How to fill out an application for a Schengen visa
Also, after reading the instructions, you can download a sample application form in pdf and doc formats for the desired embassy and a list of documents for obtaining a visa.
The questionnaire is completed in the language of the country where you are applying for entry or in English. In rare cases, it is allowed to write the name and surname in Russian.
The Spanish questionnaire was used as an example. Questionnaires of any country of the Schengen Agreement are the same, only the language differs.
First and last name
We write the first and last name as in a foreign passport. Without patronymic. If the woman was or is now married, the maiden name is indicated in column 2. Here you can write your last name as you see fit.
Why is it necessary to write the first and last name (paragraph 1.3) as in the passport? The rules of Russian transliteration for documents are very different from the generally accepted ones. For example, the name Ludmila in the passport can be written as Lyudmila.
Place of birth
There are a lot of mistakes in this paragraph. The most common:
Current citizenship (point 7).
Often write Russia. Maybe this will be a discovery for you, but such a country as Russia does not legally exist. There is the Russian Federation - the Russian Federation.
With the date of birth (point 4), there should be no questions. We write as is.
Place of birth (item 5). It is enough to indicate the city or locality where you were born. If you have a small settlement, such as a village, you can specify the region. Just my case. I indicate the area of birth - Kaluzhskaya Region.
No one is interested in the house and street where you were born. It is important to mark the territory.
Country of birth (item 6) is the second most error-prone item on the visa application form. Before writing, we look at the passport. Anyone, you can Russian. And we rewrite, as it is written in it.
If you were born under Soviet rule, you were born in the USSR. In English - USSR, not SSSR.
Let me remind you that the country was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. If you were born in a republic that changed its name, write as it was called at the time of your birth.
Citizenship at birth (point 7). Everything is the same as what was written about the place of birth. We look, as it is written in the passport.
Gender and marital status
How to determine your gender, I think it’s not worth explaining. If you haven't decided yet, do it soon (or see the docs).
Marital status (point 9). Filling out this item raises questions for those who live in a civil marriage. We put a daw in place Single / not married. If you check the box for Other, there may be questions.
For minor children, cross out the item - Single / not married.
Item 10
If the application form for a Schengen visa is filled out for a minor child, fill out this paragraph.
Attention! At this point, we do not write the data of the child. In paragraph 10, we fill in the data for the parents or guardian.
So we write, separated by a comma, the necessary data in English:
Ivanov Ivan, Moscow, Tverskaya str, 10. Russian Federation.
Citizenship write current.
If a child is traveling accompanied by strangers (legally) people, for example, to a holiday home with a group of children, we do not enter the data of the accompanying person! The accompanying person is not the legal representative of the child.
An identification number
This paragraph does not mean TIN. Therefore, we leave item 11 blank.
Travel document type
We indicate the type of passport in the questionnaire as an Ordinary passport. It doesn't matter if it's new or old. Diplomatic passports, sailor's passport, etc. have a very small number of people so we won't talk about them.
In paragraph 13, we write the number of the foreign passport, as it is indicated in the document. Because The numbering in the old and new passports is different. Even if the series is indicated in the passport, we write it first, then through the space, the number.
In paragraphs 14 and 15 we write as is in the format day-month-year.
In paragraph 16, you do not need to write the department that issued the document and other data. It is enough to indicate the country that issued the passport. If you received a foreign passport at the Russian Embassy abroad, we write Russian Federation - the territory of the embassy in foreign countries is the territory of the Russian Federation. However, it's all written in the document.
Home address
It is customary for us to write the address of registration in the documents. In paragraph 17, we write the address of residence at the current moment, even if you are not registered there.
It is not necessary to indicate the address of residence in the visa application form. Especially if it differs from the city of submission of documents. The embassy may have questions. Why, while living (by registration) in Krasnodar, you apply for a visa in Moscow.
Please write a valid email address. No fictitious email is required. They can send you a letter with important information, request additional data, as an option.
We write the phone number in the format as in the example: 9-903-123 45 67
host country
Make no mistake on this point. We do not write the country where we are going to go. In paragraph 18 of the questionnaire, you must indicate the country whose visa you are requesting. And since you do not have a residence permit or some other type - cross out - No.
Professional activity
In this paragraph, we write everything clearly and understandably. No one will go into the intricacies of your current position. If you are a “1st category machine milking operator”, you should not try to transfer your entire position. It is enough to specify Operator.
I will consider special cases in the paragraph "Employer".
Employer
If you work for a company, there will be no questions about filling out paragraph 20.
Just keep in mind that LLC is LLC and AO is JSC. The name of the company can not be translated into English.
If a person for some reason does not work, then many questions arise.
Let me digress a bit lyrically. There are a large number of requests on the Internet to search for information by type: visa for a pensioner, visa for a housewife, visa for the unemployed, etc.
In order not to get confused in all this, remember - there is only one Schengen visa. And it does not differ in shape, color, or anything else if it is received by a housewife, pensioner or groom. All of the above is related to professional activity.
If you are unemployed. The embassy may have many questions. Because there is reason to suspect that you want to stay illegally in the country. Support the questionnaire with a bank statement with a large amount or a sponsorship letter with an equally solid number.
If you are a housewife, write - Housewife in paragraph 19 (put a dash in paragraph 20). There is nothing criminal in this that you take care of the house.
If you are a pensioner- in paragraph 19 write Pensioners, in paragraph 20 - a dash.
If you are a sole trader- for the Schengen countries, this is not exotic. In paragraph 19 we write Individual businessman or Private businessman.
We attach an extract from our IP account to the questionnaire, if any. If there is no IP account - an extract from a personal account.
In paragraph 20, we write the full name of your individual entrepreneur. Example Individual Businessman Ivanov Ivan.
Questionnaires for a Schengen visa for schoolchildren and students also do not exist. We are not talking now about study visas - if a person is going to study.
If a student is applying for a visa- in paragraph 19 we write Pupil or Student.
In paragraph 20, enter the name (school number) of the educational institution and the address.
Purpose of the trip
For most travelers, the purpose of the trip is Tourism. Even if you are traveling by invitation, check the Tourism box.
Destination countries
In paragraph 22, we write the country whose visa we are requesting, even if during the trip you will visit other countries of the Schengen agreement.
It is not necessary to list other countries in this paragraph.
For my Schengen travels, I take cheap air tickets on aviasales.ru, which I wish you too.
In paragraph 23, we put the country of first entry. Oddly enough, when filling in this place, they are also mistaken. For a direct flight to Spain, we indicate Spain as the country of first entry.
If you have a flight with a transfer, in this paragraph we write the country where you will cross the Schengen border (go through passport control).
In addition to the country, I indicate the city of arrival. For example, Dusseldorf, Germany.
Why is a visa requested?
Single-entry visas are now the exception rather than the rule. In item 24, check Multiple entries.
In paragraph 25, we write the number of nights during which you will be in the Schengen countries. Why do you need to count at night?
The hotels where you will stay count the stay of the guest in the number of nights spent. Thus, considering your stay in Europe at night, it will be difficult to make a mistake.
This is in case the embassy decides to calculate the period of stay in the questionnaire with the period in hotel reservations.
I repeat, for example, during the trip for which you are applying for a visa, you will be in Spain for 3 days, in Holland for 2 days, in Italy for 2 days. In paragraph 25, we indicate the total number of days (nights) in all countries.
Past Schengen visas
At this point, everything is simple. If during the past three years you had visas, even if you did not travel on them, but they are glued in your passport, cross out the “Yes” item and write the visa validity period. If there were more than one, we enter by hand in an empty space from what to what number each was issued.
Fingerprints
Since recently, in order to obtain a Schengen visa, it is necessary to take biometrics, in other words, to pass fingerprints.
If you have not taken them before, we note - no. If so, mark and set the date of delivery.
The traveling society reacted negatively to such a European innovation. I see this as a big plus - we will provide fingerprints to the embassy once, in a five-year period you can submit them using a simplified system.
Item 28 of the questionnaire is not filled out.
Place of stay
If you are applying for a visa by invitation, enter the contact details of the person with whom you will live.
If you have booked hotels, the algorithm is slightly different. When accommodation will be in only one hotel, we enter its name in the upper large part. In the corresponding column, physical and electronic addresses. Look at the booking form.
In the case of your stay in several hotels during the trip, we enter only the first hotel where the first overnight stay will be. It does not matter if it is not a Spanish hotel, in case of applying for a Spanish visa. It is important that this is your first temporary place of residence in the Schengen countries.
Contact details of the person and inviting company
Item 32 is only required if you are applying for a business visa.
Costs during your stay
Item 33 of the questionnaire also raises many questions. As usual, there are several options.
We will review the options for a tourist visa.
The first case - you are traveling at your own expense without a sponsorship letter and without an invitation.
By the way, there is a mistake in the example. Yes there is no need to write.
We mark the items in the column on the left: the applicant himself and one or more payment options for the stay. For example: cash, credit card (even if you have a debit card), accommodation paid.
A prepaid accommodation is when you have made a prepayment when booking a hotel. As a rule, this is a non-cancellable cheap rate at the hotel.
The second case - you are going by invitation or sponsorship letter.
In the column on the right, we mark the items relating to the identity of the sponsor or inviting party. We also note for what they bear the costs of the stay.
Item 34
In 99% of cases it is not necessary to fill it out.
Signatures on the visa application
Signatures in the questionnaire are put in four places.
One in paragraph 37, the second that you are informed that in case of refusal to issue a visa, you will not be refunded the visa fee. If you apply for a visa at the visa center, you will not be refunded the service fee.
You also sign that it is provided for the first entry.
The fourth signature is placed after a large body of text, where you agree to the processing of personal data. Confirm that all information is true, etc.
How to print the form
The questionnaire is printed on both sides. Four pages make two sheets.
What documents are needed for a Schengen visa.
Below is a list of visa documents. It is standard for any country. Exceptions may be required for these documents.
For example.
Hotel reservation.
Most embassies only need a copy of the reservation from the hotel. In some cases, confirmation from the hotel about payment for accommodation is required.
Confirmation of financial viability.
The standard paper is a bank statement. For some embassies, a check from an ATM is enough. Others require a three-month account statement. In any case, these are the usual options and you can get the necessary statement by visiting a bank branch or printing it from a client bank.
So, the documents for the visa:
- A duly completed and signed application form in the language of the country or in English. For children who do not have their own passport, but are inscribed in the mother's / father's passport, a questionnaire form with a photo is also required.
For minors, the application is signed by a permanent or temporary owner of parental rights or a guardian. - Two good quality color photographs 3.5 x 4.5 cm on a white background.
- Passport valid for at least three months after the last expected date of departure from the Schengen area, containing at least two blank pages and not older than ten years.
- Copy of all pages of a valid passport.
- Other international passports: valid and canceled (some embassies).
- Copy of all pages of other passports: valid and canceled (some embassies).
- A copy of the completed pages of the civil passport.
- Copy of birth certificate (for minors).
- Proof of accommodation (hotel reservation / copy of apartment or house rental contract / other).
Book hotels on Booking.com.
- A policy that covers the entire period of stay or the first trip and is valid for all Schengen countries.
The policy must cover all costs that may arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical care, emergency hospitalization or death of the applicant during the stay.
Insurance coverage of at least 35,000 euros.
It is also called insurance for traveling abroad or travel insurance.Important! In the embassies and visa centers of the Schengen countries, only insurances of accredited insurance companies are accepted! In the form below, insurance from companies accepted by any embassy in the Russian Federation.
The easiest way is to buy insurance online, especially since live printing is not required. Each insurance policy has a unique number.
Insurance for consulates and visa centers -. Choice of 15 insurance companies (Ingosstrakh, Allianz, AlfaStrakhovanie, Liberty Insurance, VSK, ERV, Rosgosstrakh, Reso-Garantia, etc.).
Important! When buying a policy directly at the visa center, you overpay almost twice as compared to Turtle or the insurance company's website.
For example:
