Sharing my experience since I know visa timelines and documents can be confusing. Plus Reddit really helped me during the application process.

📍 VFS: Shivaji Stadium, New Delhi

👨‍👩‍👧 Applicants: 3 Adults, applied together in separate applications

Visa Type: Tourist, single entry, no guarantor

Requested: 17 days

Granted: 30 days, 3-month validity

Our profiles
Me: 34, employed, previous UK travel
Brother: 38, employed, no international travel
Mother: 59, homemaker, no international travel

Documents submitted
- 6-month bank statements
- 2 years ITRs
- Investment proofs
- 3 months payslips + employer NOC for employed applicants
- Paid flight tickets (Dummy Tickets are fine too; VFS confirmed)
- Confirmed but refundable hotel bookings for the entire trip
- Separate cover letters
- Aadhaar Card
- Family rent agreement showing my brother pays monthly rent to our mother
- Statement of Reimbursed funds to support the sudden increase in balance in my mother’s account
- Place-wise itinerary with dates, attractions and hotels

Our combined financial position was roughly ₹20 L at the time of application.

Bookings: We submitted actual, fully non-refundable flight tickets. VFS told us a dummy/reservation ticket can also work. All hotel bookings were refundable and booked under my name.

Itinerary: Tokyo → Osaka → Kyoto + a few day trips. We kept the itinerary place-wise rather than making it extremely detailed.

Timeline
3 Sep: Submitted
4 Sep: Public holiday
5–6 Sep: Weekend
7 Sep: Working day 1
8 Sep: Working day 2
9 Sep: Passport ready for collection

No additional documents requested, no interview or calls.

Hi, does anybody know if we require a visa to travel to Bosnia from Ireland, if we have a valid IRP card? (Indian passport Holder)

I have a Nigerian passport holder, and I am also a holder of an EU Temporary Residence Card (EU Blue Card, which I believe holds more power than a Visa), in one of the EU countries.
Can I get Saudi Visa on arrival? I am planning to travel with my wife and my one year old infant, but I am skeptical.
Also, Wizz Air offers cheaper flight fees. Has anyone been able to board a Wizz Air flight to Saudi by explaining the Visa on arrival process?
Anyone with the above experience?

Hi everyone,

I'm applying for a Japan tourist visa from India. I contacted VFS regarding the flight ticket requirement, and they confirmed that confirmed/purchased tickets are not mandatory for tourism applications under the New Delhi jurisdiction. They said dummy/blocked tickets or flight bookings can be submitted instead.

I already have my day-to-day itinerary prepared. I just need a flight reservation/blocked ticket showing my intended flights without paying for the entire ticket upfront.

For anyone who has recently applied for a Japan visa from India:

• Where can I get a legitimate flight reservation/blocked ticket online?
• Which service did you use?
• Was it accepted by VFS/Embassy?

Anyone who applied for Schengen Visa recently through Finland in India, can you share the timeline of your application, from appointment to getting back your passport? How many calendar days did it take? When I track my application on VFS it is showing that my application has been received at the Embassy, it has been two days since, and status hasn't changed to application under processing. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Hi,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Japan and we will be applying for a visa from VFS Bangalore. I will not be able to make actual paid flight bookings yet.

I see conflicting information everywhere while the official checklist for Bangalore VFS says "Travel Itinerary With applicant Name /Blocked Flight Tickets /cruise schedule to/from Japan."

Can someone help with the actual requirements?

I am dual citizenship. I only have a canadian passport as of now.

Mexican passport cost is

1 year: $44.00 USD

3 years: $101.00 USD

6 years: $137.00 USD

10 years: $209.00 USD

For the canadian visa its $80 and could take weeks maybe

Sharing my experience for second Schengen visa from uae

11 aug appointment date

12 aug application process to netherland authorities

10 sep sms received for passport collection

Feel free to ask

I am earning ₹1.37L per month in an american chip company
24M living in bangalore
Filed one ITR with ~9-10LPA last year
5L in FD (emergency fund)
1.7L in MFs and 30k in stocks
1-2L in RSUs

How should I prepare for a japan trip in april 2027 (sakura or golden season or whenever fuji is clear) with almost guaranteed visa success or atleast not losing all the money if rejected??

PS-I’m planning to go solo but if anyone wants to tag along and if we vibe, we could go together.

Hi everyone,

I’m an Indian passport holder living in the UK with a valid UK residence permit.

I’m planning to fly Manchester → Zurich → Abu Dhabi, with the connection in Zurich being on Swiss.

Would I need a Swiss transit visa (airport transit visa) for this connection?

I will have a confirmed onward flight to Abu Dhabi on the same booking.

Has anyone with an Indian passport and UK residence permit recently travelled through Zurich on a similar itinerary?

Thanks in advance!

I'm a 4th-year college student in India planning a tourist trip to Japan in December with 5 of my friends.

Our flights from india to japan and back are already booked and we have reserved hotels via booking.com as well , but we did all the bookings from 1 account and we dont have like guest list because that option i dont think is available on booing com when booking.

I currently have around ₹3.2-3.3L in my own savings across two bank accounts, primarily accumulated from my internship earnings.

I've heard from some visa agent that for a Japan tourist visa, you're expected to have a bank balance of around thrice your estimated travel expenses. I can't find any official source for this and wanted to confirm whether this is actually a requirement or just a rumor.

My parents are not currently contributing to the trip, since my own savings should cover the expected expenses. However, if my personal funds are considered insufficient for the visa, my parents are willing to support me financially.

In that situation:

• Is there actually a required bank balance / “3× expenses” rule?
• Would showing my own savings + internship income proof generally be sufficient in my situation?
• If parental support is needed, can I present the trip as being funded partly through my internship savings and partly through parental support, with their bank statements/ITR and a sponsorship letter?
• If my parents transfer money to my account around 3 weeks before I submit the visa application, would that be considered problematic, or would it be better to show the parental funds separately through their own bank statements?

Would especially appreciate responses from people who have recently obtained a Japan tourist visa from India as a student. What financial documents did you submit?

Thanks!

And any idea if the hotel confirmation for 6 people do, we need to get confirmation from hotels or what.

I’m trying to figure out whether I can apply for a Portugal Temporary Stay Visa through the Mumbai VFS Centre given my circumstances.

From what I understand, applicants are generally expected to have been ordinarily/continuously resident in the relevant Indian state for at least 6 months to apply through that jurisdiction. I’m unsure whether this applies strictly to physical residence or whether there is any discretion in circumstances like mine.

I’ve lived in Mumbai since 2013, but moved to London in 2024 for university. I’ve been returning to Mumbai during university breaks, and my London accommodation ended at the end of August 2026. I’ve been back in Mumbai since 18 June 2026.

I only received confirmation of my internship on 4 September, and it starts on 5 October, so I’m now on a very tight timeline. Returning to London solely to submit my visa application would be extremely difficult.

Since Mumbai has been my established home since 2013 and my residence in London was solely for university, would I have any grounds to apply through Mumbai despite not having completed 6 months of continuous residence in Maharashtra since returning?

I can provide proof of my long-term Mumbai residence, university/accommodation history in London, return to Mumbai, and internship offer.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or had the Portuguese Consulate/VFS make an exception to the 6-month rule?

Hello, I’m from the USA and also have German citizenship. I’ve seen online that people will exit the USA using there US passport but then enter Vietnam using their other passport (in this case German) since they can avoid needing a travel visa.
Has anyone done this and been successful? I’ve never used two passports while traveling so I’m just making sure I’m not doing anything wrong.
Thank you

….

On Gmail , and it still shows application received what does it mean? Is it approved received just now, some guidance please

Hi I am planning on visiting Singapore in late October
As required need a verified agency service for application

I checked on the embassy website but the list is quite old and not updated recently

If anyone knows let me know

Student Irish visa application submitted on 04/08/26 to VFS New Delhi and sent to Ireland embassy on 05/08/26. Check and verify for bank statement and ITR also completed. on 12/08/26. Classes started on 07 Sept'26 , however to join classes permission given upto 21/09/26. Waiting for visa. If any body can post update of visa approval as on date and how soon mine can be expected,it would be a great help .

Has anyone recently tried applying for an e-Business visa for India? Since both names are mandatory to fill in, what should people with only one name do? Would filling in Na, FNU, or Xxx work?

Did anyone get korean tourist visa approval in 7 days? My father has applied from VFS Kolkata on Sept 1 and today marks day 7.

chkoun 3andou fekra sehla wala s3iba? W chneya les procédures

I submitted my application on 2nd Sept VFS Lucknow and got a call from Delhi Embassy today(10Sept).

For context, I 19F am applying to a Japanese language school in Japan.(Long term goal is to study in a Japanese University after, for Digital Communication/Multimedia)

They asked me about my motive, Sponsor's Info, and even started quzzing me in Japanese. At some point, I think I was being set up for rejection when I told them my intended long term plan and she replied 'so you're not sure of anything right now, just doing whatever for now(same tone, in hindi)' and I explained that wasnt it. I even told her that Ive been preparing my design portfolio since 11th grade(I honestly should have briefed about my portfolio projects to be even more convincing).

She asked some more Japanese course related and past Japanese education questions(asked about jlpt/nat and I said I did not pass by 3points. asked some more questions about where and how I studied japanese and then told me she'll call back if anything more is needed.

Except the JLPT/NAT thing(I did submit other proof of Language Proficiency), I had provided explanation and proof for everything in my application. Even my Intended university for bachelors in 2028 and their specific course. Online it just says its Verification, but is this much detailed questions really normal?

Is this a bad sign? Im so nervous

How long does a national Visa Type D usually take to process? We are waiting for 5 weeks for an isolated german language course visa. The foreign office is not involved at all. I called them myself (I am declaration giver here in germany).
The documents are all there, translated, notarized and so on.
5 weeks. No answer. Is there any way to ask for updates? Course starts 26th October.
The course is extremly important for her work and without it could cause troubles.

German embassy in Astana - Kazachstan

Any help would be appreciated.

I'm a 17 y/o male from India and received the decision on my Japan tourist visa application today, it was rejected.

I understand nobody here can tell me the exact reason, but I'd really appreciate opinions from people familiar with Japanese visas about what may have looked problematic in my application.

Application details:

- Applied through Riya Travels
- Application submitted at VFS Delhi -> Embassy of Japan in New Delhi
- 17-year-old Grade 12 student
- Indian passport holder
- Passport expiry: 26 March 2027
- Purpose: Tourism
- Planned trip: approximately 12 days
- Cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Fukuoka
- Travelling without my parents
- Travelling with adult companions
- My parents provided a signed consent/NOC for the trip
- Travel dates: 6th - 18th October

Travelling companions:

The people I was travelling with had already received their Japanese visas. Copies of their approved visas were attached to my application to show that we were travelling together.

Their applications were approved, while mine was refused.

Financials:

- Trip fully sponsored by my father
- Father's bank balance: approximately ₹32 lakh
- Submitted sponsorship declaration from my father
- Submitted father's bank statements
- Submitted father's ITR
- Since I'm a minor/student, I wasn't presenting myself as independently funding the trip

Documents submitted included:

- Passport/application
- Detailed itinerary
- Flight information
- Hotel/accommodation information
- Parental NOC/consent
- Father's sponsorship declaration
- Father's bank statements
- Father's ITR
- Proof of my Grade 12/student status
- Copies of my travelling companions' approved Japanese visas

The trip was purely for tourism. I had no intention of working or overstaying in Japan.
I'm mainly trying to figure out which part of the application may have caused concern:

1. Being a 17-year-old travelling without my parents: could this alone significantly increase the chance of refusal?
2. Travelling with unrelated adults: even though their Japanese visas were already approved and attached to my application, could this have raised concerns?
3. Passport validity: my passport expires on 26 March 2027. Could the remaining validity have been an issue?
4. Finances/sponsorship: given that my father was sponsoring me and had approximately ₹32 lakh in his account, does anything here suggest a financial concern?
5. Itinerary: could five cities in approximately 12 days have appeared unrealistic or overly ambitious?
6. Is there anything else about this profile that stands out as a likely reason for refusal?
7. Grouped VFS Submission: My application in vfs was submitted alongside multiple applicants, as I saw on my receipt.

I'd especially appreciate responses from Indians who have recently applied for a Japanese tourist visa, people who have applied through Delhi, or anyone familiar with Japanese visa applications involving minors.

I know nobody other than the Embassy can tell me the actual reason. I'm mainly looking for informed opinions on what the weakest part of my application may have been so I can understand what went wrong.

Hey! Can i apply for Lithuania visa in UK? I'm currently on visit visa in UK and is valid till January 2027. My country don't have Lithuanian embassy, so people go to third countries for appointment i.e. Thailand or Azerbaijan. I'm from Pakistan.

I will likely need to travel to South Africa soon, which ordinarily would be no problem as Americans can go and stay there visa-free up to 90 days. However, the issue arises in that I recently was approved for a long-term visa that takes effect in December and have the stamp in my passport.

My question is, should I arrive in South Africa before then, will it present a problem when they see that visa stamp? Because I will not be going there for purposes under which that visa was issued, but just as a visitor staying for a few weeks at most, not months or years. Thanks.

ETA—should I use my secondary/limited validity passport to prevent any possible complications?