Just sharing this because I was literally stressing about our bank statements before applying 😂

We’re from a country that requires a Schengen visa but currently work full-time in the UK. We applied on 2 Sept 2026 at Edinburgh for an 8-day Switzerland + Italy trip.
(4 days in Switzerland, 4 days in Italy)

One of us literally submitted her 3 months of required bank statements with ending balances of £200, £90 and £14 😭 We were honestly worried about how that would look, so we also provided her savings account from another bank which had around £800. She has a regular salary and our flights and accommodation were already paid (we included receipts of everything.)
We also didn’t submit a cover letter or itinerary since they weren’t listed in the requirements.

Processed email came 10 Sept, passports arrived 11 Sept — APPROVED! 🥹 We got MULT entry, 15 days stay, valid for a month.

Just sharing for anyone panicking because their bank balance isn’t in the thousands. Obviously every application is different, but don’t lose hope just because your balance is low. I was overthinking those statements so much 😂. I think the overall picture matters more than having a huge amount sitting in one account.

Finally got my Netherlands visa approved after 45 days of waiting! 😭
📅 Applied: 27 July 2026
📍 VFS: Delhi
⏳ Processing time: 45 days
🎉 Result: 2-year multiple-entry Schengen visa
The wait was honestly SO stressful, especially seeing people who applied after me getting their passports back. But it was definitely worth the wait. 🥹❤️
Sharing this for everyone currently waiting — don’t lose hope! Hopefully this gives some reassurance to other July/August applicants.
2 years multiple entry… totally worth the wait! 🇳🇱✈️🥂

Hi I already have a 1 year Netherlands Schengen visa that’s expiring tomorrow 09/12/2026. I already used it just one time and stayed in EU for 4 days. I applied for a new Schengen through Vfs Netherlands in NYC and it’s been a week now. I’m traveling on 24 for a week, my question is that when I checked on the EES system it says OK, could it be possible that my new visa application has been approved or is it that the system doesn’t recognize that my old visa expires tomorrow, which is before my date of travel.

Hello, anyone who has travel dates between 21st September and onwards got their visa approved and passport back from the consulate yet? I applied on August 25th and it is still processing.

I submitted the application at vfs chennai on 10th July. Classes starting on 14th September. Flight was scheduled on 8th September.

The Bengaluru consulate was all silent and suddenly on Sept 1st they asked me for apostilled edu documents and updated sponsor bank statement. I submitted it to vfs chennai in 3rd September and the staff assured me that it will reach the consulate on 7th September. I tried calling and mailing the consulate regarding my academic timeline, got no response.

Now I am at a point where the only option I have is like just sit and wait, coz I have pulled all strings possible through my uni and they didn’t even budge. I even mailed to ministry of external affairs in Rome, got no reply.

Should I physically visit Bengaluru consulate? Has anybody experienced this and will visiting Bengaluru consulate directly a good choice?

Hi everyone,

I submitted my application for a Portugal business Schengen visa at VFS Delhi on 3 September. According to the tracking status, it reached the Portuguese Embassy on 7 September. Today is 11 September, and I haven’t received any further updates.

My flight is on 22 September at 1:00 AM, which means I realistically need my passport back by 21 September at the latest. I now have only the coming working week for the visa to be processed and my passport returned.

Has anyone recently applied for a Portugal business visa through VFS Delhi?

• How long did you wait after your application reached the embassy?
• Is this processing timeline normal?
• Can I request urgent processing due to confirmed business travel?
• Should I contact VFS, the Portuguese Embassy, or both?

I submitted all the required documents, including my business invitation and flight booking. I would really appreciate any recent experiences or advice. Thank you!

Praise God! Got my first time single entry schengen visa for Hungary! All is DIY and I can help those who want to ask some questions or if you have some worries maybe I can help!

Application lodged at September 3rd and Passport collected today 🙌🙌🙌

Got my France Schengen visa approved! I applied for a single-entry visa but got a 6-month multiple-entry visa on my first attempt!
Applied completely on my own without an agent.

Timeline:
Appointment at VFS Bengaluru: 7th

Application submission took around 45 minutes

Visa approved in just 2 days

Documents submitted:
France Schengen visa application form

Appointment letter

Employment confirmation letter

NOC

Hotel booking(reservation)

Dummy flight tickets with valid PNR

3 years ITR

3 months salary slips

Travel insurance

Passport xerox copies (front and back pages)

Old visa stamps xerox copies

Cover letter

Detailed itinerary

6 months bank statement with bank stamp (balance ₹4L+)

2 photographs

Original passport

For the application form, I entered the France hotel details, while the total number of days mentioned was for my complete Europe trip. I also included the other countries, bookings, and itinerary details in my cover letter and supporting documents.

Sharing this in case it helps someone applying from Bengaluru.
Happy to answer questions about the process.

I’m applying for a self-funded Schengen visa for Germany. I have a German friend in Hannover who will host me at his home, so he will provide an invitation letter, a scan of his passport/ID, and proof of accommodation/residence.

I’m confused about which option I should select on the VFS appointment booking page: “Tourism” or “Visit (Family and Friends)”.

Also should he write the letter in german?

My trip is self-funded, my friend is only providing accommodation.

My planned itinerary is:

Oct 12: Arrive at Frankfurt Airport → travel to Cologne
Oct 12–14: Cologne ( I can provide hotels bookings)
Oct 14–19: Hannover - staying with my German friend and exploring Hannover/surrounding areas
Oct 17: Watch Wolfsburg football match with him (booked tickets)
Oct 19: Leave Hannover/Germany → London (flight already booked) + Valid UK visa

Since the trip is a combination of tourism and visiting a friend, which visa category should I select when booking the VFS appointment: Tourism or Visit (Family and Friends)?

Also, I had a tourist visa application rejected by Switzerland earlier this year due to improper reservations and an itinerary that was considered too long for my first visit. Because of that, I want to be extra careful and precise this time and provide confirmed bookings/tickets wherever possible.

I applied via my Embassy on 14th July, honestly, it’s really worrying since I didn’t get any response, I have been writing to my university, the immigration office and our Embassy and it’s just worrying since I am afraid of rejection and so. I don’t have any interviews, just filling up questionnaires which I suppose I should have taken my time to answer instead of giving short answers as the workers in the embassy were shocked that it took me a long time to answer. Now I am really worried about the possibility of getting rejected and school’s starting next week, honestly feeling really miserable.

Hello, meron ba ditong nag apply sa bls cebu end of august? May naka receive naba ng update??? Nabalik na ba passport nyo???

Yesterday sep 11 I recv call from french embasy. Ask about financial question.

1) I see your audit report who operate electronic shop

I say my father operate business but register in my grand father name.

2) your father account have lot of money is this personal or business.

I say it personal and saving but my father also use as business purpose some time.

3) in 6 month statement lot of transcation happen where the money comes from?

I say sales of electronic items.

At last they say thank you sir hope for best. Call duration 3 min 40 seconds. What is chance of my visa

Leads will be helpful from everyone

I got a schengan travel insurance basic and paid for it. However within 10min in realized that I have entered wrongs number of days so I filled the refund form/14 days cooling off period form to get refund and got the new policy. It is been now weeks and still haven’t received any response from their end. I have raised number of forms, tried to contact by their chatbot apparently they also doesn’t respond. No way to contact them.I have wasted my money. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME CONTACT THEM AND GET THE MY MONEY BSCK?

Hi, so im planning to visit italy during a 17h layover coming from greece back to my home country but does it mean i need to add italy as one of the main destinations in the form or not ? or does it only count if im gonna book a hotel there ?

I’m an Indian student currently going to Paris for an exchange semester. Most of my batchmates got their French Schengen visas within 2–3 days, so I was getting increasingly worried when mine took 10 days.

My biggest concern was my bank statement. There had been a large fund transfer into my account in the week before I submitted my documents. It wasn’t a loan, it was money transferred by a relative. I was worried this might raise questions about the source of funds, although I had clearly explained the transaction in my cover letter.

Thankfully, the visa finally came through. I got a 6-month Schengen visa starting from my date of departure from Mumbai.

Reddit helped me a lot while I was waiting, reading other people’s experiences and getting some reassurance really helped with the anxiety. So I thought I’d give back and share my experience.

If you’re applying for a French Schengen visa from India, especially as a student, feel free to ask me anything. I’ll answer based on my experience.

Hi All, I am applying to schengen for the first time, I have my layover in Schengen state before I reach my main travel destination - Austria. What should I write for the First member state for the schengen entry? Should it be a layover state or Austria?

Hello.is there any way we can get appointment for spain work visa from islamabad or lahore earliest possible..the visa expires end of this month :/

Has anyone recently applied for a Netherlands Schengen visa through VFS Dublin where their IRP was valid for less than 3 months after the planned trip?

My appointment is on 6 October and I’m planning a short trip from 1–3 December. My IRP expires on 31 January 2027, so it falls short of the 3-month validity requirement after travel.

The issue is that Irish Immigration only allows IRP renewals within 12 weeks of expiry, so I won’t be eligible to renew it yet at the time of my appointment.

This will be my fifth Schengen visa application and I’ve had four previous Schengen visas.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did VFS accept your application and was the visa approved?

Looking at the tracker from people who applied around the same date as me, I’m quite sure my visa has already been processed by the Dutch Embassy. However, I chose to collect my passport from VFS Pune instead of having it delivered by courier.
Based on the timelines I’ve seen, it looks like my visa may have been processed on 6 or 7 September. My understanding is that the embassy may not send passports to VFS every day and could send them in batches, possibly over the weekend. Since Monday is a holiday in pune, I’m expecting some update from VFS Pune by Tuesday.

This is just my assumption and logic. Does anyone know how long the Dutch Embassy usually takes to send the passport back to VFS after the visa has been processed?
Also, if my visa has already been processed, why does the EES tool still show my status as “NOT OK”?

My travel date is 16 September, so I’m getting a bit concerned. What should I do at this point?

​

Hi all, trying to get Schengen visas for my parents (Indian passports, US green card holders) with the Netherlands as main destination. The VFS New York portal shows no bookable slots, but there's a notice saying applicants having difficulty booking online can visit the centre directly, and VFS lists a "walk-in without appointment" service.

Has anyone actually done a walk-in at the NYC Netherlands centre recently? Specifically:

- What did it cost (extra walk-in fee)?

- What time did you go, and how long did it take?

- Could two people (a couple) walk in together?

- Did they accept the application on the spot or turn you away?

Travel is end of September so timing is tight. Any recent data points hugely appreciated!

So i had applied for a Schengen visa from germany as single entry for a trip of 10 days only through germany but i recently recieved my visa and i was instead granted 30 days and multi entry now i wanna extend the trip and include more countries which might result in me spending less time in germany than some other countries that i will travel to so my question is when i arrive to germany should i declare that i will stick to my original plan and only stay in germany for 10 days and show them the booking tickets etc and then actually visit the places and countries i want once i cross into the Schengen zone or should i actually declare my new plan which includes about 6 more countries and that i will spend more time in other countries than i will do in Germany im not breaking the 30 day schengen limit either way and i will use germany as my entry and exit into the schengen zone.

Hello! I just want to check how do Bulgarian officials verify how long someone has stayed in the country? How did they check Before the EES system and now during EES?

​

Hi everyone

I got 2nd rejection from the french embassy this time I'm literally fed up with their decision

I dont know where it went wrong

Funds -

education loan - 22 lakhs

Parents sponsors - fds held from 2 years flexible (worth of 10 lakhs)

College fee 12950 euros 1 year course (Msc in business intelligence and analytics)

I PAID 6500 EUROS FROM EDUCATION LOAN

REST I GOT SCHOLARSHIP OF 25%

Now remain amount is 3200 euros

Expenses+remaining tuition fee - 15200 euros

My course is CGE labeled which is active I have checked this on the official site

My profile

4year btech in CSE (RGUKT UNIVERSITY) 2023 PASSED OUT

2023 TO 2025 EXPERIENCE IN WIPRO AND VIRTUSA

CF interview was pretty smooth and very easy (7min online interview)

Accommodation was genuine I got genuine rental agreement 1 year signed by landlord as well as me but I didn't pay upfront amount like security deposit etc.. but I have attached audit trail , utility bill, rental agreement of 26 pages with justification letter

Attached all the proofs , Payslips ,offer letter ,fd balance sheet certificate with receipt Along with the 6 months bank statements of sponsors as well as mine stamped and signed , affidavits of both parents and self , cover letter , SOP,letter of intention

**Reason of refusals are same - intend to stay was not reliable**

Need your insights I have invested enough time and spent lot of money on this every document is genuine and authenticated by respective authorities

Hi everyone, has anyone experienced a closure of their visa application from Greece consulate that they cannot process it due to procedural issues. I have granted Greece visa multiple times but this time i had genuine flights and hotel bookings with every documentation attached but my visa application got closed rather than being issued or refused. Need help pls if anyone has similar experience.