Guide for Successful Schengen Visa Application

Johannes Stockburger — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:39:24 +0000

Getting a Schengen Visa Can be Difficult
If you ever applied for a Schengen Visa you know how difficult it can be to obtain a permit to visit a country of the Schengen Zone. The Schengen Zone consists of most members of the European Union, plus Swiss, Norway and Iceland. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania are not part of the Schengen zone.
Applying for the Visa means that you have to provide a lot of information, and the right information. The application process and the criteria you need to satisfy vary for different visa types:

Transit Visa
Visitor Visa
Business Visa

You Have to Get it Right the First Time.
If your visa requests gets rejected, you may be entered into a database of declined visa applicants. And these databases are shared between many countries. If you mess up with your application for a Schengen Visa, it may turn out that you get also problems when traveling to the US or Canada.

The embassies have a lot of leeway to decide for or against you. You need to convince them that you have the means to pay for your stay, or somebody who is going to pay for you. And that you will return home, if you apply for a nonresident visa. This makes it very important how you talk to them. It is not enough to satisfy all their formal criteria, they also need to believe you.
Two more formal requirements for a Schengen Visa are a travel insurance policy by an approved insurance company, and a return flight ticket. I have seen time and again, that German embassies ask for that ticket, before they give the visa. But if you offer them a flight reservation, for which no ticket is yet issued, they will accept it. You can tell them, that you cannot buy a ticket, before you can be sure that you will actually travel.
The insurance policy must be submitted with the Schengen visa application. But if you provide proof to insurance companies, that your visa application has been denied, almost all of them will cancel the policy without a penalty. Please check that out, before you buy the insurance policy.

Be Truthful and Believable
The bottom line is: Provide all information requested in the Visa application forms correctly. Try to convince them that you do not intent to overstay your visa. Tell them how you will pay for your living, while you are in their country. Provide prove of a travel insurance and return flight reservation. Be aware that they will check to find out if you cheated.

Get Professional Advice
I am not allowed to give specific advice on how to apply successfully for any visa, and you should always check for professional advice from a qualified person or organization. I recommend for that I stumbled upon them only a few days ago, and I found them so helpful that I signed up as an affiliate.
offers comprehensive support service for all those who need a Schengen Visa. A good step to start is their

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Guide for Successful Schengen Visa Application