Schengen Visa For Indians

Posted on by AnandPatel
Europe is one of the coolest destinations in the world & visiting this place is a dream of every person who is not from Europe. Indian citizen requires a tourist visa to visit the much beautiful European countries. This post is for all those people who are willing to travel to Europe & want to know about the Schengen visa. Here is the guide to Schengen Visa For Indians.

Like China, Europe also required a stamped visa before entering the place. For tourism purposed one is required to apply for tourist visa, the validity of tourist visa can be a maximum of 90 days. To get stamped a few steps must be followed.


List of Requirements:

Schengen visa needs to be applied for the place where one is going to spend the most number of nights. In my case, it was Netherland as I planned to stay for 5 nights in Netherland.


Flight Tickets:

It is mandatory for a tourist to submit return flight tickets at the time of submission of documents. The best place to find the cheapest flight is through skyscanner.com. I have always used this website to find the cheapest flights. In my case, my inbound flight in Europe was to Amsterdam & outbound flight was from Barcelona & the cost of the flights was as good as a to & fro flight from the same destination or may be marginally higher. I preferred to keep my inbound & outbound flight from a different destination so that I can explore as much as I can.  You can check my article on Where To Find Cheap International Flight Tickets


Accommodation In Europe

A confirmed booking in your name for each night till the time you are in EU is a must. I know it is difficult to predict exact duration at a place. However, there are many sites which allow you to make a confirmed booking with minimum or no cancellation fees for a certain duration. This is best when the itinerary is not fixed.  The best way to make a booking is through booking.com . If one is looking for hotel comparison website one can surely try Agoda. I prefer booking.com than the other portals as I feel, this is the most transparent portal at the present moment. Their interface is simple & easy to eyes. I rely on booking.com for booking hostels. I mainly chose the hostels which are cheap. You can check Where To Find Cheapest Hotels or Hostels


Travel Insurance:

Travel insurance is mandatory documents that need to be submitted during the submission of application. You can either buy travel insurance online or through some agents. Note that travel insurance shall be of 30,000 Euros which will cost around Rs 1,300 or Rs 1,400.


Bank Account Statement:

Each country in EU has specific guidelines for the minimum amount required for a day in Europe. Usually, it varies from 20 Euros to 50 or 60 Euros per day depending on the country you are visiting. Following documents can be used for proving sufficient amount.Bank account statement having a balance of at least 2 to 3 times the minimum amount required for the whole trip.

Credit card statement.

Letter from employer (Leave approval on a letterhead duly signed by the administration).

Proof of prepaid booking of youth hostels or hotels.

Proof of prepaid transport if any, like any inter-city flights or train tickets or bus tickets. Euro rail is a good option to book trains between the cities, I used flexi bus for booking bus tickets. Flexi bus uses online payment hence it is advisable to book the flexi bus prior.


Cover Letter:

Submit a signed cover letter addressed to the royal embassy of the place mentioning the reason of travel along with the dates of travel.


Itinerary:

A tentative itinerary about travel plans. The best way to make an itinerary is by bifurcating it into three sections, morning, afternoon & evenings. Try to start with activities like breakfast some sightseeing & then again same thing with lunch & evening snacks. Please note that this is required by the consulate to figure out how are you going to spend your time in the cities. A detailed version of your itinerary can help the cause of getting a visa. If there is something unrelatable it is very likely that the consultants will call you for an interview.


Visa Application Form:

A duly filled visa application form. There is a checklist which must be followed. Tick mark points which are valid & arrange documents in the order of they are mentioned in checklist.


Sample Visa Form Mark My Adventure
I took the copy of all the above-mentioned things while submitting the documents, after submission of documents, there is a round of biometric in which I submitted my fingerprints & a photo. Once, all these steps are complete, the file is sent to the respective consulate for final review & approval or disapproval of the application.

For Indians, VFS Global is single stop solution for applying for Schengen Visa. Their offices are in major cities & all the documents need to be submitted here only. I submitted my document at VFS Global Netherlands Mumbai office. All the visa related fees need to be paid at the VFS Global office only that too in cash. Tourist visa fees is approx. Rs 6,000. Further, there are additional services like courier, SMS tracking which can be availed for extra cash.

It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to get a visa. But, there is one more aspect which needs to be considered. The INTERVIEW CALL. For the first timer, this is pretty usual, the person is called for an interview at the consulate to inquire about trip details. The interview is not difficult, they ask about the plan. I went to Delhi for the interview, the person asked me everything from hotel bookings to transport I will take & places I will visit. My advice would just be calm & composed & answer everything in confidence. I felt it was just a formality to check is there anything wrong or not with the person.

  I was among the unlucky who was called for an interview. However, there are my friends who got the visa without any interview. But, all the efforts are little compared to the happiness that we experience during the trip. The vastness of the place & mesmerizing views help you to forget all the efforts taken to get the visa.



Handy Resources:

Here are some of the handy resources to help you plan better. 

Agoda: Best place to book hotels of your liking. Agoda provides the best solution & great offer while booking a hotel.

Skyscanner: Skyscanner compares various sites & sort the flights based on the rates. A great way to check flight cost. Although the only drawback is that rates are flexible. Hence, the cost might change while you are making the payment.

Jetradar: Jetradar is a comparing site which is just like Skyscanner. But, is much more accurate & much more handy in use.

Booking: Best place to book hostel rooms. There are plenty of options available & with so many properties booking becomes much easier.

Couchsurfing: Best place to find free accommodation. It is as easy as filtering people & messaging. If you will get lucky you will find free accommodation in local resident house.

Travel Insurance: There are numerous options available to get one. So, you can choose anything which suits your requirement. Make sure you read the terms & conditions before buying one.

137 thoughts on “Schengen Visa For Indians”

  1. I’m a student going to Netherlands for internship for 21 days. My stay and travelling expenses will be covered by the university. But the problem is my parents bank transaction is low and there is no ITR. I don’t know if I can deposit the total budget of my stay the previous day of applying visa. What are the options for me now to show sufficient fund

    1. I will be travelling in second week of June if my visa gets approved.
      Thanks in advance

  2. I want to apply for busniess visit short stay visa in netherlands and i have invitation letter of the company and registration doc also
    Could you please specify what all docs are needed?
    All expenses will bear by the company as it also states in the letter
    What all things in the cover letter should i write?
    M just doing normal salary job so my bank statement is not that strong
    All itenary will be paid by the company which is inviting
    It’s a short stay visa because they want to expand their business in india and they want to do the meeting for the same. Duration will be of 7-10 days only
    I have changed my job one month back and i have total 2 yrs job experience so i can gie them my current 2 months sapary slip only because there is a one month gap for switching the job.
    If company will bear all my expenses so it is mandatory ti show our funds also because i have no saving as i take care all my family expenses
    M 28 yr old single girl from India and only travelled to dubai recentl
    I also don’t have ITR but i have two credit cards
    Pls i need your guidance as this trip is really important for me as I support my family and i do not want to loose the opportunity
    If you need any extra info then please contact me

  3. Hi everyone!

    I have planned for a trip to Paris and Amsterdam in which l will be entering Schengen from France; will be staying in France for 5 days and in the Netherlands for 6 days. Is it okay if l apply through the embassy of France or should l apply through embassy of the Netherlands?

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi,

      You need to apply for the embassy of Netherlands. As you are staying the most number of nights in the Netherlands.

  4. Hi ,

    Planned for 11 days trip to paris and italy !! How much bank balance i need to show.

    i have planned to block the hotel and flight ticket reservation through Booking.com. So Around 2lakhs are enough to get the visa ?

    Please help on this.

  5. It would be better if you just reply here than writing “will mail you details.”

    Can you give details about the problem faced by a backpacker while applying for schengen visa?

    1. Hi,
      Sometimes the questions are long & answering them consumes space. Thus, I answer all the queries in the mail. To cater the fact that if they want any further clarification on my answers.

  6. My sign on passport is very old and i dont use that now, my passport is almost 9 years old.
    I was trying for Schengen Visa and i have my current sign on my Marriage certificate, there is a mismatch will that be a problem,?
    Kindly help

  8. Hello Anand. Great Blog.

    I am planning for a solo trip next month to the netherlands,belgium and hungary. I will be applying through netherlands embassy.

    I am currently employed and earn about 35k a month. I can show around 2 lakhs for 14 days trip. I think this might not be enough as my flights tickets and hotel bookings are not prepaid.(Just blocked tickets and pay at the hotel option from booking.com).

    I plan to attach my mother’s bank statements and ITR and a letter of consent.But the problem is,I don’t want embassy guys to think that she is the sole sponsorer as I earn enough and have a bit of savings.
    Can I write in the cover letter that the trip will be sponsored by myself but I will be carrying my mother’s international debit card to tackle any unforeseen circumstances.?
    P.S I don’t have a credit card or fixed deposits etc

    Please reply

  9. Also, do I need to buy eurail pass also ?
    Is it mandatory to buy it before booking the trains ?
    what are the cheaper alternatives ?

    Thanks again.

  10. 1. Anand, what if I book flight tickets and my visa is rejected, then wouldn’t I lose all my ticket money ?
    2. Can I book through booking.com and chose the option “Pay later” or do I need to pay them to show the proof ?
    3. Do I need to show the proof of transport for all the inter Schengen area, e.g. if travelling from Italy to Spain, etc. ? Because that would mean I have to buy a lot of flight/train/bus tickets without even knowing if the visa is going to be accepted or not.
    4. I have ITR for previous year only, shall I show the form 16 for the rest 2 years ?

    Thanks for your help.

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