Okay depending on where you want to go in Europe, you would need a visa ofcourse. Assuming you are Indian. I'd be specific here.
You need to apply for the Schengen visa to travel around Europe. This visa is a common visa for the EU, which covers 21 european countries. Switzerland was recently added to the Schengen visa contries. Hurrey for that.
However, UK unfortunately is not a part of this. You would need a seperate UK visa if you want to go to London. I recommend you check the latest list of the schengen countries.
However, UK unfortunately is not a part of this. You would need a seperate UK visa if you want to go to London. I recommend you check the latest list of the schengen countries.
In India you could apply for the Schengen Visa at the VFS offices. They have two centres : Delhi and Mumbai. I applied at the Delhi centre in Nehru Place for the Swiss embassy. Swiss was less crowded. The french and German counters are mostly overcrowded.
Visit the VFS website and you will get all the info you need. http://www.vfs-ch-in.com/
You can do it yourself, it takes about 5 days.
How to arrange the documents
The only documents i was confused about were the air tickets and the travel insurance.
The travel insurance can be purchased online. I bought a 20 day travel insurance which covered EVERYTHING for about a 1000 rupees.
The air tickets were tricky for two reasons : one, you might not be sure when exactly you will travel and second, what if you don't get the visa, you would have to pay the cancellation charges. So you could get dummy tickets. You can get dummy tickets from a travel agent. What they do is, they book and immediately cancel your ticket and give you a print. You could also book tickets online and print the ticket before you pay for it.
I was not sure about the exact dates, so i got dummy tickets for the maximum range of my travel. I wanted to travel for 15 days, but my tickets were for 20 days and so was my travel insurance. The visa i got was for 20 days. Please make sure that your travel insurance starts the day you travel, your application will not be accepted if you are not covered for even a single day.
CHECK AND CROSS CHECK YOUR DOCUMENTS AGAINST THE LIST or be sure to visit the VFS again as they will not accept incomplete applications.
Visa Interview
If its your first Schengen you will be called for an interview at the embassy. If not, you are lucky. Its a 5 min interview and mostly they just very your details in the form, so please know your form.
5 days and you will have your travel visa :)
PS: For UK visa too you will have to visit the VFS UK center.
Visit the VFS website and you will get all the info you need. http://www.vfs-ch-in.com/
You can do it yourself, it takes about 5 days.
How to arrange the documents
The only documents i was confused about were the air tickets and the travel insurance.
The travel insurance can be purchased online. I bought a 20 day travel insurance which covered EVERYTHING for about a 1000 rupees.
The air tickets were tricky for two reasons : one, you might not be sure when exactly you will travel and second, what if you don't get the visa, you would have to pay the cancellation charges. So you could get dummy tickets. You can get dummy tickets from a travel agent. What they do is, they book and immediately cancel your ticket and give you a print. You could also book tickets online and print the ticket before you pay for it.
I was not sure about the exact dates, so i got dummy tickets for the maximum range of my travel. I wanted to travel for 15 days, but my tickets were for 20 days and so was my travel insurance. The visa i got was for 20 days. Please make sure that your travel insurance starts the day you travel, your application will not be accepted if you are not covered for even a single day.
CHECK AND CROSS CHECK YOUR DOCUMENTS AGAINST THE LIST or be sure to visit the VFS again as they will not accept incomplete applications.
Visa Interview
If its your first Schengen you will be called for an interview at the embassy. If not, you are lucky. Its a 5 min interview and mostly they just very your details in the form, so please know your form.
5 days and you will have your travel visa :)
PS: For UK visa too you will have to visit the VFS UK center.
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