Schengen Visa Application Thread 3 **Check page 1 for reference links**

[m_lim]

^mabilis lang sis. sayang pa bayad sa agency.

just google the requirements. eto natandan ko sa French Embassy:

-plane ticket
-hotel reservation
-bank cert
-3montha bank statement
-cert of employment OR business docs
-cover letter w/ itinerary & purpose of trip
-marriage & birth cert

for plane and hotel, hanap lang ng pwede ma cancel just in case ma deny

[juwie]

Thanks m_lim. Are there any airline websites/hotel websites that allow you to make reservations (and cancel them if ever?) Sorry for my very noob questions!

[m_lim]

^sa airlines hindi ako sure kung pwede mag direct booking then icacancel.

we always book na kasi talaga (huwag mo ako gayahin! hehe)

for hotels, madami- Agoda, Booking.com, Hotels.com. just look for the "free cancellation"

[shygirlme]

^haha gagayahin kita sis! pero seriously magbook talaga muna ko ng ticket bago mag apply. lakas ng loob namin haha! pero kasi honeymoon namin eh. sana naman eh ma approve. hanap muna ko murang ticket. plan namin pumunta oct or nov.

[loverofsummer]

Cathay Pacific allows plane ticket reservations. Just call their hotline. Or puwede din magpa-mock book sa mga travel agency, but there's a minimal fee (around 700-1500).

Sa hotels, booking.com ginagamit ko din.

[sparklingjewel]

I've read through the thread but still have some burning questions:

1. So they want to see that you can afford your trip. I expect it to cost me around 250k, so how much do i really need to show in my bank account? Will about 300 or 400k suffice? We just finished with our wedding and we used my account for all the final payments, so naturally, depleted account ko ngayon vs. what it was before and will start to build it up again palang. My other investments which i can show are all non-liquid--- in mutual funds and stocks. Planning to apply visa this Feb for May travel so i will transfer money nalang to my account depending on how much i need to show.

2. Need to establish rootedness in PH: Have been in my job 3 years, manager level (with a car), plus i have multiple mutual funds and stocks here, ok na ba yun? Dont have a home to my name yet as it's in my husband's name.

3. My companion is my husband and purpose of travel is honeymoon, but we dont have the NSO copy of the marriage cert yet since wedding was very recent. Do i show pics of the wedding and the certificate we can get from the church? Will that suffice to substantiate the "honeymoon"?

Thanks!

[juwie]

^ same question. We have liquid cash but most of our assets are currently in stocks and mutual funds. Has anyone presented their financial assets from these investments, aside from their bank certificates? Were they honored?

[m_lim]

kahit di millions ang laman ng account mo basta mapakita mo na andito sa Pinas ang buhay mo (family/ work/ business) at siguradong babalik ka , malaki chance mabigyan.

^i've included my BDO Mutual Fund sa recent application ko sis. okay naman tinanggap kasi parang bank cert lang rin yon.

[artegirl]

sisses sparklingjewel and juwie, when we applied sa Italian embassy, I showed UITF from BPI and mutual funds from PAMI.  yung BPI, no question.  yung PAMI, I was asked if it is cash.  I answered, "yes, that's readily convertible to cash" .  both MF and UITF are liquid assets since both can be converted to cash quickly.


question din mga sis,
I'm preparing our application for German Embassy.  Dun sa online application form, there's a section there called "Reference".  Ano ba yun?  Among the choices are:  Inviting person, Inviting organization, Hotel, Accredited diplomat, EU citizen, and No reference person.  I selected "No reference person"since we will personally finance the trip, kaso yun namang question "Cost of travelling and living during the applicant's stay is covered by the applicant himself" hindi na clickable pag naka "no reference person". 

Here's the link to the online application form
https://videx.diplo.de/videx/;jsessionid=QOR+TdUoZxJPI7O1pKNjg4Im.undefined?0

thank you

[shegie_285]

sparklingjewel I applied before sa UK embassy, I know its not Schengen, but because I didnt have my marriage certificate (both church and NSO), I just put pictures lang ang then pictures ng invites para alam na nila na kakakasal lang namin. November ako kinasal, December ako nag-apply.

I think 3 years with a company is a good start. And you can show naman na married na kayo sa okay lang nasa name ni hubby ang house.

[melvel]

I've read through the thread but still have some burning questions:

The first time I applied for Schengen visa, I just presented bank certificate for my payroll account. The amount wasn't substantial.  Just enough to cover expenses.  I didn't get certificates for my time deposits anymore mostly because of my own fault (naging busy and as usual, cramming). 

I think they don't really look only at the money per se, but more on your job stability here, your family in the Philippines.  When I was interviewed at the French embassy, the person who took my documents didn't even look at my bank documents.  She just asked me about my job and the jobs of my companions.  Yun lang.

[dianazabala]

^ same question. We have liquid cash but most of our assets are currently in stocks and mutual funds. Has anyone presented their financial assets from these investments, aside from their bank certificates? Were they honored?

Hi sis, I ordered via a travel agency online para walang pagod. Check mo tong ginamit ko, irereserve sayo yung flights tapos isesend sa email mo: http://www.dreameurotrip.com/how-to-book-roundtrip-flight-itinerary-flight-reservation-for-visa-application/

[juwie]

^thanks dear!

[ninglovesturquoise]

@dianazabala, sis, nakakuha kami ng travel reservation for free from our travel agency. Pero you can try calling KLM ticketing office. They can hold your flights for 3 days and send you an itinerary yata. We were supposed to get that but since our travel agency was able to provide us with one, okay na. Tapos may nabasa ako na kumuha siya ng travel reservation sa KLM office mismo. Sayang rin kasi kung puwedeng di na magbayad.

Finally, we got our Schengen visas from the Czech Embassy, five days after our application. Medyo matipid rin sila magbigay although may 10 days additional sa binigay naming itinerary. We submitted everything, pati nga car registrations and house titles haha, and also our MF investments in Sunlife. Our individual bank accounts, mga 100-200k lang ang laman. The lady processing our papers was very particular about the number of days we will be staying in each country. Wala naman masyadong tanong, she just asked about out itinerary, my work, the places we went to when we went to Europe last time, medyo nagtanong siya ng marami sa ITR ko, kasi iba yun company name sa certificate of employment, which made me think, baka mas okay na hindi ko na lang binigay yun ITR ko (hindi naman kasi required doon sa checklist nila). Anyway, everything turned out okay naman.

[hayne22]

Sis can you recommend a travel agency? Kuha kasi mom ko ng visa going Rome sana. No time na mag search na kailangan.

[icegayle]

We are based in Middle East and applying for Schengen Visa through Germany is very easy as per my experience. Ako kasi nagaaply sa BOss ko and family. Ang pinaka madugo eh US visa, then UK  kasi need pa ipadala ang passport sa UAE. Recently my husband and I applied in German embassy, second time ni husband at 1st time ko. So after a week nakuha namin MUltiple visa 6mos validity. Apply lang ako through our agent ng ticket any airline for Visa purpose with no charge then hotel with free cancellation sa Booking.com. payslip for 3mos and thats it.

[dianazabala]

Sis can you recommend a travel agency? Kuha kasi mom ko ng visa going Rome sana. No time na mag search na kailangan.

A travel agency in Manila?

[mathet]

question po mga sis.... we'll be travelling sa july pa to attend my husband's sister's wedding and syempre mag ikot ikot na din..... its summer vacation time daw po so its peak time....

since plane ticket is one of the requirements for the schengen visa, mas ok ba for us to reserve the plane ticket and just pay for the cancellation fee in case or kapag nagpabook ba kami sa mga travel agency, then the visa will be approved, will we be able to avail of the rates when we have our booking kasi may pa kami pwede mag apply in frence embassy as three months before travel lang pwede kumuha right?

[mama squeak!]

^ Don't buy the tickets yet unless confident kayo na mabibigyan kayo ng visa. Better get in touch with a travel agent or pwede din direct with the airline if they can give you an option or deadline when to purchase the tickets. Just to let you know airfares with special rates (especially on economy) are the first ones to be purchased (limited seats so ubusan) and are super-restricted meaning they can be non-refundable or non-rebookable.

[ninglovesturquoise]

Hi sis mathet, I agree with mama squeak, tsaka ka na bumili pag nakuha mo na visa ninyo.

Ako rin was tempted to get the promo ticket while waiting for our visas but decided otherwise, parang not worth the hassle and stress to get a refund in case our visas were denied. Apat pa kami so medyo malaki rin yun amount. Sa KLM kasi, they promised to refund the tickets as long as you can show proof na your visa was denied, pero may charge rin na USD 50/pax. Pero itong pagtatanong pa lang kung sigurado yun refund, medyo ang tagal rin ng communication. So far, I think KLM lang ang may ganoong option, other airlines book and buy with no refund nga as mama squeak said pag promo tickets. 

Yun isang option na ginawa namin, we had our travel agents reserve the tickets for us while pending yun visas namin, they would call us pag tumaas yun price, kasi since naka-reserve pa kami, may option to purchase pero hassle rin atsaka mas mura talaga usually ang online rates.