Schengen Visas

Travel leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a story-teller.. Ibn Battuta.

The Schengen area was established in 1995 following the ratification of the Schengen Agreement and it compromises of 26 countries. This means that if any of the Schengen countries grants you a visa, you are able to travel through the Schengen area freely unless you are limited to stay within the Schengen state that issued your visa. Once you identify the country you would like to visit, go to the embassy’s website and check the list of documents they require from you depending on the visa type. The visa can be a long-term or short-term visa with either single, double or multiple entries.

You can apply for your visa as early as 90 days before the date of departure or 15 days to, if you are cutting it too close. My advice would be to book the appointment and give yourself at least 4 weeks to collect what you need. Print out the checklist and make sure you have everything that the embassy requires. Most embassies require you to present yourself at the embassy or via various application centers like VFS or BLS. The most basic but useful website for Schengen visa information is https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/

On the day of my interview, i got to the embassy a few minutes before my scheduled appointment. The guards at the embassy are very friendly and will make you feel calm. Once you walk past security, you leave everything in a locker and only proceed with your documents and visa fees (no phones). My first visa appointment was short and i could not read the visa officers’ faces during all my appointments, the visa officers are professional and trained to see through your story but they are also polite and human, just state the truth and be confident. After i left the embassy i was on Novenas and prayers from Father Anthony who used to be at Vincentian Prayer House. Anyway, the next day, the embassy called me to confirm some things and send an extra document (via email or drop off at the gate) and called my supervisor too. The next afternoon, i got a text my passport was dispatched from the embassy and usually that means you will only get it the next morning (sleep was a rumor). I spent my time calling my friends who have been through this and who knew about it (Thanks Jolinda, Ndumi, Rachael and Carol). So i picked my passport at 8.15am and as is protocol, you have to take out your passport from the plastic paper and give it to the G4S staff, i saw a white paper attached to my passport and i was sure it’s a refusal. So, i walked to the taxi and was staring out the window and all i wanted was to get home and see what they had to say. The driver asked me to buckle up and as i was doing that i see the words border control on the piece of paper and I was confused, i opened the paper and voila! You are reading this…. because your visa was granted. My first visa was a single entry of 13 days and my second visa was a double entry of 82 days. Please note that you can only stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days only within the year for a 1 year multiple entry visa and 90 days in a 180 day period for 2-5 years multiple entry visa. I personally travel for a maximum of 2 weeks at a time because of commitments back home, so i did not use all the 82 days i was given. My longer visa also took a maximum 2 days to be granted, the turnaround time for visa decisions is usually 15 days.

Visa applications are pretty straightforward. Do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions or need any help at traveltalesbyshee@gmail.com.