If you are planning to travel Schengen countries for the first time. Then you should know everything about the how to obtain Schengen visa. The 27 Schengen countries for which you need to book visa appointment are: Austria, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Belgium, France, Latvia, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Portugal, Czech, Liechtenstein, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Estonia, Iceland, Spain, Sweden and Malta.
The Schengen visa is a required document for anyone who wants to travel to one or more Schengen country states, Even more you should know about, how to schedule your visa appointment to get your Schengen visa, You must submit your visa application at nearest consulate or embassy or nearest visa application center, to do so, you must schedule your appointment before proceeding your visa procedure. And please check out this guide to know everything about Schengen visa appointment.
What are Things I Need To Know Before Scheduling Your Appointment?
Before we get into how to book an appointment for your Schengen visa, there are a few important things you need to know and need to understand which are:
- What is Schengen Visa Appointment?
- What do we need Schengen Visa Appointment?
- What are the necessary documents needed?
What is Schengen Visa Appointment?
Schengen visa appointment is an appointment you schedule so that you can apply for Schengen visa which is mandatory. Scheduling a visa appointment allows you to submit your Schengen visa application in person. During this visa appointment, you will bring all of the necessary visa documents and your visa application form.
Why do I Need an Appointment for Schengen Visa ?
The main purpose of the Schengen visa appointment is to submit your Schengen visa application along with that you need to submit all the required visa related documents at embassy or consulate or visa application center.
By asking you questions, officials have an opportunity to verify any information you put in your application and make sure they have all the information required for evaluating your visa application fairly. Thus, while you are at the Embassy, officials might ask you to join in an interview.
Is It Difficult to Book A Schengen Visa Appointment?
In Some cases Yes, For Schengen visas, There is high demand. In some certain seasons like holidays seasons, Christmas time embassy and consulates get high applications. Since embassies handles or issues fixed amount of application. In that time there is high chances to get appointment for Schengen visa.
How to Book an Appointment for Schengen Visa?
You can schedule your appointment through online or you can schedule it by visiting consulate or embassy or any visa application center.
If you have decided to book an appointment through online then process is very simple:
You can just visit the government official website of the Schengen country to which you want to apply for the visa.
- Make an Appointment for Schengen Visa
- Some countries, for example like India, They have designated visa application center like VFSGlobal where you can book your appointment for Schengen visa
- You need to visit those specific designated visa application center websites,
- Create an account
- Start booking an appointment for visa by filling all details which include
- Appointment category and sub category (short-stay or long-stay)
- Visa application center which is close to you.
- Then you can see the available slots
- Then it’s redirect to the personal details section, where you need to fill these details
- First Name
- Last Name
- Gender
- Passport Number
- Passport Expiry Date
- Some times preferred language
- You can the slot which has appointment date and time
- Complete the payment, then you will get an acknowledgement receipt for your future use.
- Before visiting embassy or consulate of any visa application center, you must prepared with all your necessary documents, acknowledgement receipt or any other supporting document.
- Depending on visa service provider, this process may vary slightly.
2. Complete the Application Form
3. Be prepare with all your documents required for visa
4. Attend your Visa Appointment
5. Get your Schengen Visa
How to Book an Visa Appointment With Us?
We don’t set the price for the visa appointment, so the quote for a Schengen visa appointment will be different based on where they operate. In addition to the price, we charge a flat $35 for our service.
But don’t worry, you’ll only have to fill out the form below and pay a small fee of $10 to get started. Once your booking is ready, you’ll have to pay the rest of the amount.
- Fill out the form and make the initial payment via bank transfer or through PayPal, then you will get an email
- We’ll let you know within 8 hours if an appointment slot is open and if we can get you slot in your chosen city. We’ll also tell you how much the appointment will cost.
- After receiving your approval, we will schedule your appointment and provide you with a confirmation number.
How to Book an Visa Appointment if I have planned for multiple Schengen Countries?
If you are planning visit multiple countries then here you have two things to keep in mind, which are
- You need to apply at that consulate / embassy / designated visa application center in which Schengen country you are planning to spend more time.
- You need to apply at that consulate / embassy / designated visa application center in which Schengen counter you enter first, in case if you are planning to spend equal amount of time in all your selected Schengen countries.
What are the required documents do I need for the Visa appointment?
The following documents are mandatory for the visa appointment which are:
- Recent two photograph which should meet the Schengen visa photo specifications
- Passport which should valid for at least three months
- Previous Schengen Visa Copy (If any)
- Hotel booking
- Proof of your Financial Status
- Proof of Civil Status
- Visa Appointment Acknowledgement Receipt (if Applicable)
- If minor – Parental Consent Proof
If employed:
- Proof of your Employment contract
- Your latest 6 months Current bank statement
- Leave permission letter from the employer
- Income Tax Return (ITR)
If self-employed:
- Your business license Copy
- Your latest 6 months Current bank statement
- Income Tax Return (ITR)
If a student:
- Proof of enrollment
- NOC (No-objection certificate) from school or university
If retired:
- Your latest 6 months Current bank statement
When Should I Schedule an Appointment for Schengen Visa?
Before booking your Schengen visa appointment, you should make sure that you have enough time between visa appointment and your travel dates. Because we strongly advice you that to schedule your Schengen visa appointment before 2 weeks or 15 days earlier the departure you planned from your country.
In some certain cases especially in holiday seasons, the consulate or embassy receives lots of application, in that case you need schedule your visa appointment before 4 to 6 weeks. And carefully take all your documents along with Schengen visa application form with before reaching embassy or consulate or visa application center.
And the Schengen visa fees will not be refundable in case your visa gets rejected because that fees can be used as your visa processing procedure.
What Should I do if I Miss My Visa Appointment?
In case if you miss your Schengen visa appointment, as soon as possible you have to inform embassy or consulate or visa application center. Then you can book new appointment, here you need to pay visa fees again. After booking, when you reach out the embassy/consulate/VAC on appointment date, the official may ask you the reason for missing your last Schengen visa appointment. Give them a proper reason..
What Happens at the Schengen Visa Appointment?
You should reach early to the embassy so that you should not miss the visa appointment. in case if you miss you have to give the explanation to the officials as well as you need book visa appointment again.
Follow the below steps when you reach the embassy / consulate / VAC on the day of your appointment.
- Submit the documents which is required for the Schengen visa
- Answer the question asked by officials
- Pay the visa fees
- You need to provide your biometric data
No Schengen Visa Appointment Dates Available?
You have planned to visit different Schengen countries with your family, you arranged all your required documents, you hotel already booked, your flight reservation done, you have taken proper travel itinerary too, the only thing is to get your Schengen visa, but you are not getting Schengen visa appointment slots for the whole month.
Don’t be hard on yourself for not planning earlier. Visa embassy/consulates are extremely incompetent at keeping track of the people who want visas and the slots that are open. Generally embassy/consulates receives millions of applications in a year, typically each consulate has to handle only 20 applications in a day.
Getting a Schengen appointment is hard, so if you want to outsource the process, you can fill out the form below and your appointment for Schengen will be taken care of.
What if I Can’t Find Visa Appointment?
This quite common, Whenever the consulate/embassy will receive high application, in that time it’s quite difficult to get Schengen visa appointment. Even though, getting Schengen visa appointment is a factor for means. Then Follow these
1. Try other jurisdiction
If you are not able get visa appointment in your current jurisdiction, you can try with the other city. You can get an appointment with a consulate of different jurisdiction. This, on the other hand, doesn’t always work. Since most consulates are full months ahead of time.
2. Change your main Schengen visa consulate
You need to change your main destination in which you are planning to spend more time. Generally, Schengen countries such Germany, France, Spain will be booked out for few couple of months. In that situation, you need change your destination Schengen countries like Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland which are not popular for tourists. Thus, you can contact these consulates for applying Schengen visa like other Schengen countries. Once you get visa then you can travel to other 26 Schengen countries.
Do I Get One Appointment for Schengen Visa for My Whole Family?
No, It’s not possible. As embassy/consulate rules an regulations. Only one appointment is not at possible for whole family. You need book separate appointment for each and every person. If you are booking through the designated visa application center such VFS, They have option like through one account you can book multiple Schengen visa appointment (max 5 appointments).
If you think that you have scheduled visa appointments for all your family members in same day which means all your family members will get same day visa appointments, NO, if appointment slots are available you may get it on same day, otherwise appointment schedule dates will be different.
What are the Schengen Visa Interview Questions?
- Which Schengen country you have planned to visit?
- Do you have any family members or friends who are living in Schengen country?
- What is the main purpose of your visit to Schengen Countries?
- How many days do you intend to stay in Europe?
- Is anybody sponsoring your tour/trip? If yes, how?
- What is your educational qualification?
- Where are you working? are you self-employed? are you retired?
- Are you single/married? If yes, how many years have you been married?
- Do you have kids? if yes, How old are they? Are they travelling with you?
- Which are all countries have you travelled before?