Schengen Visa Application (2) Check 1st page for the Requirements

[cleogurl]

Hi ladies! I'm applying for a Schengen visa for Germany, would you know if the documents that I need to submit should be notarized including the visa application form? The formal obligation from my sponsor will be sent to me soon, kailangan din bang notarized yun? I read that dapat yung Letter of Invitation should be notarized. Just wanna verify it sa mga naka-experience na? Thanks!

[summer_princess]

Sisses which Schengen countries is the easiest to apply with? We're staying quite evenly between these 3 counties 4 days each in Paris & Italy, 3 days in Spain. Which nearby countries would you reco to maximize our stay, we have a 21days iti POE in Amsterdam then CDG

How much ideally a "show Money" is? Is Ph100k/pax exclusive of Airfare enough? May credit cards rin naman

I read somewhere here that if one Has a valid US visa there won't be appearance anymore in Spain Embassy. 3 of us in the family has valid tourist visas brother has AU visa used this year, I have a 10yr visa & mother has a used but expired US visa. Im thinking I could tweak our iti and make Spain our longest stay just so we can apply for our Schengen in Spain. Would you guys reco that?

We're travelling Dec14 but I'm anticipating delay so I want to request
Appointment as early as now.

[foxymom]

^yes, i think no appearance in spain if you have a valid US visa

you can make spain your longest stay, or make spain your port of entry (but i think you purchased the promo tickets of klm?) the french embassy is also good. as long as your documents are complete, and when you submit your docs, make sure they are in the in the correct order.

as for show money, not sure what is the ideal amount. what i know is bank certification is not enough, most embassies now request for 3 months worth of bank statements so they can see the in and out of money in your account. alam na nila ang style ng pinoy na humihiram ng show money.

when we applied last year, the french embassy never looked at our bank docs. if you are well travelled i don't see any major problem

and you can only schedule 3 months before departure date

enjoy your trip!!

[little_princess]

^ sis, what do you mean no appearance na for Spain if with valid US visa? Diba you have to submit your documents to the VSF office?

I'm going to Malta and I need to apply through the Spanish embassy kasi and it's a bit tight kasi i'll set my appointment this September and we're leaving November na.

[foxymom]

^what i meant was no need to appear in front of the spanish consul just submit your docs, no interview (ata ha)

 

[summer_princess]

nakoconfuse ako sa application process ng Spain embassy. I called the hotline, the call center said if applicant has valid tourist visa (& has used for the past 2 years) on major countries like USA, Canada, no need for appearance already. I scheduled online upon instruction & was able to get a schedule in a snap but it wouldn't show the options for valid visa cardholders exception.

Anyone has applied through the Spain embassy? please help...

[foxymom]

^ay ganun kailangan used na? lagot hubby ko. he just renewed his last April and hasnt travelled to the states lately. although he's been a US visa holder for 26yrs already and has travelled multiple times.

we are coursing our visa thru our travel agent and we will submit our application form and requirements by Sept. that is the only time they will submit and schedule interview if needed.

[summer_princess]

Sisses please help naiiyak na ako it's too much hassle pala planning a DIY tour. We're not getting a travel agency since my titas (france-based) will be covering our stay in Paris & Italy.

I was choosing between French, Italian & even Spain embassy for our Schengen visa. Our POE is Paris but staying for 3 days only, 5days in Italy. I'm thinking of tweaking our iti so we could apply to a less stringent country LOL

Our travel dates will be on December 2012, passport is expiring on Aprl 2013, I was thinking to renew it come November para di rin naman sayang the remainder of our passport validity.

Except that, French embassy wouldnt accept our current & valid passport in obtaining for a visa appointment. I was really rushing since my tita said she would have to book our domestic flights (cdg-Rome-Spain-cdg) since its much cheaper to get now vs closer the dates. But now looking on the timeframe passport renewal (3wks), French embassy appt on October pa so most likely end October pa marerelease ang visa. Haaaayyyyyy I wanna cry!!!


Does Italian Embassy gives appointment earlier?

[Mhoirae]

@summer_princess, i don't think you have a choice but to renew your passport first before applying for a visa.
It is required that the expiration of a passport is at least 6 months from the date of departure and since you'll be leaving Dec 2012 and your passport expires Apr 2013 that's just more or less 5 months.
Even if you go through a travel agency, i think they will advice you the same thing.
Better schedule for a passport renewal ASAP.

[Starlust]

@summer_princess : Or you can request for an extension of your passport validity instead of applying for a renewal. Extensions are up to two years and are done at DFA - AFAIK it's a quick process too.

[snowkittycat]

@summer_princess, last month I applied for Schengen visa at the Italian Embassy. I received my passport with visa exactly a week after the courier picked-up the documents. Di na ako binigyan ng schedule for interview with the consul. But, they require 9 months validity ng passport during your travel period kaya I would suggest that you renew your passport first before applying/submitting the requirements sa italian embassy.

[summer_princess]

Ayayay nagugulo na ako. Spain embassy gave us an aug slot appointment.

I'm thinking Baka naman ireject ang application namin since our POE is CDG.

Are there any other sisses here who applied c/o the spain embassy? Do they really scrutinize the day to day itinerary?

[foxymom]

^why not renew your passport first before you submit your docs to the embassy? Spain will most likely reject your application because one of the requirements is that your passport should be valid by the date of travel - dun pa lang matatalo ka na if you will submit your application with your passport expiring april 2013.

[summer_princess]

I want to finish na sana fixing our docs at the soonest time since I have travels pa by end sept & oct and Baka madelay ang release ng passport.

Anyway Spain embassy states that:
 A passport valid at least 3 months after the intended return from the trip

Based on this, pasok pa naman ako sa 3month validity,
Point ko Lang I will definitely renew by November so hoping
I could still use my passport just for the basis of my application for schengen, after which then I can proceed with the renewal.

[foxymom]

^i still recommend that the better option for you is to renew asap. you do not need to surrender your passport to dfa once you renew. just tell them you still have pending travels. Once the new passport is ready, you just need to bring the old passport, dfa will punch the old passport (apr 2013). my hubby was in the same situation, renewed in end of april, we had a flight in May. he picked up his new passport once we got back.

as for which country you will apply from, you need to show that you will stay longer in spain. medyo strict ata sila. I had a friend visit France and Italy 7 days equally. They applied at the French embassy but was advised to resubmit to the Italian embassy because it was their port of entry

[Starlust]

if it's VSF, diba it's just a submission center? i'm applying for my Malta visa through the SPanish Embassy and my previous experience with VSF (UK visa), no interview whatsoever na, submission and payment lang.

Hello, my friends went through VSF for the Spanish Embassy. They submitted their docs and were asked to wait for a call for their interview sked with the Spanish Embassy. For timelines, they submitted their docs Aug 13 & got a call on the 16th informing them their interview was on the 20th (even if it was a holiday, they were open). They were advised to wait for a call from VFS for the results.

[little_princess]

thanks sis! sabi above if you have a valid US visa hindi na daw interview, i hope this is the case because mine is still valid though my last trip there was 2007 pa hehe

[Starlust]

^They just got their visas today. Super happy ako kasi they're coming to my wedding I asked for you, one of them has a valid US visa Forgot to mention when I posted this earlier, she hasn't used it in the last 2 years. Hope that helps.

[summer_princess]

^ sis how long is the processing in Spanish embassy?
No appearance ba talga?

[chuzzle]

^sisses, I need all the help I can get. I am planning to apply for a schengen visa in October or November through VSF, Spanish Embassy. I do not have a valid US Visa. I would like to visit Spain in December. I have a Spanish friend there, and I would like to stay at his place pero he is not paying for anything. Pano yun? Would you guys advise me to ask for an invitation letter? Or do you think my own supporting documents would suffice?

Are they super strict? and are there things you've noticed about them? Thank you =)