[Biohazard]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Hi Guys,

I have got a specific issue for which I need help from experts here. I am planning a family trip to Switzerland with my parents and my wife. I got married in Nov 2016 and post that, I renewed my passport wherein I also added my wife's name in my passport. However, my wife's passport was issued in 2015 and there was no need to renew her passport. We thought there is no need to renew her passport just to add my name to her passport (which is valid till 2025). Also, my wife's passport has her old address.

Now while applying for Schengen visa, we need to add address. So my question is: for my wife, should we enter her old address i.e. the address which is there on her passport? Do they ask for a marriage certificate? I have booked flight tickets and made hotel bookings as we need to submit them for applying a visa. Now I am scared whether we will get a Visa or not.

Has anyone come across such a situation. Any idea how to proceed? I am thinking my wife should enter her old address which is there on her passport too. Any suggestions?

Frankly, I don't think they care. I've traveled with my wife (before and after marriage), with different addresses on our passports. If required, you can attach a letter to your visa application mentioning it. But even that may not be required since you're submitting it together.

My wife and I traveled to the UK last may. She had her older passport which was made much before we got married. In fact, mine was a Mumbai passport, and her's was issued in Bareilly. We didn't face any issues whatsoever. So I wouldn't be worried at all.

[Chetan_Rao]

Unless the purpose of your application is to claim a spousal benefit (say, a dependent visa to accompany your work permit), nobody really cares what your relationship with your fellow traveler is, as long as they meet all visa norms individually.

[Engine_Roars]

Hi Guys, I am planning to travel to UK in the second week of July along with my wife for 2 weeks, on holiday. We have been married for three years now and have not really cared about changing her name on any of the documents neither do we have a marriage certificate. We are visiting her parents who are there in UK on work visa.

My question is - Is a marriage certificate mandatory? We do not have much time to go about getting it since the tickets to UK have already been booked, I know it was stupid on my part. If the certificate is indeed mandatory, is there any way I can get it in a week or so? I have inquired, and generally it takes more than a month. I am from Pune, if it matters.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

am planning to travel to UK in the second week of July along with my wife for 2 weeks, on holiday...My question is - Is a marriage certificate mandatory?

If you have a visa already it should not matter. You don't have to be married to travel together. However at immigration they are screening folks quite diligently these days. So be prepared to answer queries on reason of travel etc.

[Engine_Roars]

Originally Posted by diyguy

If you have a visa already it should not matter. You don't have to be married to travel together. However at immigration they are screening folks quite diligently these days. So be prepared to answer queries on reason of travel etc.

Unfortunately, I do not have the visa yet.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by nijelj

Hello, Needed help regarding Schengen Visa (Tourism) through VFS + German consulate at Bangalore

My understanding is that I have to get an appointment at VFS for document submission and Biometrics. After they get required documents, VFS will forward this to German consulate. If approved, my passport gets updated with the Schengen visa and they send it to VFS who in turn sends it back to me.

Q1. Is my above understanding correct?

Q2. There is also an online form that CAN be filled. It ask for details like 'Reference' 'Member states of Destination' etc. Since we are going to visit Technically 7 countries, this form in not sufficient. So, do we HAVE to fill this form? Or can we directly go to VFS on appointment day with all travel documents, Itinerary etc and get it done there?

Q3. Is there any problem in saying that during the tour, we may visit some relatives( we are not staying with them though, we have Hotel bookings for all nights)

Q4. What is the minimum amount required in Bank for proving that I can fund my family's (2 adults, 1 child,1 infant) tour? Is there a minimum per day amount? This is apart from Travel medical insurance of course.

Thanks in advance!

Ok , so went to submit documents for the Schengen visa at VFS, Bangalore.

1. They do not have parking. There is a private valet parking available that costs Rs 100/hr. Not sure whether I went on a busy day, but there was no parking available near the VFS building, after some searching, parked near the side walls of the hockey stadium nearby.

2. At the main gate, the security guy asked when my appointment was and let us through. at the entrance there is a place to store your bags. My Wife and I had different appointment timings (spaced at half hours in between), But I just walked up and showed both our appointments letters at the first reception counter and they did not make a fuss. Only they ask to see the passports. We were then allowed to move into the building and told to go to the first floor

3. A security check later, (I think they don't have an issue with Food or water) we were asked to register at the counter. There again on showing the appointment letters, they gave a single group token for my family and told to follow the green line on the floor, which leads to the VFS office for Germany

4. At this VFS office, there are water dispensers and rest rooms available. We waited for our Token to be read out along with the counter number to which we had to go for submission. At that time there was spaces to sit on the rows of chairs placed length wise in the middle of the counters

At the counter

5. The counter guy was nice enough, he was saying that he will process one by one, so I started with mine and he went through the documents, highlighting my name wherever it appears and important dates . NOTE: We can also highlight our name and dates in yellow highlighter to speed this process. NOTE: I did not fill the online application form

Another important NOTE : Each of the applicants, regardless of Age or group , needs to have the required documents. That means for my kids also, I had to take the print outs of the hotels and the air tickets for both of them

6. Once the documents of all four of us was checked, he asked whether we want to use courier to send the passports to us, I said that we will collect it at the office itself. After this the payment was done using my credit card. He gave a print out and asked us to get our biometrics done. For my kids (4 and 1) there was a stamp that exempted their biometrics from being done.

7. At the biometrics area, which was opposite to the counter, we waited until our name was called out. Only one person can be in the room while biometrics is done. We have to look at a camera on the back wall with our hands in the half hands up position. Then they take the finger prints (need some pressure to get the prints). No eye scans. With this the process is over

In the evening, both me and my wife got mails, once saying that the application will be submitted at the German consulate by next working day and then at late night, another saying that the German consulate has received the application

That was on May 19th. Today they have called me and asked to come for a interview at 12pm tomorrow. I don't need to carry any documents or take my family with me. Will update the outcome tomorrow.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by nijelj

Ok , so went to submit documents for the Schengen visa at VFS, Bangalore.

That was on May 19th. Today they have called me and asked to come for a interview at 12pm tomorrow. I don't need to carry any documents or take my family with me. Will update the outcome tomorrow.

I also recently submitted by Visa application for Switzerland via VFS Mumbai. I was told that the Visa is generally granted without any need for interview. Of course the VFS website mentions that the Embassy of Switzerland retains the right to call you for an interview for getting more information. I am not sure what more information do they want apart from the extensive documents have you have already filed. I realize the procedure for Germany might be different from Switzerland but I hope we are not called for an interview.

Do keep us posted on how the interview went and what questions did they ask.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Do keep us posted on how the interview went and what questions did they ask.

Originally Posted by nijelj

That was on May 19th. Today (May 23rd) they have called me and asked to come for a interview at 12pm tomorrow. I don't need to carry any documents or take my family with me. Will update the outcome tomorrow.

Ok, sorry for the delay. I thought I would wait for the result to come before putting it out here. Today morning I got the passport with the Schengen visa stamped.

The interview was conducted at the German consulate in Bangalore, this is above the triumph showroom in Cash Pharmacy building. Again there is no parking here. I was on my scooter and parked it at a marked road side bike parking area one building after this building.

Went to second floor, clueless what to do next. I was expecting a reception area. Anyway, there is a foyer in which there are security guys in Safari suits and a large window, on the other side of which sits an official of the embassy. I told the security guys, what I was there for. They were asking for some appointment letter/or receipt. I told them clearly that the person who called from the consulate told me that I do not have to bring anything. Then they told me to talk to the man in the window.

At the window, they have this telephone receiver, which pipes your voice into the cabin. So I repeated why I am there and then he asked my name and asked me to wait. After talking to someone, he asked me to go to counter 5. Counters 1-5 are inside a room, of whose door, these safari suited guys were sitting at. I told them Counter 5 and then they asked me to switch off (not silent, OFF) my mobile phone and let me in

Counter 1-4 are open counters and similar construction as the man in the window counter in the foyer. They have these drawers that they can push in and out at will. Counter 5 however was a separate enclosure with a door. I was asked to wait just adjacent to the door. After about 5-10 mins a German came to the counter and beckoned/gestured to me. Went in.

Me , Him: "Hello" -" Hello"

Him : "I had a question, why would you go on Tourism to Gottingen? with your family and kids?" ( The first day of my itinerary has stay arranged at a Hotel in Gottingen and then next at Kassel)

Me:" I didn't get hotel bookings in Kassel for that night, so.."

Him : "I'm still confused, because, my hometown is Gottingen (and then he looks at me) and I don't know why ..."

Me : "See I'm going to attend the Documenta at Kassel. (He seems unconvinced) And that is only one of the sights in the plan"

Him : "You want to see the Documenta?"

Me : "Yes, because we have a similar art festival in Kochi called the Kochi Muziris Bienalle, so we thought we could check this out too"

Him: "OK that is all, thank you. Next you will hear from VFS office" --Multiple thank you's

Me : "Ok thanks"

I was not able to read the reaction on his face, so was not sure whether he would reject it or not. I am by nature a worrier, so this got to me. I was thinking of the financial loss, if they did reject my application. I would at a minimum lose around 40k.

Note :Since my parents and Sisters family would be applying for visa for the same trip but from Kochi, a few days later, I asked them to make a better and more detailed itinerary so that they would not be called for this reason at least.

The next day (yesterday), I checked via customer care and saw that my passport was received back at the visa. I made up my mind that the visa was rejected, since it got back so fast. The VFS at Bangalore had a holiday, so I had to nurse my worries for one more day.

At the VFS office for Passport collection
As per the website, passport collection at VFS Bangalore can be done in between 8am to 5pm. So me and another friend who had applied for a visa, went there in time.

We can walk right into the main gate, after telling the guard that we are there to collect passports. At the next counter, there was a long queue of visa applicants, but there too we can go right into the building, after showing our Receipt and a government issued ID card.

As per the customer support, they had told me to carry authorization letters to collect my wife's and kids passports. I had made handwritten letters and prepared my aadhar card as the id. On reaching the first point, I realized to my horror that I had forgotten the aadhar card at home. Went through using my driving license, till the registration counter. They made us wait for sometime, during which I tried to get photocopies of my DL. That was not needed because, since it was a group and family application, only my id card was needed. He didn't want the authorization letters even.

With trepidation, I opened the passports and saw that the Visa had been approved. Only, I had asked for Multiple entry visa and they had given me single entry visa. But I asked at the application counter and they told me that its ok, as long as you don't leave the Schengen countries.

Phew, anyway, now I'm relieved.

But learnings are multiple as per this experience. I could have reduced the risk of money loss by blocking(not booking) tickets with Air India. I should have made a more detailed itinerary, so that the interview would not be needed for this reason

Also please find below link to reasons why your Visa application maybe rejected
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/com...-get-rejected/

Sorry for the longish post!

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by nijelj

Ok, sorry for the delay. I thought I would wait for the result to come before putting it out here. Today morning I got the passport with the Schengen visa stamped.


https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/com...-get-rejected/

Many congratulations! I also got my Schengen visa today. I am traveling from 17th to 25th June and they have given me a visa with a validity of the exact same duration (not a single day extra). I wonder what do people do in a such a scenario where they outbound flight gets delayed for a day? Anyways, have fun in Europe!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Many congratulations! I also got my Schengen visa today. I am traveling from 17th to 25th June and they have given me a visa with a validity of the exact same duration (not a single day extra). I wonder what do people do in a such a scenario where they outbound flight gets delayed for a day? Anyways, have fun in Europe!

Schengen Visas are always nowadays issued in this manner irrespective of one's travel history or any other consideration.
Probably because of the refugee crisis and general lack of trust in people from poor third world countries.
Sad, especially when India once many generations ago, was worth so much and indeed was consistently and solidly looted by wave after wave of invaders, mostly from the Central Asian and Euro-regions!

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Schengen Visas are always nowadays issued in this manner irrespective of one's travel history or any other consideration.
Probably because of the refugee crisis and general lack of trust in people from poor third world countries.
Sad, especially when India once many generations ago, was worth so much and indeed was consistently and solidly looted by wave after wave of invaders, mostly from the Central Asian and Euro-regions!

True. Any idea what would happen to a person who has a visa till 20th June and the flight which he/she is going to take that day gets delayed by a day i.e. will depart on 21st June? What will happen in that case? Will the airport authorities be considerate and allow the traveler to board the flight next day?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Saanil

True. Any idea what would happen to a person who has a visa till 20th June and the flight which he/she is going to take that day gets delayed by a day i.e. will depart on 21st June? What will happen in that case? Will the airport authorities be considerate and allow the traveler to board the flight next day?

The airport is like a DMZ - invariably in case of delay etc the Airline chaps ought to take adequate care of the individual. It happened some years ago that lots of people were stranded for 2-3 days in Frankfurt on account of the Icelandic Volcano problem. Obviously their flights got delayed but since they were already in the Airport, they had to be looked after.
Had they, however been lurking about in the city environs outside, without valid visas, they would certainly have been arrested as undesirable aliens.

Some years ago we went to Scandinavia and our return flight was booked for the same day, of which midnight my Schengen visa was expiring. Our flight back to India was sometime in the evening from Frankfurt. And while going through immigration from the Stockholm flight through Frankfurt after security check on the final leg out, it was about 7 pm and the lady at the counter looked me up and down - but I smiled and told her that I know full well that my visa was valid until midnight that night but that I would be up in the air when it actually expired, on my way home to India.
This is a pretty common occurrence because these Schengen visas get issued as per your itinerary and as per the tickets that you show at the time of applying. So, in case you use some "made up travel itinerary" while applying and your actual ticket gets booked for a later time/ date, there are clear chances that you might end up in an unhappy situation.
The trick is to make sure the itinerary shown is for a later-than-planned date of departure (max by a day or so) and ensure that the ticket is booked for a time well within the validity of the visa.
At least, this is my experience.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by Saanil

True. Any idea what would happen to a person who has a visa till 20th June and the flight which he/she is going to take that day gets delayed by a day i.e. will depart on 21st June? What will happen in that case? Will the airport authorities be considerate and allow the traveler to board the flight next day?

If your Flight gets delayed or missed (due to connecting flight/train or whatever reason not attributing to you), you will always get temporary visa for time that is required for exit the country. Usually the airline takes care of this. I once missed flight due I couldn't reach airport in-time. This was because Train workers scheduled strike at 7:00 and Train stopped in on a ways to airport in mid way. When I finally reached airport, time was not sufficient to finalize boarding formalities. Airline took me around and got the Visa extension.

[TKMCE]

Please be careful in booking late night flights out of your destination on the day the your visa expires.


If you have a visit till XXX date and if you book a flight out of the country departing at say 2300 hours of that day . The airline if they inform you say three days out that the flight will depart at 0500 the next day, then I doubt every airline without exception will take care of your visa problems. They may rebook you to other flights or they may not - it all depends on the applicable local laws.
Last minute rescheduling is different but then again the response of different airlines/countries may be vastly different. And finally please note that it is the local immigration /border control authority who has the last word on visa extensions - not the airlines.

[hserus]

Most consulates / embassies will account for that, or for any other sudden illness, work emergency etc that makes you postpone travel for a day or two, by giving you a visa that has a buffer of three or four days or often one week after you are scheduled to leave the country.

So it is up to you to plan your travel carefully to ensure you don't over extend your visa stay. If you do over extend and the airline isn't cooperative or the immigration people aren't cooperative, its your neck on the line not the airline's

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Please be careful in booking late night flights out of your destination on the day the your visa expires.

If you have a visit till XXX date and if you book a flight out of the country departing at say 2300 hours of that day . The airline if they inform you say three days out that the flight will depart at 0500 the next day, then I doubt every airline without exception will take care of your visa problems. They may rebook you to other flights or they may not - it all depends on the applicable local laws.
Last minute rescheduling is different but then again the response of different airlines/countries may be vastly different. And finally please note that it is the local immigration /border control authority who has the last word on visa extensions - not the airlines.