Sharing 7 Tips that will guarantee the approval of your Schengen Visa Application
I got my French visa application approved in 48 hours.
This was around Christmas time in 2022.
Of course, I was excited beyond telling and could not sleep for the remaining days of December that year.
I had already been travelling a lot before I decided to go to Paris, but this would be my first time to apply for a Schengen visa.
Being the meticulous OC that I was, I devoured all possible content about increasing the chances of getting the application approved, but most of the articles I read were like AI-generated write-ups that mimicked each other and left me even more confused.
None were specific enough or could explain with clarity. Almost everyone agreed that it is a game of luck.
But, I refused to believe this.
And I knew that, like any other office, the French embassy office operates on a system, a set of criteria or checklist that they compare the documents against.
I was quite certain that the visa application process was linear, methodical and certainly not just about luck.
To say I was prepared for the application was an understatement.
I reviewed all my documents over a dozen times, played all the scenarios in my head, and by the time I boarded the plane bound for Manila to visit VFS Makati and submit my documents, I already knew my visa application would be approved.
And I don’t say this just because I’m naturally optimistic.
My confidence was more around my faith in the documents that I was submitting.
Sure enough, I got my visa approved in 48 hours.
So now, after having experienced the application procedure first hand,
I have decided to share the thought process behind the submission of some of the most critical documents in the French visa application.
This is something that I wished was available online when I was preparing for the application.
The official list of requirements is outlined here if you need it, but I will only touch on some of the most important aspects of the documentation process in this article.
7 things I did to guarantee the approval of my Schengen visa application:
1. I submitted a 6 month bank statement, and every significant credit transaction in it was supported by a receipt, proof of payment from my client and similar documents.
Pay attention because this is important.
The visa application only requires a 3 month bank statement but I submitted a
6 month statement to give a better picture of my earnings and spending.
There is a reason why every visa application for any country requires bank
statements, and that is to see how much you’re earning and how much you’re
spending every month.
I am not employed, so I do not have payslips. But, I had receipts and Paypal
summaries to prove that the credits in my bank were client payments.
A huge bank balance does not guarantee approval.
Embassy officials know what they’re looking for and are experts in checking irregularities in the bank statement.
So, if you suddenly have one million, and can’t explain or prove how you got it, then you might as well send another bank statement with a more realistic balance, one that you can prove with documents.
A good bank statement to show for visa application purposes is one with several transactions that summarizes your living expenses and one which matches your payslip or proof of client payments.
2. The balance in my bank certification was sufficient to cover both the cost of the trip and the cost of my living expenses in the Philippines.
Everybody has some idea about how much money needs to be in the bank
balance for visa application purposes. But nobody has really explained this to
me with clarity.
First, I researched how much things cost in Paris: hostels per night, food,
restaurant prices, train rides, etc… And, I found out that I could go by with a
budget of €40 per day on food and experiences, and maybe another €60 for
accommodations because I was staying in a hostel.
I allocated a daily budget of €150 per day for 3 weeks, and this already
includes the cost of my hostel. I had this amount in the bank, plus the cost of
the plane ticket and 3 months worth of living expenses for when I return to
the Philippines.
During the actual trip, I spent way less than I planned to because I was mostly
buying food from the supermarket.
Again, the bank statement is not just about the balance. It is a picture of how
you are spending monthly, which is why a bank statement that shows
transactions for a longer period, 6 months or more, is ideal because it will
show a pattern and make for more solid evidence of your monthly spending.
I traveled a lot in the months before the application date, so my monthly
spending was erratic. I decided to provide a 6-month bank statement to give a
clearer picture.
3. I submitted a daily itinerary that matched what I could afford with my bank balance.
This seems like common sense, but nobody really takes the time to consider
how much their itinerary will cost compared to what they can afford.
To demonstrate, I only included “free activities” in my itinerary and booked a
cheap hostel because this was what I could afford.
Hostels in Paris can run from Php2500 to Php5000 a night and they are
usually strategically located.
I included activities like “ visit the Eiffel Tower” or “visit Jardin de
Luxembourg”, because all these tourist spots are free to visit.
Now, if I booked my accommodation at The Ritz or put “shopping in
Champs-Élysées” as part of my itinerary, then embassy officials might
question my financial capacity to afford this.
4. I submitted documents to prove that I have a reason to go back to the Philippines.
This is where it gets tricky because I did not have properties under my name and I was also unmarried.
Normally, a marriage certificate and the birth certificate of children or land titles and property ownerships would suffice as “proof of rootedness” or reason to come back.
I had none of these things but read from the VFS site that SSS contributions can be submitted. Who knew, right? This was easy enough and I downloaded the summary of SSS contributions.
I also submitted my mother’s birth certificate (to show that she was a senior citizen)
Let me explain.
As it turns out, if you are living with a senior parent or are caring for a sick elderly, then this also counts as proof that you will definitely go back home.
If you are enrolled for a Masters program or attending a major life event, like a wedding, and can provide official documents, then this is also proof that you are returning home.
5. I submitted a cover letter explaining who I was and what my purpose was for traveling to France.
I would say the cover letter is my secret sauce which tied all my documents together with a sound and believable story.
Take note, there is no in-person interview for the Schengen visa application so the cover letter has to do the talking.
My cover letter was three pages long, but every word deserved to be there.
Every sentence had a purpose.
I made sure to mention that I would be staying in a budget-friendly hostel in Le Marais, because I wanted to convey the message that I know how I could afford this trip.
I told the embassy officials that I was not employed and that I earn a living through contracts as a Virtual Assistant.
I told them how much I earned each month and how much I plan to spend per day on the trip, that I was fully aware of how much things cost in Europe and that I could afford it.
You might not need to be this thorough if you have millions in the bank, but I did not. So, I wanted to explain.
Here is a copy of the cover letter that I submitted.
6. I explained why I was missing some documents.
I am not employed but I have contracts with clients. I did not submit an ITR
that year because I have yet to change my employment status with the BIR
office.
This is what I told embassy officials in my cover letter, short but concise, to
explain why I do not have payslips or an ITR.
I honestly did not think this would be an issue because all my other
documents were already sufficient to prove I had a regular source of income,
clearly shown in my bank statement and in the clients' receipts.
If you are missing a major document like a birth certificate, for example, then
you might need to submit a more complex legal document.
7. Through my cover letter, I demonstrated that I knew exactly what I was doing.
If you look at Google maps, plot the countries France, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy, you will find that the Netherlands is closest to France. But I took a different route and went from Paris to Switzerland, Rome then Amsterdam which might seem odd.
I clearly explained in my letter that I was taking the longer route because it was cheaper to fly home to Manila from Amsterdam. And because of this, I got a multiple entry visa even if I only requested a single entry.
So you see, embassy officials are not so rigid after all as long as you are clear, concise and transparent about your purpose.
I hear horror stories about interviews for US visa applications but the Schengen visa process is quite objective and methodical in comparison.
Also, your experience might be different and easier if you are travelling via a travel agency because they will assist with your visa, though the documentation process is exactly the same.
In hindsight, the Schengen visa application process may require several steps, but it is relatively easy and straightforward.