More on getting a visa to a Schengen Country like France
I haven’t purchased my medical insurance yet but will do that over the weekend. They request for your passport number and I keep forgetting to jot it down when I am home. I was advised to purchase it from Insure My Visa which can also provide the required letter attesting to your coverage as required by the Schengen countries.
A Schengen visa is valid for the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. It is recommended that you apply in the Embassy or Consulate of the country you will stay in the longest. If you are entering any one country more than once, (i.e., France, Sweden, France), you will need to apply for a multiple entry visa. If, as in my case, my only destination is France, then I only need to apply for a short-stay visa, single entry.
Bear in mind that their concept of a multiple-entry visa is not like the US concept where you are given a multiple entry visa good for say two years, and you can go in and out of the US as often as you wish during that period. If you tell the Consulate/Embassy you are travelling from December 1-15 and you apply for a multiple entry visa, they will give you one unless you have a stain on your record, but it will be good only from December 1-15.
To answer Marilyn’s query on the requirements, here they are as provided by the French Consulate:
- application form and photo (All forms must be completely and legibly filled out in black or blue ink, signed and dated. All photos must be recent, identical, passport size - 2″ x 2″ (4,5cm x 4,5cm) and showing face front the forehead hairline and ears on a white background. )
- Passport or travel document (+ 1 copy of identity page) valid for at least three months following the last day of your stay in France. Be sure the passport has blank “visa” pages left to affix the visa.
- A USA residency card (Green Card) or I-551 stamp, or a valid USA visa with I-94 and IAP66 or I-20 were applicable or an Advanced Parole, which must be valid for at least 30 days beyond the last day in France. (+1copy)
Flight reservation (+ 1 copy)
- complete itinerary or round trip ticket with confirmed dates. No open tickets accepted. Do not purchase tickets until the visa has been approved.
Proof of accommodation (if you intend to stay more than one day) (+1 copy)
- confirmed reservation by fax from the hotel(s) (the fax(es) must be sent directly to you and not to the Consulate) in France and in the Schengen countries to be visited, confirming your reservations for each night you will spend in France and the Schengen States (we do not accept emails nor online, internet reservation confirmations),
or
- hotel vouchers confirming your booking for a tour with names and addresses of all hotels with number of nights stay in each,
or
- if you are staying with family or friend(s) you must present an Attestation d’Accueil that your family or friend(s) must obtain at the City Hall in France. The original needs to be stamped by our office to be valid and must be presented upon arrival in France.
Financial guarantee (+ 1 copy),
A proof that you have at least 100usd per day for each day you will stay in Schengen Countries. All four of the following documents have to be submitted:
- your last monthly bank statement, not a summary,
- your last 3 paystubs,
- letter from your employer in the USA mentioning your annual salary,
- if your financial means are not sufficient, you may also provide a notarized letter from your sponsor stating he/she will be responsible for all your expenses and a proof of his/her financial means.
Medical insurance
A letter from your insurance company (+ 1 copy) stating that you will be covered for any medical expenses, hospitalization and repatriation for at least $37,000 during your stay in Europe. If your current insurance company does not provide such a coverage, you have to find an international insurance (do not forget to ask for the letter mentioned above).
WARNING : Failure to provide this document with this exact wording will delay the granting of the visa.
Yes, Alan is a US Citizen but I’m providing his certificate of employment as proof of employment with a company that is based in Paris. He does not require a visa.. only I do.
No, I’m not submitting his payslips — just mine. I am a Permanent Resident Alien (i.e., Greencard holder). but still holding my Philippine passport. I have to show gainful employment plus the bank statements to show that I have the financial capability to travel. It’s a standard requirement for leisure travel when a visa is required.
My being Filipino really has no bearing on the application except that the Philippines is one of the countries on a short list which needs approval from Paris, France, hence the 2-3 week processing time. There are countries which require no visa (such as the US — click here for the list ), countries whose visas can be approved within the same day of application (such as Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam), and we are lumped together with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Need I say more? For a complete listing of countries needing a visa and their processing times, click here.
Also, as far as the Medical Insurance is concerned, note that there are two types of travel insurance for US and non-US citizens. If you are a non-US Citizen like me, make sure you purchase the right one. To meet the minimum requirement of the consulate, I found a travel insurance package for just a little less that $40 which should take care of any lost or delayed baggage, and medical emergencies and need for repatriation up to the amount of $50,000. (That’s $13,000 over their requirement).
The nice thing is that the Consulate of France obviously takes visa applications even if you are not in your country of origin. The Canadian and US Embassies do not do that — at least I know for a fact about the US. It used to be that you could take your chances applying for a US Embassy if you were in Canada, but in the last decade or so even before 9/11, they stopped granting such visas and now require that you apply in the Consulate or Embassy in your country of origin.
With all that said, I’m going to work on my citizenship papers next because I might get the chance to travel to Switzerland and maybe even Italy or Spain next year. And not that I mind the medical insurance and all, but the visa fee (currently $44 and change for the single entry Schengen visa) and the time to process it all is something I can do without. Until then, I’m looking to make my appointment as approved by the Consulate and get my visa for this special trip to my favorite city.. Paris.
