Travelling to Europe has never been much easier. Since the inception of the Schengen VISA, it is easily possible for one to travel between several countries in Europe on a single VISA. Schengen VISA covers a total of 26 countries which includes the 22 EU countries and the other four are then non-EU countries.
The Schengen tourist visa can allow you to travel to these European countries without any hassle. Schengen Visa allows traveling between the countries of Austria, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands in a single trip rather than obtaining a visa for each country separately. Also, getting a Schengen Visa can widen your travel horizons and help you to explore all of the Europe without having much to do with your VISA process.
Obtaining a Schengen Visa is not that hard. You must know few basic things that are required to apply. Due to increase in the travel and tourism services, there are a number of Schengen visa consultants which you can go for. They help you to get through the process of getting a Schengen visa easily. Also, there are a number of websites you can refer on, to apply for the visa.
Before applying for the visa, itself, you must need to apply for travel insurance for Schengen visa. Also, it is advisable to know what type of Schengen visa you are applying for. Generally, a tourist Schengen tourist visa is a Category C visa which allows you to stay in the Schengen visa area for up to 3 months in a half-year period from the time of your first entry.
You need to present your travel insurance for Schengen Visa before actually applying for the visa. The travel insurance is mainly to cover the costs of repatriation and medical emergencies during your travel period in Schengen countries. The coverage for the insurance must be at least 30,000 EUR and also valid for all the Schengen states. Once, you obtain the travel insurance, you need to present it before the officials at the time of applying for a visa. If in case, your visa is rejected /refused, you can ask the Embassy or Consulate to provide you with a document regarding the refusal of visa in order to cancel the insurance and get your money back.
Now let’s take a look at how to apply for a Schengen Visa. You need to meet certain requirements in order to apply for the visa. Here is a list of documents required for Schengen Visa.
1) You need to have a valid passport with at least 2 blank pages left for the stamp purposes. Also, the passport must be valid for at least 3 months from the date of you leaving the Schengen area.
2) You need to have at least one passport photo while filing the application.
3) You need to have all the travel details about your trip, including the flight and hotel details, insurance proof, and the documents covering your intention to visit the place.
4) You need to present your current employment status and details of your bank statement from last 3 months.
Once you have collected all the documents that are required for the visa process, you need to go online and fill up the application form for the VISA. Now there are certain points which you need to keep in your mind before applying for the visa.
1) If you intend to visit a single Schengen country, then you must apply for the visa at the appropriate embassy/consulate of that particular country.
2) If you intend to visit two or more Schengen countries, then it is highly recommended to apply at the embassy/consulate of the country which you will be residing at for the most number of days in your trip. This destination is also known as your main destination.
3) If you intend to visit more than one country for the same period of time, then you must apply at the embassy/consulate of the country you will be visiting first as per your itinerary.
Once you have finalized the destinations and collected your travel documents, you should go on the online portals provided by the consulates and fill the application form correctly. You will need to pay a minimum fee of 35 EUR for the Schengen visa application. After you file your application, the VISA is generally processed in 10-15 working days. You might have to go and visit the embassy/consulate for the fingerprint scanning if you are a first time Schengen applicant.
If you have all the documents that are required and proper Schengen information, then you will get the VISA within 10-12 working days after filing of your application.
Thus, it is very important to know what a Schengen VISA is and the countries covered under the same. Also, it is always advisable to go for a Schengen Visa consultant if you do not have a clear idea about the visa services and rules regarding Schengen countries.
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