Visa Application for a South African Citizen traveling to a Schengen Country
Which embassy do you need to apply at?
It will either be the country that you enter first or the country you stay longest at. If your longest destination is Madrid and Barcelona, with 5 days in total in Spain; and you enter France for 1.5 days then another for 1.5 days; – you apply at the Spanish Embassy.
How much does a visa cost?
R756 currently, but obviously prices can change.
What documentation do you need to submit?
Get the Schengen Visa Application form for Spain.
Proof of financial means. Copy of passport.
Copy of flight and accommodation details.
Now make a second copy of everything.
How long before the time can you apply for a visa?
You do need to get your flight tickets etc first – that happens max 6 weeks before flying.
After that, go for it! How long before you get your visa after submitting your application? Usually 5 days.
A few days ago I went to the Spanish Embassy in Pretoria to apply for my visa. I was really surprised at the speed at which they processed applications – and how easy it was. I was dreading getting there and having to fall in a long queue – but fortunately there was only a 5 minute wait!
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my husband and i r newbies to travel! we r planning to go to Spain and then on to North Cyprus. probably spend equal time in each country. what do we do about visa? if we apply for a Schengen would it b possible for us to go to France, or any other country for that matter, on the spur of the moment from Spain?
Hi Lesley! Thanks for getting in touch. The visa for Spain will definitely be a Schengen Visa, ask for a multiple entry visa on your application form and you’ll be allowed to travel to France or any other Schengen country while over there. Generally though, you have to have all your accommodation, transport, flights, forex and insurance paid for before applying for your visa. This means you’re going to have to tell the consulate where you’ll be when, so you can’t simply jet off somewhere on the spur of the moment unfortunately. Once you’re over in Spain, you cannot apply for any other visas from there, you have to apply in a country where you have residency/employment.
Northern Cyprus will be a difficult one. To be honest, in all my years working as a travel agent I’ve never had anyone ask to go there. Northern Cyprus is also known by some as “Turkish Occupied Cyprus” relating to when the country was occupied by Turkey and a new state was set up – consequently this country is not recognised by anyone except Turkey. Also, it’s airport is not recognised by IATA, meaning you need to fly to Turkey first and then on to Ercan airport in Lefkoşa (Nicosia). You apparently can cross the border from Cyprus proper if you have accommodation/tour booked through a North Cyprus tour operator – though from what I have read there are accounts of people who are non-EU citizens being arrested upon re-entry into Cyprus proper by the border police. From what I can tell, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to go to Northern Cyprus. Rather go to Cyprus proper and find out about crossing for the day when you are there. You won’t need a visa for Cyrpus IF you have come from a Schengen country already on the same trip, see: http://www.visaexpress.co.za/docs/Cyprus/Cyprus%20Schengen%20Visa%20rules%20as%20at%20Nov%202011.pdf .
Hope this all helps!
I am applying for a Schengen Visa through the Spanish Visa Application Centre in Cape Town. I want to travel to the Netherlands for two days during my stay. Is it possible to just state that I will be in the Netherlands for two days sometime during my stay, or will I need to book flights and accommodation for that trip, binding me to fixed dates which I cannot change? Alternatively, is it possible to just apply for a multiple entry visa and not state where I will be going and when?
Thanks
Hi Laura. The embassy will be wanting to know where you will be when. If you’re applying for a visa and not using an invitation letter from a friend of relative they would want to see confirmed accommodation for the duration of your trip. If you’ve got accommodation booked in the Netherlands, they’ll also want to see how you’re getting there.
What you could do if book accommodation for the duration of your trip to apply for your multiple-entry visa. Once you have the visa, cancel the accommodation you don’t need and rebook when you’re ready. Many of the hotel companies will give a refund if you cancel long enough in advance (usually more than 2 weeks).
You should definitely apply for the multiple-entry visa when you apply – most of the embassies give this as a standard in any case.
Hope this helps.
I have to travel to Barcelona for business in April. I am self employed. What proof of funding do they require?
Hi Robyn,
thanks for getting in touch.
You’ll need to comply with the general requirements plus the below:
> Official signed invitation letter from the Host Company or Authority in Spain, stating purpose, dates and relation with the invited company.
> Official signed business letter from your Company confirming the nature of the trip, dates, relation with the Spanish company or authority and applicant’s employments status in the company.
> If you are Self-employed please submit official documents confirming your business (commercial licence and latest VAT Certificate)
> Proof of registration with Organiser of Conference or Fair, if the purpose of the trip is to attend one.
Your proof of funds will be as normal, it’s just these documents you’ll need if going on business. Hope this helps!
Hi, im in the uk a the moment. Have a SA passport and UK visitors visa and would like to take a day trip to France. Will i be able to get a Schengen visa. Please help
Hi Louisa, I’m afraid if you only have a visitor’s visa, the French consulate will likely insist you return to SA to apply for the visa. If you’d like to take a shot at getting a different answer out of them, check out their details on their site: http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Visa-Department
I am a resident of the U.K. still holding South African Passport. How can I get a Schengen visa? Can I do appointment by internet? I would be touring Spain in June and Italy in July.
What is the right time to submit the application for a visa?
Hi Busisiwe, thanks for getting in touch. If you are a resident of the UK, you can apply for your visa through the consulate in London. You can apply no more than 3 months in advance and I would suggest applying no less than 1 month in advance. Reach the Italian Consulate here: http://www.amblondra.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Londra and the Spanish Consulate here: http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/Londres/en/home/Paginas/home_cglondres.aspx . Maybe ask, since you’re going 2 Europe twice in 2 months, if they can’t make your visa a multiple-entry valid for 3 months – they may insist you have both trips booked and paid for first though. But, it may be worth asking in any case.
My tickets out of SA are to London and return. We are having flight tickest purchased in UK for our visit to Spain (timeshare ) for a week and then back to London and then taking the Eurostar to Paris for 3 days. can i use my return ticket to london when applying for a visa or must the ticket from london be sent and used. also will the visa cover the dates for the Paris trip.
Hi John! The UK visa generally covers you for travel to the UK over a 6 month period from when the visa is issued, you’re not allowed to stay longer than 3 months during the 6 month period from my understanding. At the moment the UK visa agency is not asking for proof of accommodation when apply for a visa, so your return ticket from SA to London and back should be sufficient – you won’t need the Eurostar etc booked before hand. You will need to show confirmed bookings into and out of Europe when applying for your European visa (amongst other requirements). Just to clarify there are two visas you need, one for Europe and one for the UK.
Hi Nick Paul,
I am a South African passport holder hoping to do a short 6 week course in Spain and then travel up to Germany and Switzerland and across to Turkey a month later, Then to fly back to SA from Spain. Do i need to apply for a visitors visa or a study permit? I wouldnt have any set accommodation in Germany or Switzerland but hoping to stay at backpackers during my trips. Is this impossible to do? or would it be more simple for me to fly to and from Switzerland first and apply for my visa through the Swiss consulate?
Hi Mitch, if you’re going to be studying in Europe, all the info I have says you’ll need to apply for a study permit in Europe before being allowed in. I’m not 100% sure of what the study permit allows you to do or if it allows you to stay on beyond the duration of your course – they may give you an extension. If you’re going to be travelling through Europe, you generally need to show how you’re getting around (prepaid) and show where you’re staying (also prepaid) for the duration of your trip. Unfortunately the days of off the cuff, spur of the moment trips to Europe are gone – too many South Africans have been caught working illegally or trying to live illegally in Europe. This means applying through the Swiss consulate won’t help you any more than applying through the Spanish consulate. I would however advise you to deal with an experienced visa agency like http://www.visaexpress.co.za who can advise better on your sort of trip.
Hi Nick Paul, my sister and I will be travelling to Europe and the UK for 3months. We are flying to Italy and then returning to South Africa via London. We will be visiting several countries while in Europe and the UK, all of which require a schengen visa or UK visa. We are doing our own sort of contiki tour. Will I have to submit accomodation for all the countries we will be visiting, or can we just give details for three countries accomodation, say Italy, Spain and UK? And transport we will be getting a eurail 3month pass, would this be information the consulate would need to know. Also would we go to the italian embassy to apply for the Schengen visa, we will be there for the longest time, there and France?Could you please advise.Thanks so much.
Hi Taryn, wow! Sounds like quite the trip you’ve got planned. The UK visa is a little easier than the Schengen visa in terms of requirements, but from what you’ve said above, it seems you’re confident with that one. For the Schengen Visa, if you’re going to be in Italy the longest, you’ll need to apply through http://www.myeuropevisa.com and select Italy on that site.
Your Eurail pass should be sufficient for proof of transport, just remember you’ll likely need to show how and when you’ll be entering and exiting Europe.
Regarding accommodation, if you’re not staying with friends/family in Italy, it’s very likely the consulate will want to see accommodation for the duration of your trip to the Schengen area. What you can do is pre-purchase accommodation in 2 or 3 countries for the purposes of your visa, you can always cancel what you don’t need and book new accommodation for what you do need, your visa will be a multiple entry visa, so it shouldn’t matter that that’s a country you didn’t have on your application (so long as it’s a Schengen Country).
If you’re going for such a long time (the maximum is 90 days in the Schengen Area by the way) you’re going to have to show proof of funds for the duration of your stay, that will be a minimum of R400 per person per day for the duration of your trip (that’s R24,000 each for a 2 month trip).
The length of stay for your visa is quite unusual so I would suggest double-checking everything with the call centre number listed at http://www.myeuropevisa.com just to make sure you stand the best chance of getting the visa first time.
Best of luck and enjoy the trip!
Hi Paul
What is the minimun money required to have available for a trip to Austria/Switzerland?
Or do I have to enquire about this when actually going for my visa?
Hi Sumein, thanks for getting in touch. Generally for Europe, with prepaid accommodation, you’ll need a minimum of about R400 – preferably more – per day for the duration of your stay.
Hi Paul
My girlfriend and i are planning a trip to france but we have not booked any flights or accommodation, We do however have a letter from a family member staying in Germany. Should we apply for Germany and then just catch a train to France or would it be okay to apply for France. However in France we do not have any set plans to show them. I have heard of just making reservations on planes until the visa gets accepted so they can see you will be leaving the country.
Hi Matthew, if you’re applying using the letter from a family member, your trip has to show that you’re flying to Germany. So I would book a ticket into and out of Germany to minimise the amount of paperwork you’ll need. Just ensure you apply for a multiple entry visa so that you’re allowed out of and back into Germany again. If they ask (they shouldn’t) just say that you may take a day trip to a neighbouring country once there.
You can easily catch the train to France once you’re in Germany. I did a similar trip a few years back, applying with an invitation letter to Germany, I also caught the train to the Netherlands for a few days and it was no trouble at all.
- Nick
Hi Nick…Im traveling in and out of europe , spending mainly in Spain when im going to be there and need to get a visa to be able to get in and out of Europe for the the year but wont need more then 90 days but will need multiple entries and also it needs to cover the 9 month period ill be in and out for..any suggestions on what i can do to get a visa for a year with 90 days and multi entry..?
Hi Jay, interesting that you ask that today. A colleague of mine who is going to Italy in a couple of weeks and then is doing a whole Europe trip later in the year just applied for a visa and asked if he could have a visa valid for the rest of the year. What he did is put in a letter of motivation with his application. This letter explained that he has a number of trips planned between this date and that date and where he was intending to go on the other trips and when abouts those would be. He urged them to consider his request for a longer stay visa. It is up to the consulate as to whether they will grant this or not, but it’s worth a try.