Imagine traveling from one country to another without any restrictions like visa requirement, how would that feeling be when you have access to a world of diverse cultures in a book with just a single visa by meeting the Schengen visa requirements.
How To Visit 26 Europe Countries with Only One Visa – Schengen Visa Requirements
In this article, adagya will show you how to apply for a visa that will grant you the access to travel to 26 countries in Europe under the Schengen visa.
In this article
- What is the Schengen Countries?
- What is a Schengen visa?
- Required documents for applying a Schengen visa
- How to apply for your Schengen visa
- Processing time for Schengen visa processing
The Schengen which is a cluster of countries which comprises of 26 European countries namely: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, who have officially abolished all passport and borders under mutual agreement.
By virtue of this agreement, members from such countries do not need to provide a visa at the port of entry when they travel within the Schengen. For members who are traveling from outside of the Schengen countries, a Schengen visa application is required to enable them travel to all the above countries without the need of providing a separate visas for each countries.
By following these procedures and adding the required documents, you are not only getting a visa to travel to all the countries but also getting prone to 26 diverse cultures. Isn’t it amazing?
First, an official invitation or covering letter should be provided by the host overseas stating the reason and purpose of inviting the applicant. The host can be an individual, organization, event organizers, hotels etc. On the cover letter, the host should also include the name of the applicant, passport details of the applicant, purpose and duration of the stay of the applicant.
Secondly, a duly filled visa application form should be downloaded from the consular section of the embassy of the destination country the applicant is traveling to. For instance, when I am traveling to Germany but will be visiting France, the Netherlands and so on , I have to apply through the German embassy for the Schengen visa.
Thirdly, a valid passport must be attached to the Schengen visa application form. The passport should be valid for 6 months and also have a blank visa section in the passport.
Next, another mandatory requirement for a Schengen visa is attaching a 2 passport sized photo to the application. The applicant will have to upload their recent passport size photo to the application. Each embassy have their own picture specifications required when applying for their applications for visa and as such, applicants should check for the photo requirements for their visa applications.
Further, Schengen visa applicants are to provide a proof of national identity. When applying for a Schengen visa, a valid national id such as driver’s license, voter’s id and so on should be added to their application as it serve as an evidence or proof of the country they are from.
Also, a travel insurance is another vital requirement for Schengen visa application. Travel insurance is a document that provides protection against risk such as baggage lost, medical expenses, delays etc while the applicant is overseas. The travel insurance covers all expenses for the applicant should such happen while they travel. Travel insurance is mostly issued by bank, Insurance Companies etc. for a fee. The minimum travel insurance should be 30,000 Euros.
Next on the requirement is the provision of a flight itinerary. Flight itinerary is a dummy tickets issued by an airline company. The flight itinerary is a sample of the flight ticket but not the confirmed ticket that shows the routes the applicant would be using to travel.
It also gives the departure date and arrival of the applicant and transits if any. Some airline companies offer flight itinerary for free whereas some for a small fee. This document should also be attached to the Schengen visa applications. With skyscanner they offer a one stop booking for all the airlines ticketing which i use for all my travelings.
Moreover, proof of accommodation where the applicant will be lodging should also be added to their Schengen visa applications. This shows the consular where the applicant will be staying while overseas. In obtaining, this reservation ticket, the host can provide details of where the applicant will be staying or the applicant can book through properties and have the ticket sent to them.
The applicant does not necessarily need to make full payment of their stay but can also pay when they get to the property overseas. With Booking they provide affordable accommodations to suit your travel budget. They also have guest houses, apartments, studio rooms etc. for your stay outside.
Lastly, applicant should provide evidence of their employment status. Unemployed applicants must also prove details of the organization or institution they are affiliated to by providing Identity card or an introductory letters.
Also read…Getting Your Tourist Visa Approved As An Employee
All the applications and its supporting documents must be attached together and submitted to the consular section of the destination country for processing. Some countries allow the collection to be done by visa facilitation centers such as Vfs Global.
At the consular section or the facilitation center, a biometric details and picture of the applicant will be taken alongside the appropriate visa fees.
Applicants will be given a time frame for collection of their Schengen visas in their passports. Processing time is mostly between a week or two but depending on the workload or impact from the pandemic, it can be out of the normal time frame.
Conclusion
Application for a schengen visa is very simple and easy to acquire when all information and supporting documents are provided accurately devoid of falsifications. By providing fake or false information for the acquisition of visa, can get your application rejected and banned when noticed.
Recommended reading… How To Acquire A Year Tourist Visa To The USA
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