[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by cediafan

If this is his first visit to Switzerland he will have to go to the embassy for an interview.

No I doubt this very much. Not for a swiss visa.

Originally Posted by flipsyde

we got our schengan visa from france so not too sure about procedures for germany.

Getting a visa from the German consulate is not a walk in the park.

They are procedural and insistent on every detail. If you have income proof, employment proof, bank account details, assets proof, last 3 years income tax returns, tickets, a credit card, Overseas mediclaim (Auslandkranken) insurance, hotel bookings and a reason to go (bookings or invitations) you can get the visa.
If you do not have any of these papers, forget it.

Do not be surprised if your visa begins a day before your departure and ends a day after your arrival. Unless you have been to Germany often before, it is always required to visit the consulate personally.

Originally Posted by flipsyde

i'm sure germany was the guys idea!!

Why would you say that - I'm curious.


vnabhi - it would be my pleasure to help. You can ask her to email me directly - sam(at)team-bhp.com

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

hey sammyboy

you should have got your visa work done earlier since there are so many of you flying out. anyway all is not lost. you should apply for schengan visa to the country where you will be landing first. my family for example is flying air france and landing in paris first so we applied via VFS-france. we gave our documents on 9th of may and got it today ....... 15th of may. in between were 2 non working days.

if your documents are in order then the VFS-france should be able to give it to you in 4 working days. i am not sure about VFS italy. kindly check regading the same.

for 11 people i would have approached a travel agent if i were you. as straight forward as the visa procedures are i'd rather have someone else do it.

june 7th is still 3 weeks away...... what are the visa you are yet to apply for??

Thanks bro. I am also reaching paris but staying there for a day n a half before moving to italy thats why the Italian visa.
I dont wanna hijack this thread so will pm u tomorrow sometime. Thanks for your help.

[Vid6639]

Just applied for a Schengen Visa for a trip to Netherlands. Was a real pain as they wanted so many documents. Even then the first attempt was rejected as my covering letter dates, company invitation and customer invitation dates did not match 100%.

I reapplied on 30th April and finally I got the visa today. 45 days single entry with the stay no more than 27 days.

There was also a clause printed in the visa along with a letter. I am supposed to report to the Netherlands consulate in Mumbai personally within 7 days of my arrival back in India. No idea why.

[lurker]

There was also a clause printed in the visa along with a letter. I am supposed to report to the Netherlands consulate in Mumbai personally within 7 days of my arrival back in India. No idea why.

they don't trust you will return.

Some of the policies of these European embassies are borderline racist.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by vid6639

There was also a clause printed in the visa along with a letter. I am supposed to report to the Netherlands consulate in Mumbai personally within 7 days of my arrival back in India. No idea why.

I've never heard this before, it is a bit strange.

Originally Posted by lurker

Some of the policies of these European embassies are borderline racist.

Lurker-bhaiya, why do you get all emotional and make such strong statements? I don't think it has as much to do with our colour, as the number of Asians across the world who are illegal immigrants.

It's their country, their rules and their security issues. Ab usme borderline racist kya? Some people keep the doors of their homes open, some keep guards outside their steel gates.

I don't want to spark off a debate, I'm simply trying to tell you to smile and relax.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Why would you say that - I'm curious.

In all probability due to the German cars Sam!

Originally Posted by vid6639

There was also a clause printed in the visa along with a letter. I am supposed to report to the Netherlands consulate in Mumbai personally within 7 days of my arrival back in India. No idea why.

That's quite weird, never heard of such a thing before. Maybe they suspect you'll get lost in Amsterdam's little bylanes & not make it back!!

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

No I doubt this very much. Not for a swiss visa.


Getting a visa from the German consulate is not a walk in the park.

They are procedural and insistent on every detail. If you have income proof, employment proof, bank account details, assets proof, last 3 years income tax returns, tickets, a credit card, Overseas mediclaim (Auslandkranken) insurance, hotel bookings and a reason to go (bookings or invitations) you can get the visa.
If you do not have any of these papers, forget it.

Do not be surprised if your visa begins a day before your departure and ends a day after your arrival. Unless you have been to Germany often before, it is always required to visit the consulate personally.


Why would you say that - I'm curious.


vnabhi - it would be my pleasure to help. You can ask her to email me directly - sam(at)team-bhp.com

hey sam

all those marked in bold are the requirements for the france schengan visa too! in fact they are the same for swiss and UK also. i am not sure about the other countries in the EU because these are the only countries i have applied for/planning to apply for visa for my trip.

the ones underlined are not applicable for UK, swiss or france.

sam isn't germany renowned for its war history, precision engineering, R&D, cars, motorshows, trackdays (legendary nurburgring) etc i am not sure about you but there are very few women who i know who want to visit germany ......... especially on their honeymoon!! yes yes you can go on about the magnificient cathedrals in cologne, berlin wall etc which are quite a thing (i really love the cologne cathedral - architecture student ) but on a honeymoon??? definitely guys idea!!

i just remembered!!! you were there recently ..... tell me what you enjoyed seeing. other then speakers and women!!!

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Thanks bro. I am also reaching paris but staying there for a day n a half before moving to italy thats why the Italian visa.
I dont wanna hijack this thread so will pm u tomorrow sometime. Thanks for your help.

sammyboy - you have to take schengan only in the country you are landing in. after that you can spend the rest of your time in whichever other EU country that you prefer. you don;t have to take one for each country you are planning to visit.

Originally Posted by vid6639

Just applied for a Schengen Visa for a trip to Netherlands. Was a real pain as they wanted so many documents. Even then the first attempt was rejected as my covering letter dates, company invitation and customer invitation dates did not match 100%.

I reapplied on 30th April and finally I got the visa today. 45 days single entry with the stay no more than 27 days.

There was also a clause printed in the visa along with a letter. I am supposed to report to the Netherlands consulate in Mumbai personally within 7 days of my arrival back in India. No idea why.

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I've never heard this before, it is a bit strange.

Lurker-bhaiya, why do you get all emotional and make such strong statements? I don't think it has as much to do with our colour, as the number of Asians across the world who are illegal immigrants.

It's their country, their rules and their security issues. Ab usme borderline racist kya? Some people keep the doors of their homes open, some keep guards outside their steel gates.

I don't want to spark off a debate, I'm simply trying to tell you to smile and relax.

its not as much as it is about racism but i think its more to do with convenience. rushing back to mumbai after your holiday (if you don't live in mumbai that is) to avoid getting on the wanted list in holland doesn't seem brilliant......that said whose are their rules......don't like 'em don't go!!

[sbasak]

I am supposed to report to the Netherlands consulate in Mumbai personally within 7 days of my arrival back in India.

This ispreposterous! If they want to check whether you've returned, they can easily get the info from the departure passport control in Netherlands, couldn't they?

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by iraghava

In all probability due to the German cars Sam!



That's quite weird, never heard of such a thing before. Maybe they suspect you'll get lost in Amsterdam's little bylanes & not make it back!!

right iraghava!!
and maybe they want to make sure absinth doesn't get the best of him!

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

right iraghava!!
and maybe they want to make sure absinth doesn't get the best of him!

Arrey the alcohol fact is a mute point man!! Don't make it public, it's understood by default!!

[flipsyde]

guys this may be boderline off-topic but since we are talking about travelling to europe can some of you take a look at my thread as well -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ss-europe.html

thank you!!

[mushy876]

This is also Off-Topic, and for those who dont know this, but Indian passport holders residing/travelling in the U.K., with visa validity of over 3 months do not require a Swiss visa to travel to the Switzerland.The valid English visa would suffice.
Cheers.

[hrag]

I have been to Switzerland twice (through my ex employer) and have never seen a Swiss consulate. I have travelled on a 6-month work permit and a 120-day work permit. I should imagine the same applies for tourist visas as well.

You need to have a valid UK Work Permit (the visa type is United Kingdom Entry Clearance WITH Multiple Entry) in order to enter Switzerland from the UK. For other types permissible, please see:
http://www.bfm.admin.ch/etc/medialib...ile.tmp/GB.pdf

You cannot be a tourist in the UK and use the same visa to enter Switzerland.

Switzerland intends to join the Schengen visa scheme in November 2008.

[AnniHilat0R]

Well just a thought. Wont it be a bit busy time to head to Swiss ? I mean in couple of days Euro 2008 on the charts, so expect things to be pretty noisy there. Also keep your check on hotel reservations, you dont want to land up staying in the middle of football hooligans.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

sam isn't germany renowned for its war history, precision engineering, R&D, cars, motorshows, trackdays (legendary nurburgring) etc i am not sure about you but there are very few women who i know who want to visit germany ......... especially on their honeymoon!! yes yes you can go on about the magnificient cathedrals in cologne, berlin wall etc which are quite a thing (i really love the cologne cathedral - architecture student ) but on a honeymoon??? definitely guys idea!!

i just remembered!!! you were there recently ..... tell me what you enjoyed seeing. other then speakers and women!!!

Hey, everyone has his own likes and dislikes and associations with any country. I respect yours. Germany has far more to offer than technology, believe me. It isn't always a man's idea to go there. It's a myopic thing to assume that.

And yes, lol, you could say that I was there recently.

In fact I've been there so often I've forgotten count. And there is a lot more to enjoy there other than speakers and women.
In any case I do not enjoy the women lol.

Oh yes - my (much) better half is German and in Germany and an active member here. Just you wait till she sees your comments. Tut-tut-tut, mannomann are YOU in trouble lol.