Applying for Schengen Visa in Ireland

Ireland is located centrally which makes travelling within Europe convenient and economical. The only downside for non-EU nationals residing in Ireland is they need a separate tourist visa for mainland Europe- (Schengen Type C visa). Often, the length of visa can depend on number of factors, previous travel history within Europe, number of itineraries shown in visa application, travel insurance length, etc.

This blog will discuss the steps to secure a visa appointment, documents required for application and what to expect.

Where to apply for your Schengen Visa?

Most of the embassies have outsourced their visa applications to third party VFS, BLS, TLS, etc. Each country has its own VFS website so you will have to register your account with your respective country of interest, for example VFS Austria, VFS Netherlands, and so on. Your account from VFS Austria will not work for VFS Netherlands, so you must create a new account for each individual country.

For Spain, visit BLS Spain and for Germany, visit TLS Germany website to create your account to schedule your appointment.

Greece has its own website for processing Schengen visa- ΠροξενικόΓραφείο Δουβλίνου - Consular Section Dublin (mfa.gr)

Czech Republic embassy offers appointment via email- visa_dublin@mzv.cz

Tips for booking Appointment:

Usually, all embassies receive high volumes of visa applications, especially in summertime and around Christmas. Most of the embassies will show that all slots are booked or no slots available. They key here is to create accounts for different Schengen countries and to keep checking their appointments in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings, at least 2 or 3 times a day for 3-4 days. In less than a week, you will be able to book your appointment successfully if you follow this approach.

The key question you might ask is why to create accounts in different embassies when you are planning to visit a specific country. The answer to that is very simple, whole of European Union gives you a common visa which allows you to visit any country within the Schengen Zone irrespective of which embassy has issued it. For example, you are planning to visit Germany, but you are not able to secure a visa appointment with German embassy, however you find an appointment with Austrian embassy, you can still get your visa through Austrian embassy and still visit Germany as your first place of destination. If you get multiple entry visa, it makes it even easier and no questions whatsoever as you can visit Austria later depending on the length of your visa. However, if you are planning to visit Germany and get a single-entry visa from Austria, you can still visit Germany as planned but you might face questions when you apply for another tourist visa from Austria itself. So, be mindful if you use this makeshift solution of getting a quicker visa appointment from embassy other than the place of your desire visit, you should either go to that country within your visa or avoid applying for visa in future. It doesn’t stop you from applying visa there, but you might have questions from the consulate as to why you got visa previously from Austria and never went there. You can provide clarification, for example, change of plans and this should be enough.

Documents Required for Schengen Visa Application:

1) Cover Letter- Write a cover letter to the embassy consulate you have your visa appointment with, mention your intention for travel, whether its tourism, participation in sporting event, meeting friends, etc. This letter should include the tentative travel dates you are planning for your visit, and the places you are likely to see during your visit.

2) Passport- Photocopy of front and last page.

3) IRP- Photocopy of your Irish Residence Permit card.

4) Bank Statements- Last 3 months.

5) Payslips- Recent 3 payslips if paid monthly or last 6 payslips if paid weekly/fortnightly.

6) Offer Letter- Your employment contract if you are working or your college admission letter if you are a student and not employed.

7) Travel Insurance- I would advise to buy AAInsurance as it is around 20€ for 1 year.

8) Return Flight Tickets- I would advise to book dummy tickets, it costs around 5€ per return ticket, contact me for further details on where to book them.

9) Proof of Accommodation- My advise would be to book refundable bookings on booking.com

10) Visa Application- Complete the visa application form. This form is available on each embassy’s website. Fill it, print it out, feel free to edit anything after printing, nobody stops from that.


Common Questions? 

1)     How long will I get the visa for?

As mentioned earlier, there is no set rule for this. It depends on each individual embassy, and a variety of other factors like previous travel history within Europe, number of itineraries shown in visa application, travel insurance length, etc.

 

2)     Will I get multiple entry?

If you show more than 2 trips within 2 months or 3 trips within 4 months duration, there are high chances that you will get multiple entry. Make sure the highest length of your stay shown is in the country where you are applying your visa from.

 

3)     How much does it cost?

Schengen visa fee is 80€ and VFS or any other third-party charges somewhere between 20-30€ for their services.

 

4)     How much bank balance I need to show?

A lot of people have misconception that you need to have at least 2000-3000€, ignore that. As a general rule, you need to have around 80€ a day in your bank. The balance of around 500€ should be enough along with your payslips.

 

5)     IRP expiry date coming close, am I ok to apply?

Unfortunately, you need to have minimum 3 months of validity on your IRP to apply for Schengen visa, otherwise your application will not be accepted. This stands true for all Schengen embassies with no exception.

 

6)     Which country gives the visa for longest duration?

Each embassy can be different; however, Spain and Netherlands are most popular destinations for getting 6 months or longer duration visas. So, try to book your appointment through Spain or Netherlands.

 

7)     When can I cancel my refundable bookings?

Avoid cancelling any bookings until your visa is approved. Less likely, but sometimes, some embassies may verify your bookings and if you have cancelled them straight away after downloading your itinerary, it may lead to visa rejection. So, hold on until the visa is approved.

 

8)     Where to pay the visa fee?

VFS usually charge 20-30€ when the appointment is booked, and visa fee of 80€ can be paid to VFS/BLS/TLS directly on the date of appointment.

 

*If you have any questions or doubts about your visa application process, please feel free to contact me via email at: eiresettlers@gmail.com or drop a comment.

 

**If you would like me to cover any other topics or points, drop a comment and il try to accommodate such requests or suggestions.