helpline. I got most of my doubts cleared through the helpline. Helpline: +91 22 67866008. Also it is always better to ask in your friends’ circle who might have gone to Europe recently as they have the best experience of going through the process themselves.

So now I will tell here below what I did in my case – I had to apply from France as my port of entry was Paris. More than that, the thumb rule is to apply from a particular country’s embassy in whose country you will be staying the longest during your tourism trip. I was going to stay in Paris for four days out of the 10 days in my entire trip.

Below is the list of documents one needs –

  1. Printout of Flight Tickets – First things first. Be done with your flight ticket bookings, and yeah of course, when they are cheaper. There are some web sites which allow for pay later bookings just to show the tickets during your document submission day. These are expensive, but it helps because you might end up in loss when your Visa does not get approved. But, that is hardly a case, it is very rare that a Tourist Visa application is rejected. For Visa Application, print both forward and return tickets. It is only mentioned to furnish return tickets only , but print the tickets from India to Europe as well.
  2. Printout of all the stay bookings – During my stay, we stayed at airbnb stays – https://www.airbnb.co.in/ . They are cheaper than hotels and they are almost equal to a hotel experience with an added advantage of staying closer to the locals and having many heart-some conversations with them. For the Visa application, it is mandated to have prior stay bookings or furnish proof of enough funds. NOTE – there should be no gap in stay bookings. Every day of your stay inside the Schengen area should have prepaid accommodation booking. As the European Commission specifies, any foreigner seeking to enter France, since 19 June 2014, they must be able to attest to the France Embassy or Consulate possessing the daily money amount of 120€ if holding no proof of prepaid accommodation. If the applicant has a prepaid hotel, then this amount reduces to 65€/daily for the period of covered hotel accommodation, while the rest is 120€. Also, in case the applicant proofs cheaper forms of accommodation the amount decreases to 32.25€/ day.
    To know about means of subsistence for any other European country – Check here –
    https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-application-requirements/means-subsistence/ .
  3. Proof of prepaid bookings for inter-city travels – One should furnish the details of how they will travel inside the Schengen area and on what dates. This is basically intending to tell about your trip itinerary which the consulate authorities appreciate. I had inter-city travels using Thalys train from Paris to Brussels and then Eurolines bus connecting Brussels to Amsterdam. I furnished the booking details.
  4. Payslips of the last three months – Get payslips of last three months. This helps in showing that you have enough funds and also you are tagged to a current job which is a proof of assurance to the embassy that you will return back to your original residing country.
  5. ITR-V Acknowledgement of last three years – If you have been paying your taxes on time and filing for tax-returns sincerely, it makes it easier for your Visa to be approved faster. Get your ITR-V Acknowledgement letters from the last three financial years. If in case, you were not working for the whole of last three years, or were not in the tax bracket or are a student, please do mention the said clarification in your cover letter. I had also submitted the Form 16s and ITR Forms for the respective years, but that is not totally unnecessary as your ITR-V is summary of all those forms and affirms the status of filing the taxes on time and sincerely.
  6. Passport size pictures – Only one was needed for my form, but its good to have few more handy. Follow the proper specifications as laid down by the Schengen authorities –
    https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/photo-requirements/ . Also, get these pictures in matte finish coat. Choose any good photo studio. I went to Kodak and they did the work according to the specifications which they already knew about.
  7. Signed and stamped bank statement – Head over to your bank. Ask them for a signed and stamped bank statement of your savings account for a period of last six months. They will charge a nominal fee for generating it. NOTE – Do this task as closest as possible to your document submission day. My slot was on May 5 and I had got the statement printed on May 1 so that it will shows the latest balance and all the transactions done recently. It is recommended to do it just a day before the slot day.
  8. Valid Passport, its copy and a copy of all the recent Visas obtained – You need to carry a valid passport,
    not older than 10 years and it should be valid for at least three more months beyond the date you plan to leave Schengen area. Older passports with visas on them (if you have any). The current original passport will be deposited at the time of document submission and will be returned to you once your visa gets approved, signed and stamped on to it. I am not sure if the copy of your passport and the copy of all your old visas obtained is really needed, since I carried it along and it was submitted too with the application, I would suggest you to do the same.
  9. Travel Insurance – Get a travel health insurance of minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros or 50000 US Dollars. This is recommended by the authorities to avoid any untoward scenario like flight cancellation or delay, baggage loss or accident and getting stranded in a foreign nation for the reason of less funds. Suggestions for getting the insurance –
    https://www.godigit.com/international-travel-insurance OR
    https://www.policybazaar.com/ (Talk to a sales executive who will curate you policies according to your needs).
  10. Employment and Leave Approval – Get your leaves approved from your manager. Contact your HR after that and ask them to provide employment and leave approval letter. This has to be done under a proper company letterhead with the address and contact details of your organisation and signed by the HR. This has to be a hard copy and not a printout.
  11. Current Address Proof – You can provide your rental agreement or Aadhaar card or voter ID or any document showing your current address details. You can also provide phone bill or rental agreement in the name of your guardian or spouse, clarifying that in the cover letter.
  12. VFS Appointment letter – This is really important as you wont be allowed inside the VFS premises without this letter. Once you submit your filled application online, and choose your document submission slot time, it will emit an email with the appointment letter to your signed user’s email address. NOTE/TIP – Don’t carry laptops to the VFS center on your slot day. It is not allowed. If you carry it by any chance, you may find some shops outside the VFS center which have lockers on rent.
  13. Duly Signed and Filled Visa Application letter – Need not be said, that is darn required.
  14. Cover letter with Itinerary – This is the main and should be the introductory document to address the Consul General/Ambassador of your addressed Consulate/Embassy. This letter should tell why you are applying for Schengen Visa from their consulate (Reason being port of entry or longest stay in Schengen area). This letter should tell why are you visiting their country and what do you intend to do during the trip. The letter should have your brief itinerary. Scroll down to the bottom for a glimpse into what I wrote in my cover letter.

Extra Documents if you are on post-wedding trip with your spouse –

  • Wedding Invitation Card
  • Engagement pictures
  • Mention about your spouse in your cover letter and the reason of the trip

NOTE/TIP – As soon as you get inside the VFS office, ask anybody from the staff if your and your wife’s applications can be attended at the same time together. It becomes easier for the consulate to understand the application and lesser documents like only one wedding invitation and fewer engagement pictures.

Here below is the glimpse of what I wrote in my cover letter.

5th March, 2019
Place – Bengaluru
 
Honorable Consul General of France,
The Consulate General of France
21, Palace Rd, Vasanth Nagar,
Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560052

Subject: Satyajit XXXXXX, Indian Passport No. XXXXXXX, Schengen Visa for tourism with my fiancée, XXXXX XXXXXX, Indian Passport No. XXXXXXXXXX.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to apply for Schengen Visa as post my wedding on XX XXX 2019; I intend to travel with my wife, currently my fiancée (Miss XXXXXX) to France, Belgium and Netherlands between April 8th, 2019 and April 17th, 2019. We are applying for Schengen Visa through the honorable Consulate General of France as our port of entry is Paris and our longest stay in the Schengen area is in France.

The main purpose of our trip is tourism. We are planning to visit popular places like, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum, the Disneyland in Paris; the Grand Palace, the Atomium, the Comic Strip museum in Brussels; the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, the Tulip festival in April in Amsterdam. We also wish to experience the culture in these three countries.

I am working as a XXXXXXX Engineer at XXXXXXXXX in Bengaluru since XXXX. My employer has approved my vacation for the duration of this trip.

Please, find the following documents to support my visa application:
1. Visa application form, duly dated and signed with attached passport-size pictures.
2. Passport, photocopies of the identity page and latest visas obtained.
3. Travel Insurance copy, coverage of € 30,000.
4. Flight ticket from Chennai to Paris on April 8th 2019 and return flight ticket from Amsterdam to Bengaluru on April 17th 2019.
5. Stay reservation details in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam and inter-city travel bookings.
6. Employment and leave approval certificate from Employer.
7. Bank statement for last 6 months.
8. ITR-V of last three years (Assessment Years - 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019)
9. Form-16 and ITR of previous financial year (Financial Year - 2017-2018/ Assessment Year – 2018-2019).
10. Pay slips of last six months as proof of my income.
11. Wedding card invitation and engagement pictures as proof of civil status with co-traveler.
12. Rental Agreement as proof of my current residence
 
Planned Itinerary:
· April 7th 2019 – Travel to Chennai from Bengaluru to board the Paris flight using public transport means.
· April 8th 2019 – Early morning flight from Chennai to Paris via Jet Airways 9W-128.
· April 8th 2019 to April 11th 2019 – Sight-seeing in Paris.
· April 12th 2019 – Train journey from Paris to Brussels via Thalys train service.
· April 12th 2019 to April 14th 2019 – Sight-seeing in Brussels.
· April 14th 2019 at Noon – Bus journey from Brussels to Amsterdam via Eurolines bus.
· April 14th 2019, Evening to April 16th 2019 – Sight-seeing in Amsterdam.
· April 17th 2019 – Flight back to Bengaluru from Amsterdam via Air India AI-989, AI-124, AI-603 (Connecting Flights).

I trust that you will find everything in order. For any questions and clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime.

We look forward to our trip in Europe. Thanking you in advance for a favorable reply to my application.

Sincerely,
Satyajit Patnaik
Flat No. XXX, XXXXXXXX
Bengaluru – 5600XX
India

Phone Number - +91-XXXXXXXXX

On the day of document collection and biometrics submission at the VFS center in Bengaluru, the applications for me and my wife was processed together. To not have to go through traffic again to collect the passport after Visa approval from VFS itself, we asked for courier to our current residence address on an extra payment of 500 INR per PAX. The total payment towards the Visa fees and the courier came to be around 7000 INR per PAX approximately.

I hope all the information above helps you out. Frankly speaking, during the process of applying for Schengen visa, I panicked a lot and took unnecessary stress during document collection, thinking about the visa rejection and the loss of money spent on the bookings done already. But when my passport got delivered to my home address with visa stamped on to it, I was relieved and I started to believe that the process was really simple and easy. I wish you all the best and all the luck, and above all, have a great Europe trip. To say me a thank you , you can get me a souvenir on your way back or a fridge magnet would do as well. Pun intended, but, Bon Voyage.

You can reach me anytime –

Email – bvr.satyajit.patnaik@gmail.com.

Instagram – satyajitpatnaik and @twohopscotchersonthemap