Let’s go to Europe! 😉

adly, we can’t just show up at the airport, find our cabin seat, and blast off to our European dream vacation – at least yet. There’s this pesky thing called ‘visa hell’ – that you have to go through first.

Anytime you have to go to Manila for an interview, the difficulty level goes up a notch. However, the Schengen visa doesn’t require a proper interview like you would have to go through to get into the United States. Instead, they’ve outsourced the document intake process to a group in the Manila Ecoplaza building. There are many visa processing units in this complex. For the Schengen visa. Note: it gets forwarded to Singapore for the actual visa.

Swiss Alps, St. Moritz, tobogganing, partying in Amsterdam or Ibiza, shopping in Paris and German Christmas markets, and exploring the nightlife of Berlin – the Schengen visa is surely one of the best visas on the planet you can get as it offers almost endless opportunities.

Note: Ecoplaza building is a little tough to get to. The roads are confusing and if your taxi takes the wrong turn you have to go a LONG way on the highway to get a do-over. This can take more than a half-hour – so come early.

For me this means a long taxi ride to Manila, waiting around for a few hours, and a long taxi back home. Tacking on quite a few pesos to the cost of the visa. You have to make the appointment online and schedule an appointment, weeks or sometimes months in advance. Once you have your appointment, print it out and be sure to be there early. You can lose your appointment if you’re late.

Also note, that no-one else is allowed in the building except the applicant. So, if you bring someone they may well be stuck outside for 2+ hours with no-where to sit.

Luckily, you don’t have to make another trip in person to retrieve your visa and passport. They will courier it back to you if you’ve paid for that service.

• • For my first visa in 2017, I was only granted a 3-month stay.
  • For my second visa in 2018, I asked If it was possible to get a 2yr – and I was given a 1yr visa
  • Finally, in 2019 they handed me a shiny 2yr visa! 😉 (and then Coronavirus hit, so I only had a few months to use it)

Another positive thing about the Schengen visa is it’s FAST. Every time I get my visa back within 7-10 days from the date I turn it into Manila. There’s no rush fee, they’re just super efficient.

Visa documentation I brought

I’m not saying you need ALL of these, check the embassy website for full (and current requirements). As always I always try to come over-prepared. This normally leaves the agent staring at our mounds of paper initially confused… Eventually, they work through them and understand what you’ve done.

• • Shengen Visa Form: normally this has to be typed out, and I let the travel agent handle this, I don’t want a rejection because I missed something (or misunderstood) one question on one this multi-page form.
  • Cover letter: Addressed to the embassy and offering just a few paragraphs (one page) bio of my travel history, goals, and why I want to come to visit their country. I try to keep it light but a good narrative. It’s always great if someone can put a face (or character) with your application. I genuinely want to visit their country to have fun and for positive reasons. I want to get that across.
  • Copy of my passport and all inner pages with visas (B&W)
  • Letter of promise to return to the Philippines (notarized). Again, this is optional, but I always include 3 paragraphs stating I’m a college graduate, have family and roots here, have a life here that I’ll respect all their rules, not work, and not overstay my visa.
  • Copy of my CTO and CTO receipt. CTO class is also not necessary, but I have it and like to show it. The idea is to remove possible reasons for someone to stop you at the airport.
  • Copy of my college degree
  • Current school records (if any)
  • Document showing all my travel history (countries and dates) for the last 10 years
  • 12 photos of myself and my travel partner with recognizable backgrounds (Paris, Amsterdam, St. Moritz, Thailand, Germany, etc) These are all printed as thumbnails on one page w/ the city listed
  • Itinerary of days and countries listed. This one may not seem obvious – but a clear list of countries I will visit and the number of days in each: (Taiwan: 7, Japan: 15, Korea: 9). This is more important when it comes to Schengen visa, but it gives a clear number to the often overworked agents or processors who are looking through your data for the first time. They want to see the total number of days in each country.
  • Certified Bank Record showing current balance and open/close date on bank letterhead
  • Certified Bank Statement showing your balance for the last 3 months.
  • Copies of all hotels with my name and my travel partners listed as a guest
  • Copies of all flights showing both our names
  • Any tickets purchased (like if we’re going to a ballet or opera etc) – again optional
  • Spreadsheet itinerary of the trip – including city, transportation, and a brief description of day by day plans
  • Health Insurance, I believe it’s EUR 30,000. I always get mine from Pacific Cross Travel Safe Insurance online. It’s both inexpensive and comprehensive
  • Consent to travel from my mother – this is unnecessary unless you’re a minor, but I have one anyway. A customs official in MNL once wanted to see the text on my phone that my mother knew I was leaving (shrug)
  • Visa photos – you’ll need to check the size they’re looking for

Documents from my partner

• • Letter of Guarantee and Support (notarized): a 3 paragraph letter describing our relationship, his bio and ties to the Philippines and his promise to support the trip and send me home at any time if there is any problem
  • Letter of his financial capability: a few bullet points outlying 3 or 4 banks accounts with current balances
  • Supporting bank account documents (not certified, just copies of statements or screenshots)
  • Copy of his passport (not visa page)

Notes on travel agents

My first time – I used a travel agent for my Schengen visa. I probably didn’t have to. However, I want someone to look over all my paperwork, let me know if any rules have changed and generally just act as another pair of eyes before I went to my Manila appointment. I just paid him a 500p tip for doing this for me. (He also got my insurance while I waited).

Now, I don’t use agents, I know what is required for the Schengen, and I just double-check nothing new has been added to their list each year. It’s pretty easy and straight-forward. I wish all visas were like Schengen.

Outcome

Typically the visa comes back within 7 to 10 days via courier. The visa price is pretty affordable at USD 60.00 (P 3,800)

A note going through the MNL airport.

While I’ve never been questioned on the destination side, I have been questioned in Philippines airports several times. I always bring a full set of paperwork with me (copies) and then discard them once the trip has begun. It’s a waste of paper and ink – but sometimes it seems the agent will be looking for any loophole to deny your trip – so coming prepared is your best defense. These are just the rules of the game, always keep a smile on your face and be polite but confident. 90% of agents are easy to deal with, but you can always run into someone who’s having a bad day – so come overprepared.

The Schengen visa is one of the best visas to get as it allows you multiple entries to 26 fantastic countries. Good luck with your Schengen visa and have a great trip.