Summer vacations are the golden season of European tourism and the busiest period for Schengen visa applications。
The towers of Paris, the mountains of snow in Switzerland, the ice cream of Italy, the thought of a common trip to Europe, are indeed promising. However, the families who had actually processed the Schengen visas knew that the real problem was not the preparation of travel plans, but the preparation of visas。
In particular, family applications, which often involve minor children, notarization, booking numbers and extensive material preparation, may affect family-wide travel plans。
This article is dedicated to summer family travel to Europe, summarizes the most vulnerable problems encountered in processing Schengen visas, and helps to plan ahead and improve the efficiency of the process。
It's not a condition, it's a schedule
Every summer vacation is the peak of Schengen visa applications and the most stressful of appointments. There are three main difficulties in applying for a family: long periods of notary certification for minors, often longer than expected; tight reservation numbers at visa centres such as TLScontact and VFS, which make it more difficult to make appointments for summer holidays; and multiple increases in the number of applications for a family and problems with a single file, which may lead to replenishments and even affect the family ' s application。
Therefore, the most important for families travelling on summer holidays is not to start with a tourism campaign, but to plan ahead on the basis of the time node of the visa process。
Part I: How can a signatory State choose
In order to increase the rate of sign-off, a number of applicants deliberately adjust their itinerary and change the length of their stay to one of the countries where they wish to choose "more easily " to submit their applications. In practice, this practice is at greater risk. In accordance with the Schengen visa provisions, a visa must be requested in accordance with ** Main Development.** That is to say, the country with the longest stay is the country to be signed (in terms of the actual number of nights spent). If the length of stay is the same in several countries, an application should be made to the country of first entry. For example: France 3 p.m. + Germany 6 p.m. + Switzerland 2 p.m. should apply for a visa to Germany, not France. In cases where hotel arrangements are modified artificially for the purpose of handing over signatures, resulting in hotel orders, traffic itineraries and actual travel plans not being matched, the visa officer can easily assess the authenticity of the material at the time of the audit, thereby increasing the risk of rejection. A genuine, reasonable and complete journey is more important than what is called "which country is easier to sign"。
Part II: How is the summer vacation scheduled
Taking the example of departure in early August, it is recommended that preparations begin at least two to three months in advance. The whole process recommendation follows the following order:
1. Identification of travel plans and major countries of stay
2 Accreditation of minors and the Hague (with children)
3 Preparation of hotel, airline, insurance, etc
Four, grab an appointment number
5 Submission of visa applications
The waiting period for a signature requires a special reminder that notary certification of minors has not begun and that almost all follow-up processes are not proceeding smoothly。
Part III: What materials must be prepared in advance to travel with minor children
If the child is under 18 years of age, most Schengen countries will require the relevant documentation。
The most important of these are the following two。
Proof of kinship
It is used to prove the relationship between the applicant and the minor。
Usually there is a need to prepare:
Medical certificate of birth
Notarized birth certificate
Apostille
At present, China is a party to the Hague Convention, and the relevant documents are normally issued** with additional certificates (Apostille)**, which no longer require traditional consular certification。
General cycle reference:
Notary: approximately 3-5 jobs Day
Hague Certification: approximately 5-7 jobs Day
Recommendation addressed as soon as possible。
II. parental consent without accompanying parents
If the child is headed to Europe only by one of the parents, the other party is usually required to issue a declaration of consent to the child ' s departure and complete:
Notary
Hague Certification
Requirements varied slightly from country to country, but in most cases they were required。
If both parents travel together, most countries do not require separate consent, but nevertheless recommend the preparation of materials such as birth certificates, marriage certificates or household registers that can prove kinship, for additional examination by visa officers。
The most common problems in reality are:
Owing to the heavy workload of one party, it was not possible to cooperate in a timely manner in the processing of notaries, resulting in the entire application being delayed or even missed travel time。
It is therefore recommended that, as long as it is planned to take the child to apply for a Schengen visa, the birth notary and the Hague certification process be initiated as soon as possible, and that such materials be applied in most Schengen countries and that advance preparation not be wasted。
Part IV: How are family applications prepared
Despite the increase in the number of family visas, the overall material logic is consistent。
Adult applicants
Each adult usually needs to prepare:
Passport/ID/household Ben
Visa application forms
Photo
Certification of employment, business licence
Bank run
Certificate of deposit (if required)
Travel insurance
Hotel orders
Round-trip tickets
Schedule
Minors applicants
In addition to basic materials, preparations should be made for:
Birth certificate
Birth notary
Hague Certification
Proof of paternity
Financial material for parents
Certificate of attendance (if applicable)
Certificate of consent of parents not accompanying them (if applicable)
Three core materials shared by the family
The most problematic aspect of family applications is often not personal material, but common material that needs to be matched。
1. Hotel orders
For each night of residence, the names of all family members of the peers should be included。
For example:
Father, mother and child go with each other and do not just show the name of the booker。
2. Air ticket orders
All family members are advised to use the same order。
Names must be fully consistent with passports and avoid spelling errors。
3. Scheduling
The daily journey should be able to match:
Which city
What hotel
Which family members will accompany you
Visa officers often cross-check:
Number of people + Hotel + Nights + Is the itinerary fully consistent。
The fact that many families apply for a supplement is not a financial problem, but because the hotel order has only one applicant ' s name, while the other family members hand over at the same time, making it easier for the material to appear to be incomplete。
Part V: Schengen visas for summer vacations, most accessible pits
Based on past experience, the following issues are most likely to affect applications:
(b) The late processing of notaries and Hague certificates, which affects the time of handing over
(a) The appointment of a visa is made shortly after departure and cannot be taken to the appropriate number
Inconsistent information on hotel, airline and itinerary materials
(b) The temporary transfer of large sums of water from banks, which is difficult to explain
Hotel orders omit the names of family members of their peers and affect the integrity of the materials。
These issues appear to be only details but are often the focus of attention in visa clearance。
Part VI: Three recommendations to help families apply more smoothly
i. Early consultation with local notary offices
It is recommended to confirm by telephone:
What materials are required for the legalization of birth certificates
Does it include English translation
How long is the Hague certification processing cycle
Does a letter of consent without the accompanying parents have to be present
Prior knowledge of processing requirements can be effective in avoiding repetitive submissions。
II. Maintenance of natural stability of bank flows
It is sufficient to maintain normal income and consumption during visa processing。
There is no need for temporary centralization of transfers to increase the balance。
Visa officials are more concerned with the stability of revenue sources and the authenticity of financial transactions than with the short-term increase in account balances。
III. A hotel proposal for free cancellation
During the preparation of visa materials, the itinerary may still be adjusted。
It is therefore recommended that preference be given to hotel orders that support free cancellation and avoid unnecessary economic loss due to changes in visas or itineraries。
At the same time, it is not recommended to purchase non-removable airline tickets or hotels before visas are granted。
Summer vacation families travel to Europe, and the Schengen visa is not as difficult as expected。
It's not economic, it's economicWhether the materials are ready to be complete, authentic and the timing reasonableI don't know。
Just plan aheadNotary certification is processed as soon as possibleThe information on hotels, airline tickets and itineraries is consistent and most families are able to successfully complete their visa applications。
If you plan to take your children to Europe during the summer, you may wish to start the preparatory work as soon as possible, leave time for the complex visa process and focus more on the family’s journey。