Hello Sojwal and welcome to Travelblog!
By itinerary, I do mean the flight booking and if you were required to show any hotel bookings to obtain your visa, I would print those as well.
Reply to this Hello,
I am totally new here and would really appreciate if someone could guide me. I applied for a schengen visa a month back at the French consulate in Toronto. I got a rejection letter today! I provided them with every single document possible, however in the refusal letter they stated and I quote, "You have not provided proof of sufficient means of subsistence , for the duration of the intended stay or for the return of the country of origin or residence, or for the transit to a third country into which you are certain to be admitted, or you are not in a position to acquire such means lawfully."
I provided them with my 3 months bank statements which has sufficient balance. Additionally I also provided them with a financial guarantee letter from my father with his bank statements.
My ticket for Paris is booked for the next month, and I really want to give this thing another shot since this trip means a lot to me! I have applied for an interview again which is in a week.
Can anyone tell me how exactly should I convince them that I do have enough funds to travel my 12 days long trip! I really want to convince them this time.
PLEASE HELP ME OUT.
Would appreciate any guidance.
Thanks a ton! 😊
Reply to this Hello and welcome to Travelblog!
That looks like a standard rejection line, as it provides a few choices with which to refuse you without stating specifically what the issue is - very frustrating.
I do not think this problem here is enough funds for your trip, it is the part I have highlighted below:
"You have not provided proof of sufficient means of subsistence for the duration of the intended stay or for the return of the country of origin or residence, or for the transit to a third country into which you are certain to be admitted, or you are not in a position to acquire such means lawfully."
I suspect you need to demonstrate not only that you have the funds for the trip their and back, but that you have not shown sufficient reason to return to your home country. This may not only be financial, but may include things such as where you study and/or where you work, and the presence of family where you usually live.
A question, did you include the ticket information for your return journey when you first applied, or was it only the single ticket to France?
[Edited: 2012 Nov 21 07:18 - The Travel Camel:11053 ]
Reply to this Hi Shane!
Thank-you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. 😊
Yes, I provided them with a RETURN ticket since I had purchased it long time back.
I mentioned in my itinerary that I shall be visiting Belgium and Italy as well and provided them with the hotel reservations for the same. The ONLY thing I did not provide them was reserved train/bus tickets to travel between these cities.BUT I did mention that I would be purchasing a "Eurail Pass" as soon as my visa is approved. Maybe this is what caused the rejection? I thought that having a strong account balance was a valid proof that I can afford a €250 global pass!
Since I am applying again, I am fulfilling that requirement as well and booking train tickets ( Would be a total rip-off for me if they reject my visa again!)
What are your thoughts on the same?
Additionally, I provided them with a detailed enrolment letter from my school which clearly points out that I am a current student. I don't know what else can I provide them!
I had another question, my father is providing me with a financial guarantee letter since he is sponsoring my trip. I am not sure how to declare that since in the application form there are only two options a)self sponsored b)sponsored by a host, organisation, company). Under the same section there is an option saying "other (please specify)". You think I should include my father's name here?
I would appreciate and be thankful for any advise you can enlighten me with.
Thanks a ton once again!
😊
In response to: Msg #163418 Reply to this I'm no expert on this as I can obtain a visa on arrival.
Just wondering if they refused you because you do not have a visa for Belgium and/or Italy. I thought the Schengen would cover you for all three, but perhaps someone there does not think so. Perhaps having the Eurail Pass would cover you for that, but I'm unsure.
As for the question of financial support, I would tick "other" as the other two don't really suit you. You are self-funding, plus you have a guarantor. Perhaps you can clarify this point with the embassy.
Based on what you have said above, you did the right thing in applying again. In the meantime, call the embassy to find out exactly what areas provided the reasons for rejecting your visa. You may need to push a bit to obtain specific information instead of them repeating the general statements you already have been given.
Reply to this Trying to get direct answers out of government officials sometimes is a difficult thing. I was a public servant for more than a decade and have seen this approach practised many, many times.
Reply to this Hello,
we are planning for a trip to europe in april or may this year and few questions..we are indian citizens living in US and on AOS status (using advance parole documents to come back to US). We live in des moines, Iowa.
We are checking out various sites for the trip planning and as of now we are planning to visit Zurich,Lucerne,Venice,Florence,Rome in that order..This works out better for us with direct flights out of chicago.
Since Iam visiting Swiss first, Iam planning to apply for Schengen Visa at Swiss embassy in Chicago, I checked out their requirements..would that be OK or do I have to visit Italian embassy? i have heard bad reviews about italian embassy in chicago.
Iam hoping weather will be good in swiss and italy in april and may.
I Need some clarifications about swiss embassy requirements though.
1. Confirmed Flight tickets: I understand we only have to submit some itinerary from a website like europeandestinations.com.
2. Purchased Hotel reservations: This requirement is not clear to me..do I have to book and purchase hotel reservations in all cities iam visiting or just in the first city iam landing (zurich) ? does it have to be purchased tickets or can I print out from a website? whats the best way to get a hotel reservation and not pay lot of money beforehand?
3. Travel Insurance: Do I have to purchase travel insurance before i go for visa or just a quote from some website would work?
4. Do we have to visit swiss embassy personally or can I mail all my applications to them for visa?
I sent an email to swiss chicago embassy but have not received any response ..may be I have to call them hoping they can answer my questions.
Any help is appreciated.
Reply to this Hello Purab and welcome to the forum, sorry for the delay in responding.
The most accurate answer is going to come from the Swiss Embassy itself - they will be able to answer whether you need to visit in person or not, and any other questions.
However, with hotel reservations, just book and pay a fully refundable hotel and then cancel it (within the cancellation period) or you could book a hostel with a deposit and then cancel - you will lose your deposit, but it is minimal.
As for travel insurance, I would purchase it anyway, regardless of any visa requirements.
Reply to this Folks,
You should look at booking.com. You don't have to pay anything upfront to get a reservation. Use this as information in your visa interview.
Safe travels!
Reply to this Hi,
I need someone's help. I am a housewife and have 2.9 yrs kid and my husband all three want to visit Paris. My husband and kid are us citizens me green card holder. Want to know what documents should I carry and important.
I have a itinerary printed buy it says not booked in it is that ok?
Also we want to do this trip on transit. That is we are going to India for vacation on transit we want to do this trip and go to India and come back straight from India to us. Is there anything problem if I do like this? Pls let me know
Also after reading this forum I learnt that I need real hotel booking. Can I change my hotel later after I got my visa?
Do I have questions in immigration if I change the hotel or flight? Pls let me know. Thanks
Reply to this Hello,
I am an international transferred student studying in US. I recently got accepted into a program(study abroad kind of) and will be traveling to Iceland - Schengen Visa. Can someone tell me how do send in my application and schedule an apppointment? (the procedures). different sources tell me different things and I am confused.
And to all who have applied Schengen Visa before, was it hard?? I am travelling to Iceland in the first week of Jan 2014 and I can only apply for my visa during the week of thanksgiving since I have a school break of one week. Other than that, I cant afford to be rejected since I dont live near to any of the embassies at all! - Would you think I'd have enough time? I learned that it takes them 60days, is that true?
Thank you, appreciate it!
Eunice
Reply to this Also, any recommendations on travel insurance that is applicable to an international student like me??
Thank you!!!
Eunice
Reply to this Hello Eunice and welcome to Travelblog. Depending on your passport and the embassy visas can take that long, but may be much quicker. I would speak to the Embassy directly as soon as you can as they are the best guide on such matters.
I use WorldNomads insurance, though there may be better options available to those in the US.
Reply to this In response to: Msg #72645 hey miao ling
I am 18 years old and i have a hobby of travelling and i am indian
I wish to travel to netherlands,france,germany and denmark.my dad is sponsoring me ...
As a result i can't use my dad's fund cards like credit or debit in europe
Do i need to open an account for that and once i open then my dad send me money to my account and then i apply for visa
But i am travelling there in janu
Reply to this Hello Saurabg, and welcome to Travelblog!
I doubt you would need a European bank account - what they want to see is that you are able to access the funds when you are travelling there; so if you have a credit and/or debit card that is backed by your father, that should be enough.
However, the rules vary so it is best to speak to the people where you are applying for the visa.
Reply to this The best way is to get the flight itinerary from a travel agent which is good for at least 3 to 4 weeks. The itinerary you get from airlines is only good for 24 hours which will not serve the visa application purpose. Make sure the travel itinerary you receive from the travel agent has a valid reservation code. You should be able to verify your details by looking up the reservation codes provided by the agent on the airlines website. Here's a more detailed post about it: <snip>
I got my flight itinerary for visa application from an online travel agency for a reasonable price. They are fast and reliable and most importantly produce VALID itineraries which can be validated on the airlines website. They also provide hotel vouchers or hotel reservation. This is their website: http:/<snip>
[Edited: 2016 Feb 03 15:32 - traveltalesofawoollymammoth:258356 - No URL addresses please]
Reply to this My experience is that even though countries may say that you need direct hotel confirmations (that means a letter from the hotel instead of from an agent), but with regards to visa checks, if you are travelling between Schengen countries by land in Europe, I cannot remember many checks at all.
Reply to this 
