Guide – How To Fill Out The Schengen Visa Application Form
What Is A Schengen Visa Form?
A “Schengen Visa Form” is a form that must contain relevant information about you (such as full name, date and place of birth, type of travel document, purpose of your journey in the Schengen Area, etc.).
The form is a mandatory document for your Schengen Visa application.
The Schengen Visa Form is a structured document necessary to collect information about you in a logical manner. The form is very important for the administrative process.
Therefore, the Schengen Visa Form is a simple, structured, logical and understandable way to collect information about a Schengen Visa applicant.
The Embassy/Consulate officers require the form because they need to organise and structure all of the information about you and the trip you are planning in Europe.
You can fill out the form manually (only if you can write neatly, in a clear manner) or directly on your computer (and then print it off).
Filling out the Schengen Visa Application Form correctly is one of the most significant steps in the Schengen Visa application process.
Thus, you need to be sure you fill out the form with the right information and answer the questions honestly.
If you make any false statement the Embassy/Consulate officers can reject your Schengen Visa application.
Usually, the Schengen Visa Form has 37 questions (although some forms can have less than 37 questions, if they are tailored to your situation).
When filling out the form, you will have to provide:
- Information about you (e.g., travel document details, nationality, address, phone number, etc.)
- Your travel background (e.g., your destination country/countries, travel dates, the purpose of your journey – which is important to decide your Visa type, etc.)
- Other relevant details applicable to you (e.g., employer name, family member or friends you have in Europe, how many times you travelled to Europe previously, etc.)
Before filling out the form, please consider the following key elements:
● If you’re not a resident of the country you apply from
According to the Schengen Visa application requirements and rules, you must hold a residence permit issued by the country you apply from.
However, most Schengen Member States allow you to apply for a Visa from a country where you are not a resident as long as you have a solid reason to do it (and you prove it).
In this case, you should fill out the form with your official contact details.
For example, if you stay at a friend’s house temporarily in a country that is not your country of residence, do not write only your friend’s home address in the box where you are required to write your personal address. Our recommendation is to write both your address in your country of citizenship and your temporary address in the country you apply from.
● If you are a minor or will be travelling with a minor/minors
If you are a minor and will be travelling alone, please note that the form is not valid without your parents’ signature (legal guardians).
Or, if you will be travelling with minor children, you must fill out and sign a form for each of them.
For further details about Schengen Visa applications for minors, please also check out our Parental Authorisation Letter Guide.
The Importance Of The Schengen Visa Form
Submitting the Schengen Visa Form is extremely important for the following reasons:
- The Schengen Visa Form is the only document where the relevant information about you and your trip is structured and summarised.
- The form can facilitate future retrieval (the Embassy/Consulate officers can easily access information about you whenever it is necessary during the Schengen Visa application process).
- The application form is a key element for the organisation of the archives of the Embassies/Consulates (without the form it would be very difficult for the Embassies/Consulates officers to organise, order, and preserve a huge amount of documents of every single applicant).
How To Get A Schengen Visa Form
The Schengen Visa Form is available on some of the official websites of the Schengen Embassies (but not all of them provide it – each Schengen State Embassy has a different website).
Also, the Schengen Visa Application Forms that can be found on the Internet are not identical.
It is not mandatory for you to download a form that has a specific format or style guide in order for the form to be valid, but one that allows you to answer all of the questions that are relevant for the Embassy/Consulate officers.
You may also find Schengen Visa Application Forms in different languages available on the Internet.
Nevertheless, we recommend you submit the form in English so that all the Embassy/Consulate officers can understand it.
For example, if Arabic is your mother tongue and you submit a Visa form in Arabic to the Italian Embassy in Egypt, some of the Embassy/Consulate officers may not understand Arabic (meaning that they won’t understand the information you provided when filling out the form).
Important: You can also download our Schengen Visa Form and submit it to the Embassy/Consulate together with all the rest of the requested documents (for further details, do not hesitate to contact us)
Or, you can download the Schengen Visa Form from any of the websites where the form is available.
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Filling Out The Schengen Visa Application Form
There are several mistakes you can make when filling in the Schengen Visa Form.
So, make sure you read the following tips and pieces of advice carefully.
Below you can find a list of common mistakes you should check before you book your Embassy appointment and submit the application form.
- Filling in the form with details of a document that you will not be travelling with
You must not fill in the form with the details of a document that is different from the document you are going to travel with (if you use your passport to travel, write the details of your passport and not the ones of your ID or driving license).
- Writing any kind of false statement
You must answer all of the questions honestly as false statements can lead to the rejection of your Visa.
Also, your answers in the form must show consistency with the other documents you submit with your application.
They must also show consistency with the answers you give during your in-person interview with the Visa officers.
In addition, please note that omitting details means writing a false statement (e.g. if you have family members residing in the Schengen Region, you must write it).
- Not writing your correct personal information and passport details
You must write your personal information and passport details just as they are indicated on your official documents.
For example, it doesn’t matter if you prefer writing your name as “Mary Ann”. If your name on your documents is “Mariann” just write it as such.
- Filling in the box on the right
The box on the right where it is written “for official use only” is only to be completed and filled in by the Embassy/Consulate officers.
- Using your native language to fill out the form
If you fill out the form in your native language, the Visa consular(s) might not understand it. So, we always recommend completing it in English.
- Checking more than one box (when not required)
When you are required to check one box only, make sure you do not provide multiple answers.
For example, when you are required to mention your marital status, you must check one box only.
- Submitting an incomplete form (with missing boxes)
Some forms available on the Internet are incomplete and cannot provide all the relevant information about you and your trip to the Embassy/Consulate officers.
- Filling out the form manually and using illegible handwriting
If your handwriting is not neat and legible we recommend you fill out the form on a computer.
- Not writing the correct number of days you are going to spend within the Schengen Area
In the box called “Duration of the intended stay or transit”, you must write the number of days you are going to spend in the Schengen Area.
In this case, you must count the day of arrival and the day of departure as well.
For example, if you travel between May 5th and May 19th (just as indicated on your round trip flight ticket), you must write “15 days”.
