The year 2021 was no different from the year 2020, corona has halted the normal lives of people & it is doing so very subtly. Every few months new variants are coming resulting in the shutting down of the borders. This is impacting the travel industry a lot, flights are getting canceled & plans are getting tossed up in the unknown. However, with the vaccinations, things are getting normalized in some sense, if not all. Few countries opened their border for tourism for fully vaccinated individuals & Spain was one such country that allowed it; citing this opportunity, I planned a trip to Spain during my birthday in November.
India approved covishield & covaxin for clinical use & Spain considered people vaccinated with covishield to travel their country. I was vaccinated with the covishield vaccination, so I promptly started searching for the list of documents required for applying for the visa & any additional approvals required before applying for a visa. Previously, I went to Spain in 2017 on my first Europe trip, but this time I exclusively chose Spain because of the restrictions. I planned my trip for 2 weeks & decided to cover places like Madrid, Ibiza & Seville. I will cover all these cities in detail in the coming posts. However, before this let’s start with the visa process.
In 2017, I had applied for a Netherland visa through VFS global. However, Spain is using BLS as a service provider. So, I had to follow the instruction given by BLS. One can find information about location via their website. BLS office location can be found on their website. BLS India Website
Most of the information is readily available on their platform. However, some of the important are as follows:
Most of the information is readily available on their platform. However, some of the important are as follows:
List of Items Required For Applying Visa:
1. Cover Letter:
The cover letter is one of the important documents required to apply for a visa. It will be your first document in the series of documents to be handed over to the BLS for review. A cover letter consists of details like your details like passport number, issuing country, dates of arriving & departing from the host country, a brief itinerary of the places you are going to visit & the purpose of the travel. One should write a comprehensive letter to the consulate covering all the details.
2. Itinerary:
One should prepare an itinerary in a detailed manner, stating the places & dates of visiting the places. Further, the itinerary should cover things you will do on each day & places you intend to visit. The itinerary can be tentative during the time of applying for the visa. However, try to be as accurate as possible.
3. Schengen Application Form:
While applying for the visa, the Schengen application form is a must, a duly filled form is required while submitting the documents. One can find the form at the following link Visa Form
Following the link, one can download all the forms & checklists required to apply for the visa. The form is easy to fill & will cover details like place of stay, their addresses, funding source, travel insurance details, etc.
4. Travel Insurance:
One should have a minimum coverage of 30,000 Euros for the number of days one is planning to stay in the country. The insurance should be valid for the entire duration of your trip journey. One can use many insurance providers for this. I used Bajaj Allianz for the same.
5. Accommodation:
One needs to pre-book the stays for all the days staying in the country. It is important to book accommodation for days even when you are transiting from one city to other. One can use following links for booking.
Best Deals On Hotels: Places to find best deals on hotels.
Agoda: Best place to book hotels of your liking. Agoda provides the best solution & great offer while booking a hotel.
Booking: Best place to book hostel rooms. There are plenty of options available & with so many properties booking becomes much easier.
Best Deals On Hotels: Places to find best deals on hotels.
Agoda: Best place to book hotels of your liking. Agoda provides the best solution & great offer while booking a hotel.
Booking: Best place to book hostel rooms. There are plenty of options available & with so many properties booking becomes much easier.
6. Flight Tickets:
Although, it is mentioned on the website that flight tickets are not required while applying. However, I had booked the tickets before as I was getting great offers on the prices. Thus, it is up to one to book or not. Also, most of the flights are offering free cancellation services up to 24 hrs before flying in case one is not able to travel for some of the other reasons. One can use following link
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.
Cheap Internation Flights: Best place to find cheap international flight tickets.
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.
Cheap Internation Flights: Best place to find cheap international flight tickets.
7. Bank balance & ITR:
One needs to submit the last 3 months of bank balance on the bank’s letterhead with an official seal. Along with the same one needs to submit ITR for the last two years as well.
8. Visa Fee:
One will have to spare approx 8000-9000 Rs per application for the applying.
9. Copy of Passport:
If you have obtained Schengen Visa with previously can submit the photocopy of the same while submitting the documents. Also, one needs to submit an old passport (if expired & issued a new one).
After applying for the visa one needs to wait for a minimum of 5 days for getting a stamped visa. The stamped passport will be couriered to your address & if stamped it is time to travel.
After applying for the visa one needs to wait for a minimum of 5 days for getting a stamped visa. The stamped passport will be couriered to your address & if stamped it is time to travel.