bank statement for visa

The package of documents required for obtaining a visa usually includes financial papers, which the applicant must submit to the consulate or embassy staff. Most often, this is a certificate from the place of work indicating the position, length of service and salary, but sometimes certificates and extracts from banking institutions are required. How to get a bank statement for a visa and what requirements it must meet?

What is the document for?

Bank documents are usually provided by private entrepreneurs, as well as applicants who do not have official income or receive too little salary to travel abroad. An extract is required to confirm the financial situation of the tourist and his ability to pay all expenses for staying in the territory of a foreign country, and they, in turn, will not fall on the state budget. In addition, representatives of the host state must be sure that the applicant earns well and has no intention of remaining abroad in an illegal position. The positive or negative decision of the consular staff to issue a visa largely depends on the level of income and the availability of funds in the account.

How much money is required for the trip?

To obtain a visa, a tourist must have a certain amount of financial resources on his account. The amount depends on the specific country and is determined taking into account the duration of the trip. In some cases, the specific amount depends on the citizenship of the tourist: for example, when entering Belgium, residents of Belarus must have 45 euros per day, while residents of other countries - at least 50.

Table. Minimum amounts for travel to certain countries.

Which card is better - Visa or Mastercard

If the applicant does not have a bank account, it is better to open it at least six months before the trip and actively use it. The best option is an account in euros, since the currencies of the countries of the former USSR are unstable and at the time of submission of documents the situation may change for the worse. True, the consulates do not have any special rules regarding the currency (the amount is converted into euros according to the current exchange rate), so this issue is decided by the account holder.

Attention: before traveling, necessary for the trip, it is better to check on the official website of the country's consulate, as the list of requirements is constantly being adjusted.

What information is required for a visa?

Before going to a banking institution for a certificate, you should clarify what kind of document is needed to apply for a visa. In some cases, a check printed at an ATM indicating the account balance and photocopies of both sides of a plastic card or a certificate of currency purchase are sufficient, and sometimes an extract is required indicating the movement of funds, mainly receipts to the account.

Table. Bank documents for a trip to a number of European countries.

The term "bank statement" usually means any account opened with a particular banking institution (deposit, card account, etc.). If we are talking about a credit account, then it is far from always an indicator of the solvency of a tourist - some consulates consider such funds to be exclusively the property of the bank, and not the applicant. The same applies to deposits, so it is best to clarify this issue at the consulates or immediately open a current account. In addition, it is very important to clarify what type of document is required to obtain a visa - one that confirms the availability of funds in the account, or an extract that fixes transactions and movement on the account, as this is of fundamental importance.

Important: if the embassy staff considers that the funds on the tourist’s accounts are not enough for the trip, additional documents may be required to confirm solvency - securities, documents on the ownership of securities, real estate or a car.

How to get documents from the bank?

There are several ways to get a statement or a certificate from a bank. The standard way is to go to the nearest branch and make a request to the managers. In addition, many financial institutions provide an online banking service that allows you to generate and print a document yourself, and the well-known Russian Sberbank makes it possible to receive an extract from an ATM. True, consular staff may indicate the absence of a wet seal, so it is better to certify a certificate at a bank branch.

Rules for issuing a bank certificate

You can get a bank statement from the department for working with individuals, the document must contain the following data:

• personal information about the account holder: full name, contacts, etc.;
• full name of the banking institution;
• date of conclusion of the account opening agreement;
• balance of funds;
• date of issue of the document;
• Full name, position and signature of the employee who issued the certificate;
• seal.

In some cases (this information can be clarified on the official websites of representative offices of different countries) the statement must indicate transactions for the last few months - from 3 to 6. Sometimes consulates require that the funds in the account be frozen until a decision is made on the issuance of travel documents.

For reference: you can get a bank certificate for free far from every institution - the cost can be about 100-200 rubles, and the deadline is 1-2 business days.

The language of the document also depends on the rules of a particular consulate - in most European countries, except for Ireland and the UK, certificates are accepted in the applicant's native language. If the statement needs to be translated into English, it is better to use the appropriate bank service or contact the translation agency.

Validity period of certificate or statement

The validity of a bank certificate, as a rule, is 21 days (in some banks a month), so you need to make sure that it does not expire before the due time. It is better to leave a small "corridor", otherwise the consular staff may request a more recent document, which threatens with delays in obtaining a visa.

Card account statement

Most Russians open card accounts in banks, which is very convenient when traveling abroad - money can be withdrawn in any state where a single banking system operates.

In this case, the statement and the card linked to the account must meet a number of important requirements.

1. Information about the owner of the account and card must fully comply with the one indicated in the document.
2. The validity of the plastic card must be longer than the intended journey.
3. When receiving for a long period of time, funds are not calculated for the entire period of its validity, but only for the first trip.

If the applicant has several accounts opened with the same bank, they should be collected into one certificate. Tax declarations (for private entrepreneurs), as well as checks for the purchase of foreign currency, can be attached to the document from the bank - this will positively affect the decision to issue a visa.

Is it possible to do without bank documents?

If the applicant does not have a permanent place of work and an appropriate salary, it will not be possible to do without a certificate or bank statement - the consular staff will simply refuse to obtain a visa for an insolvent person. Among tourists who do not have sufficient funds to obtain a visa, there is a practice of depositing money into an account, and withdrawing it after receiving documents. It should be noted that such tricks will not work in every case - the employees applying for a visa may have suspicions about the funds that have recently appeared on the account, which will serve as a refusal to issue a visa. Buying documents from private companies that offer such a service is strongly discouraged - they (documents) are fake and can cause numerous problems.

If there were no problems with bank documents, and the consular staff approved the receipt of a visa, you should not throw away certificates and extracts, as they may be requested when crossing the border.

Video - How to get a bank statement?