Cara Apply Visa Schengen (Pengalaman Pribadi)

By June 28, 2013June 29th, 2013Europe
Beautiful Rome

It’s been a dream of mine for some time now to walk to Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain — a 750km 5 week walk from just inside France all the way across Spain to the town of Santiago. It’s also been a dream of Susan’s to visit Europe for years and we talked about our wishes to travel to Europe together on our very first date. But there has always been one thing preventing us booking a trip to Europe and that is the problem that Indonesians have with applying for a visa to Europe — the elusive Schengen Visa.

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

“Why is it elusive?”, I hear you say. Well, because the airfares to Europe are so expensive and we want to maximise our stay in the region. And sticking to our philosophy of slow travel, we wanted to apply for the maximum stay possible — 90 days.

Almost everyone we spoke to told us how difficult applying for the Schengen Visa is and told us about the crazy requirements such as needing every single day of accommodation booked, a sponsor letter and a full itinerary including transport links. We had none of that and we still had Susan’s visa approved in 4 days without an interview — we’ll tell you how we did it.

We told the truth.

We were very honest from day one when we applied for our visa. Everything we wanted to do, our financial situation and our planned itinerary was laid out for them. We also made sure we met all the requirements of the European regulation for the granting of the Schengen Visa. And those requirements aren’t as strict as you might think and certainly not as strict as everyone told us. Here they are:

  • documents showing your ability to pay your travel and accommodation expenses;
  • hotel reservations, an invitation from private individuals or business connections, a legalized letter of invitation, or a guarantor’s declaration;
  • documents showing that you intend to return to your country of origin (such as an employer’s declaration or the deeds to your home);
  • a medical travel insurance policy that will cover any costs of repatriation on medical grounds, urgent medical care, or emergency hospital treatment. The insurance policy must be valid for the entire Schengen Area, for the entire duration of your stay, and it must provide minimum cover of €30,000. If you cannot make an advance arrangement with your insurance provider that the costs will be repaid if the visa is refused, you will not have to produce this insurance policy until you collect your visa;
  • Proof of reservations for the journey.

Not all of these are mandatory.

So what does this mean? It means the minimum requirement does not include having to book accommodation. It does not include having to have a sponsor letter. It doesn’t even include having a return ticket! Of course, if you don’t have any of these things, you are going to have to explain why not.

Our first recommendation is to have a return airfare booked. Back home is preferable, but to another country is possible (such as Turkey), but it must be to a country for which you are reasonably entitled to enter. We recommend getting a visa for this country BEFORE applying for the Schengen Visa, but we understand that this is not a hard requirement — just a strong recommendation.

Our next recommendation is to get a sponsor letter if you have friends or family in the Schengen Area. We don’t have people close enough to us that would be willing to sponsor us, so we didn’t do this. Why is a sponsor letter important? Because it removes the financial requirement which we talk about below. It means you can enter the Schengen Area with far less money than you would normally need.

Camino de Santiago de Compostela

Camino de Santiago de Compostela

Have enough money in your bank account. Europe is expensive and there is a minimum bank balance required for visiting. The current rate is €34 per day according the Netherlands and €64 according to Spain. We’re actually unsure about why this differs between embassies, but we advise applying to an embassy based on the country you will spend most time in and NOT because monetary requirements are lower elsewhere. You must have this money in your bank account if you don’t have a sponsor letter. The regulation is very clear that this money is to cover the cost of accommodation and living expenses when in Europe. What does this mean? That if you do not pre-book your accommodation (you don’t have to) you must have the daily rate of money in your account. If you do pre-book your accommodation, you don’t need as much money in your account, but you should explain why you don’t have as much money as is required (because you pre-booked accommodation) in a separate letter.

We strongly recommend writing a cover letter and attaching it to your application.

Why? Because if you explain the whole situation, there will be no need for an interview. Susan wasn’t interviewed because we explained everything. We explained our purpose of travel (Camino & travelling around Europe), how we planned to book accommodation, our financial situation (that is, we have enough money in the bank), Susan’s ties to Indonesia (to prove that she will return home — her name is attached to some of her father’s assets, our blog, the twitter community we are close to etc), her work situation. Write this letter and put as much detail in it as possible. Tell the truth!

We needed to explain Susan’s work situation. For most people, you should provide a letter from your employer stating that you have a job and that you will be going back to that job. Susan doesn’t have a job. So we needed to explain how she gets money. We firstly explained that she has written two books that are about to be published and that she has more offers on the table. We provided the name and phone number of her publisher so that the embassy could verify our claim about the books. We also stated that she freelances for various other publications, even though this money is small. We just basically wanted to prove that she is not a bum and that she has a reason to come back to Indonesia.

Beautiful Rome

Beautiful Rome

Accommodation. To book or not to book. It is totally your choice. We believe that if you pre-book your accommodation, you are more likely to get the visa. But here is the thing. No one who is going to Europe for 1 month or more is going to pre-book their accommodation unless they are on a tour. The embassy knows this. So if you do apply for a 3 month visa and do have all of your accommodation pre-booked, they are going to know that you are lying and are just going to cancel it anyway. It’s the oldest trick in the book. So we recommend not pre-booking your accommodation unless you truly are going to use it. If you simply plan to cancel it after the visa is approved, don’t book the accommodation as they will know your are lying.

Lying = DENIED.

Make sure you have travel insurance booked and paid for. We used ACA who proved to be very cheap. Just visit their office and book the insurance. The insurance must end at least 15 days after you arrive back in Indonesia.

We think that you are more likely to have a long Schengen Visa approved if you have travelled quite a lot aleady especially if these countries include Western countries such as Australia. If you have travelled to the places, make sure you make that point in your cover letter.

Should you use an agent or not? We advise that you DO NOT use an agent for longer stays. Why? Because the agents we spoke to do not understand the rules of the Schengen Visa despite sounding very knowledgeable. They also all said it is not possible for an Indonesian to get the visa for 3 months without a sponsor letter. They also said we needed to book all of our accommodation in advance. This is not true. Agents are fine when the travel arrangements are straightforward of the visit is short.

At the end of the day, it’s all about telling the truth. If you have enough money to travel to Europe and can prove you will return home, you will get the visa if you tell the truth.

One last thing. Don’t believe people when they say you need to pre-book accommodation and/or have a sponsorship letter. It also doesn’t matter which embassy you apply to as long as it is the one for the country in which you will spend the most time. They all must follow the same European regulation.

Easy yeah? Semangat? Give us like and we’ll answer any questions you have in English or Indonesian. 🙂

* Photos by jexweber.fotos, moyan_brenn, ruipereira.

Join the discussion 29 Comments

  • Alid Abdul says:

    Yeaaaaaah I just can’t wait read your story travel around Europe, Good luck then ^__^ wish you all the best.

  • DebbZie says:

    YAY! congratz guys. Looking forward to hear your story about my fave continent that I keep coming back to.

  • Anissa says:

    Wahhhhhhh, jadi pengen ke Eropa, Mba Susan, apply visa nya berapa lama yah? Thanks 🙂 have nice trip for both of you!

  • tesyasblog says:

    Wow what a nice tips from both of you. Have fun in Europe:)

  • Thamar says:

    aha..this is new recommendation i have read so far and very helpful as i am planning to go to Europe next year for 3months too..thank you,guys..have fun in Europe. btw, that camino thig, are you going to walk, i mean really walk literally by foot for 5weeks?

  • Iin says:

    Asikxxx dgranted visax. Aq juga neh rencana pengen ke eropa buat 3 bulan. Kan sayang tuh kalo cuman bentar sialx udh gak ketemua pacar setahun huhu. Dia yg sponsorin aq mulai dr t4 tinggal living cost slama disana sama flight ticket aq. Sisax aq yg siapin. Nah masalhx aq blm kerja karena tahun 2012 mei aq baru balik indo dr skolah dluar dan baru selesai adaptasi dokterx tinggal ujian buat license. Kira2 aq harus kasih penjelasan gmn yah? Soalx aq pasti harus balik ke indonesia pas dapat ijin praktex. (Aq appointment sama dutch embassy tgl 12 juni, ujian aq 22 juni). Trakhir neh apa aku harus punya bookingan transport kl mau mini euro trip juga kah? Makasihhhh i am waiting for your replay^^

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      kalau sudah ada yg sponsorin tidak usah pake surat keterangan kerja lagi.
      Bookingan transport kalau memang sudah ada lebih baik dicantumkan. Tapi kalau memang belum ada sih tidak harus.

  • Iin says:

    Hey all i got my visa i asked for 90 days stay and they gave it to me. My visa is valid for 105 days.i cant wait to go this august!!! Good luck for everyone!!

  • Leo says:

    Hi mba susan, Aku baru tamat dari salah satu university di singapur. Trus rencananya , bulan september ini pergi ke europe bersama tour yang dibawa oleh sekolah. Tapi sekarang aku uda gag punya student pass di singapura dan mesti buat visa nya di indo. Dan aku juga harus balik ke indo buat lanjutin usaha orang tua. Kira kira dokumen apa yg diperlukan ya mba? Mohon bantuannya yah.

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      Biasanya kalo ikut tour kan diurusin sama agent-nya.
      Eropa negara mana? Mau masuknya lewat negara mana? Tiket Pp dari mana?
      Silahkan browsing sendiri tergantung mau lewat kedutaan mana applynya.
      Saya ga bisa jawab karena tidak ada jawaban yang pasti, semuanya tergantung sikon kamu.
      Daftar dokumen yang dibutuhkan biasanya sudah ada di websitenya masing2. Saya sendiri tidak hafal, maaf.

  • Dwi says:

    Hello saya kerja di Macau.Nikahnya sama orang Portugal. Saya coba apply spouse visa untuk ikut suami. Saya punya Macau id/residen sementara sampai november 2015.Dari konsulat minta akte lahir legalisasi dan translate tapi posisi saya sekarang kerja di Macau,apa sebaiknya Schengen visa apply in home country(Indonesia) mengingat urusannya kok ribet di Macau

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      wah…maaf ya saya kurang ngerti karena saya memang urus spouse visa di indonesia, ga ngerti kalau di negara lain gimana.

  • Yohana says:

    So glad I found your website! This is probably the most honest and helpful tips I’ve read about applying for Visa Schengen. I plan to go backpacking throughout Europe this October. In total 3 months, I want to explore Europe by myself (means I need to give a financial statement), volunteer for a month (through workaway), and then stay with my friend who lives in France and spend Christmas & New Year there. It’s like 3 different types of trip in one! I’m a bit confused because there will be a lot of documents to prepare and I was thinking, perhaps I could just get my friend to write a sponsor letter that says I’ll be staying with him for those 3 months (which isn’t true). That was my plan before I read your post. You specifically said: LYING = DENIED and as a good reader, I’m going to follow your advice. Thank you! 🙂

  • Pamella says:

    Hai ci aku mau Tanya soal asuransi perjalanan. Di at as tertulis kalo asuransi perjalanannya harus masih berlaku srlama minimal 15 Hari setelah pulang Indo. Itu kenapa ya ci? Saya berencana traveling 1 bulan sama. Memang gak boleh ya kalo saya beli asuransi cuma utk 1 bulan? Apa hrs saya lebihin 15 Hari ? Mohon penjelasannya cc. Makasi ya cc n Adam

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      Pamella, saya tidak tahu kenapa. Saya kasih pengalaman saya saja. Kalau mau visa disetujuhi, semua syarat harus dipenuhi. Pastikan Anda cek website ketdutaannya sebelum apply.

  • Beby says:

    Hi mbak Susan.
    Aku juga punya permasalahan yg sama nih dengan mbak, yaitu status tdk kuliah dan tidak bekerja. Perbedaannya hanyalah pacarku yang menjadi sponsor dr Belanda. Untuk surat pernyataan seperti apa yg bisa saya cantumkan bahwa saya pasti tetap akan kembali ke tanah air ya mbak? Dan bolehkah saya di emailkan contoh cover letternya? ke bebyartha86@yahoo.com
    Terimakasih sebelumnya.

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      Dear Beby, untuk isi cover letter silakan ikuti petunjuk yang sudah kami jelaskan di artikel saja ya. Kami tidak bisa kasih contoh cover letternya karena masing2 orang punya situasi yang berbeda dan ada beberapa situasi pribadi yang kami cantumkan di sana. Intinya, tuliskan saja semua yang menurut kamu akan jadi pegangan yang menguatkan untuk membuktikan kalau kamu tidak akan bekerja di sana dan pasti akan pulang ke Indonesia. Good luck!

  • Meisa says:

    Hi mba susan! Aku dan calon suami ku berencana ke Europe untuk honeymoon kita right after our wedding. So obviously kita bakal apply visa sebelum menikah. Aku sedang berkerja dan akan tetap bekerja sehabis menikah. I’m paid less than required bank balance for stay in 10 days (according to Netherlands’ requirement) and I currently don’t have that much of bank balance. Bagaimana ya mensiasatinya? Apakah bisa hanya calon suami ku yang menyertakan bank statement nya? Thanks in advance!

    • Adam says:

      Sertakan bank statement kamu, tapi juga sertakan bank statement calon suami.
      Bikin surat pengantar yang menyatakan bahwa pada saat ke Eropa nanti kalian akan sudah menikah sehingga (calon) suami yang akan mensupport pengeluaran selama di sana.

  • sari says:

    hai Kak Susan, mohon sarannya. Kalau saya mau ke UK dan Schengen Area, dengan tiket pp dari Jakarta-London, sebaiknya saya mengurus visa UK dulu atau Shengen dulu ya kak?? rencana masuk Eropa barat dari London ke Belanda. terima kasih sebelumnya.

  • Gilang says:

    Halo kak mau nanya, kak susan ini visa turis kan ya? Boleh tau apa aja bedanya visa turis dan visa study kak? Soalnya kan sama2 short term visa tuh golongannya. Dan lagi, kira2 untuk visa turis dan visa study. Pemrosesannya berapa lama ya? Soalnya saya pergi di akhir bulan Juni ini hehe. Makasih sebelumnya:D

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      Halo Gilang,
      Visa turis sama visa studi jelas beda. Kalo untuk visa studi kayaknya harus sudah ada surat penerimaan dari sekolah yang dituju. Kalo visa turis kan untuk jalan2 saja. Proses visa tergantung kedutaannya masing2. Kalo kmrn ini spanyol sih sekitar 4 hari kerja juga udah beres, bahkan yang kedua kalinya cuma 2 hari udah lsg dikabari kalo paspornya udah bisa diambil. Good luck!

  • intaniing says:

    Hiii Mbak Susan aku sangat Excited sekali membaca blog ini sangat membantu pengetahuan ku mengenai pengajuan visa schengen
    ada beberapa hal yang mau aku tanyakan
    1. Aku owner franchise Agen pengiriman barang, aku tidak punya surat keterangan pekerjaan. berarti yang aku lampirkan itu adalah CV nya ya?
    2. Keterangan uang di tabungan perhari 34 Euro untuk Venice Italy ya?
    3. Pacarku orang Padua Venice Italy, niatnya aku kalau jadi mengunjungi dia kesana akan tinggal di rumahnya bukan di hotel naaahhh kalau seperti itu berarti aku harus mempunyai surat rekomendasi dari dia ya? sedangkan dia pas ditanya mengenai surat rekomendasi tersebut bingung bagaimana cara membuat surat tersebut.
    Terimakasih mbak susan 🙂

    • Susan Natalia Poskitt says:

      Halo, kami bantu jawab sebisanya ya:
      1. Iya, lampirkan bukti kepemilikan usaha.
      2. Cek lagi di website imi Itali, kami kurang hafal karena masing2 negara kadang beda syarat finansialnya.
      3. Tulis aja surat yang menyatakan kalau dia mengundang kamu dan kalau kamu akan tinggal di rumahnya. Lampirkan bukti identitas dia (paspor/id card).

      Good luck!

  • Hossain ali says:

    Hi saya tinggal di bd i mahu mari indonesia mahu applay visa uk boleh tak

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