ESC

Click the "allow" button if you want to receive important news and updates from immigrationboards.com


Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

Welcome to immigrationboards.com!

Login Register Do not show

Schengen visa question

Immigration to European countries, don't post UK or Ireland related topics!

Moderators: Casa, push, JAJ, ca.funke, Amber, zimba, vinny, Obie, EUsmileWEallsmile, batleykhan, meself2, geriatrix, John, ChetanOjha, archigabe, Administrator

Locked
fergusm
Newly Registered
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:22 am

Schengen visa question

Post by fergusm » Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:07 am

Hi, my girlfriend is from Belarus and after a long wait she finally for passport back from the Home Office in the UK with her Indefinite Leave to Remain status.

We have a holiday booked in France from July 11th so she needs to get a Schengen visa and fast. Unfortunately, as a Belarusian she is treated "differently" and the French take 4 weeks to process a visa application. We don't even have an appointment at the moment so I don't think it could be done in time and they won't allow her to use an agency. She has to apply in person.

We also have a holiday booked in Spain for August but the Spanish consulate are even more difficult to deal with!!

Does anyone know of any other Schengen area consulate in London which can move faster for a Belarusian. We were thinking of Lithuania as they don't require an appointment and don't mention any delayed processing times on their website. We don't mind doing a weekend break to somewhere like Vilnius between now and July to facilitate this...

Any advice on the easiest and quickest way for a Belarusian to get a Schengen visa in London would be much appreciated!!

Wanderer
Diamond Member
Posts: 10511
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:46 pm
Ireland

Post by Wanderer » Sat Jun 13, 2009 9:41 am

My Russian partner got a German one in about four days after making the appointment - about 10 days in all. But she has had a German Work Permit before...
An chéad stad eile Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile....

djb123
Member of Standing
Posts: 464
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:33 pm

Post by djb123 » Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:33 am

Wanderer wrote:My Russian partner got a German one in about four days after making the appointment - about 10 days in all. But she has had a German Work Permit before...
Russia isn't on the list of countries treated 'differently'....

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Colombia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistani, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia Somalia, Sudan, Surinam, Syria, Tunisia, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

fergusm
Newly Registered
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:22 am

Post by fergusm » Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:37 am

Is that list of countries treated "differently" set by the individial Schengen countries (France for example) or are they discriminated against across all Schengen states?

It appears that we may be able to get a Schengen visa from the Swiss consulate in 2 weeks rather than the 4 weeks the French take for Belarusian citizens...

ciaramc
Senior Member
Posts: 552
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:43 am

Post by ciaramc » Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:44 am

I can't believe there is actually a list like this??? Is this just a French thing or as Fergusm said is this list valid for all schengen states!! And my I ask....why are these countries treated "Differently"????

djb123
Member of Standing
Posts: 464
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:33 pm

Post by djb123 » Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:45 am

fergusm wrote:Is that list of countries treated "differently" set by the individial Schengen countries (France for example) or are they discriminated against across all Schengen states?

It appears that we may be able to get a Schengen visa from the Swiss consulate in 2 weeks rather than the 4 weeks the French take for Belarusian citizens...
I believe the list is the same across all Schengen countries.

charles4u
Member of Standing
Posts: 369
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2008 6:33 pm

Post by charles4u » Sat Jun 13, 2009 12:27 pm

djb123 wrote:
I believe the list is the same across all Schengen countries.
I believe so too...and I guess in all EU countries.

Mind you, the countries listed there provides almost 60% of the worlds resources.
Charles4u

86ti
Diamond Member
Posts: 2760
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:07 am

Post by 86ti » Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:00 pm

Not sure how accurate or up to date that is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_visa_lists but they also cite the original list there.

mirnat
Member
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:13 pm
Location: London

Post by mirnat » Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:56 am

I can only talk from my husband’s experience – he is Albanian and has applied twice for a Schengen visa through the Belgian embassy in London. There was no need to make a prior appointment and they took one week to issue the visa. Although the Schengen visa is technically free, the Embassy of Belgium charges £20 processing/admin fee (which I guess is a whole other debate!). I noticed on the application form that if u were a citizen of certain countries, Iran, Afghanistan etc that in addition to the documents asked for, a whole CV had to be provided – luckily for my husband, Albania was not on this list. I also became aware that what was different with the Belgian Embassy is that they asked for proof of return tickets, hotel bookings etc (I heard that this is not the case with the French!) but as were actually going to Belgium this was not an issue to provide although of course its still nerve wracking paying out for a whole holiday beforehand not knowing if the visa would definitely be issued! It was even worse when he applied for a visa to holiday in Canada as we layed out beforehand a lot more than for the flights to Belgium!

Good luck with your application anyway!

xjessie007
Newly Registered
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:13 pm

Re: Schengen visa question

Post by xjessie007 » Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:37 pm

fergusm wrote:Does anyone know of any other Schengen area consulate in London which can move faster for a Belarusian.
Watch out, there is one catch. You have to submit your application to the embassy of the country which will be your main destination, that means usually the country where you spend the most time. You can't apply at any country you like. How is it judged which country is your main destination? The embassy will ask you for hotel reservations and flight tickets, etc.

bb21
Junior Member
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 3:21 pm

Post by bb21 » Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:30 am

fergusm wrote:Is that list of countries treated "differently" set by the individial Schengen countries (France for example) or are they discriminated against across all Schengen states?

It appears that we may be able to get a Schengen visa from the Swiss consulate in 2 weeks rather than the 4 weeks the French take for Belarusian citizens...
The list is different for each country although they are broadly similar and were set out for security reasons. Compare the French and the Spanish lists and you should see the difference in processing time for some nationals.

johnsienk
BANNED
Posts: 223
Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:07 am

Post by johnsienk » Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:27 pm

<original post deleted>
Last edited by johnsienk on Fri Feb 04, 2011 11:00 am, edited 2 times in total.

bb21
Junior Member
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 3:21 pm

Post by bb21 » Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:02 pm

johnsienk wrote:Hi

My Chinese wife just turns up at the Polish consulate. Visa issued on the spot (=same day). She's EU family though.

I don't know about this 'countries treated differently' thing.

John
Your wife's nationality - China - is one to start with. The French would normally issue visas on the day, for sole travellers, with representations from an agency allowed, however the Spanish will take a few weeks and do not allow representations. You have to apply in person.

Plum70
Diamond Member
Posts: 1363
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 11:07 am

Post by Plum70 » Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:09 pm

Quick question guys:

I will be applying for a French schengen visa in 2 weeks and plan on using my remaining passport pics that are over 6 months old but reflect exactly how i look today. Used only one of four for my last French schengen visa application in Aug. last year.

Will this be a problem? Any fexibilty on this where the applicant's facial features remain unchanged in comparison to the picture?

Tired of spending £7 on new photos and only using one or two within 6 months! Is it just me or does anyone find this a headache too?

Wanderer
Diamond Member
Posts: 10511
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:46 pm
Ireland

Post by Wanderer » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:18 am

Plum70 wrote:Quick question guys:

I will be applying for a French schengen visa in 2 weeks and plan on using my remaining passport pics that are over 6 months old but reflect exactly how i look today. Used only one of four for my last French schengen visa application in Aug. last year.

Will this be a problem? Any fexibilty on this where the applicant's facial features remain unchanged in comparison to the picture?

Tired of spending £7 on new photos and only using one or two within 6 months! Is it just me or does anyone find this a headache too?
I have Passport Picture Studio for the Mac and I take my own - only cost five quid plus the cost of printing, which is what, 50p on foto paper, maybe a quid?

Plus you can keep retaking till u get one u like - ideal for women who will easily spent 30 quid in the photo booth till they get one they like!

The look spot on and no-ones had an issue with them!
An chéad stad eile Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile....

Plum70
Diamond Member
Posts: 1363
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 11:07 am

Post by Plum70 » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:41 am

Wanderer wrote:
Plum70 wrote:Quick question guys:
I have Passport Picture Studio for the Mac and I take my own - only cost five quid plus the cost of printing, which is what, 50p on foto paper, maybe a quid?

Plus you can keep retaking till u get one u like - ideal for women who will easily spent 30 quid in the photo booth till they get one they like!

The look spot on and no-ones had an issue with them!
Thanks Wanderer! I'll look into this Mac passport studio software...

But just so I know, do you think it may be risky reusing my passport pics from about 10 months ago? They were the same ones I used for my previous schengen visa, and remain a true likeness to my present facial features.

Cheers

Plum70
Diamond Member
Posts: 1363
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 11:07 am

Post by Plum70 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:38 pm

Ok... I'm going to gamble with the old passport pics and hope that the visa officer doesn't notice i'd used them for my previous schengen application. Ulp!

Rozen
Diamond Member
Posts: 1177
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:09 pm
Location: Nederland

Post by Rozen » Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:02 pm

Plum70 wrote:Ok... I'm going to gamble with the old passport pics and hope that the visa officer doesn't notice i'd used them for my previous schengen application. Ulp!
Good Luck! :wink:

richermartyn
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:40 pm

Post by richermartyn » Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:48 pm

Hi,
I recently learned that Schengen visa requires you to have travel/Medical insurance beforehand. If anyone has experience getting this visa, I would appreciate any recommendations for travel/Medical insurance.

Also, how long does it usually take to get the visa..

mirnat
Member
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:13 pm
Location: London

Post by mirnat » Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:49 pm

I guess it might depend from which Embassy you apply for a Schengen Visa. When my husband applied for a Schengen Visa through the Embassy of Belgium yes he did have to provide proof of medical/travel insurance. I took out a policy with Go travel insurance which I think provided something like £1 million personal medical insurance (well I remember it was well above the cover that the Embassy were asking for!). It was all applied for online and Go sent me the travel insurance certificate which I submitted with my husband's application. I also included an extract from the insurance policy document and highlighted the bit about medical insurance cover. They accepted this as he was granted the visa!

xjessie007
Newly Registered
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:13 pm

Post by xjessie007 » Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:29 pm

richermartyn wrote:Hi,
I recently learned that Schengen visa requires you to have travel/Medical insurance beforehand. If anyone has experience getting this visa, I would appreciate any recommendations for travel/Medical insurance.

Also, how long does it usually take to get the visa..
yeah, the travel insurance is needed because some countries have the law that everyone must have mandatory health insurance. but in any case, getting injured can be very expensive, it is a good idea to get it regardless. i had insurance from axa, i bought it from my travel agent when i was buying my flight tickets to munich. it costed $9 per day. i am not sure what the coverage level was, but they usually know the limits. once i applied for the visa at the german embassy it took 3 weeks. good luck. here is one site about schengen visa that i used and can recommend - schengen visa good luck, which country do you go to?

Locked
cron