Shengen Visa for Filipina holding a 10-year U.S. Green card.

[allanr 5]

50 minutes ago, davidvs said:

Why do you need to book a tour in advance? Just book refundable airline tickets and worry about a tour after the fact.  

 

It's off topic, but I would argue you don't even need a tour to enjoy your trip, just plan it yourselves.

You have to have paid hotel reservations or a verified place to stay for the entire trip. 

[appleblossom 2,768]

3 minutes ago, allanr said:

You have to have paid hotel reservations or a verified place to stay for the entire trip. 

 

That's easy enough to do, just go on to Booking.com or a similar site and choose one that you can cancel for a full refund. 

 

But where does it say you need all this to apply for the visa?

Edited 20 hours ago by appleblossom

[OldUser 6,920]

51 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

we flew country to country (flying first to Paris with return trip from Paris) considered domestic flights with no customs and immigration / flights to switzerland ,  Spain and Italy 

we drove to Belgium and into geermany / no police checkpoints but with a visa to any of the Schengen countries,  you wouldn't have to worry if there were checkpoints if u have a valid visa

 

A Type D long-stay visa issued in France or by another Schengen country allows you to travel in the Schengen area for a maximum period of 90 days in any 180-day period during your visa's validity period subject to presenting supporting documents as to the purpose of your visit and your means of subsistence.

The main point of my post was. If you got visa for France you must enter and exit via France. Yes, I know for the most part you can travel freely. But no so long ago, for example, Germany set up checkpoints on border with its neighbors.

[allanr 5]

1 hour ago, appleblossom said:

 

That's easy enough to do, just go on to Booking.com or a similar site and choose one that you can cancel for a full refund. 

 

But where does it say you need all this to apply for the visa?

Check out Shengen visa requirements.  I did for my start/end point.  The Netherlands.   

 

As others have stated.  It's probably best to lie about everything, and get reservations my wife will not use and cancel.  She feels really uncomfortable about going into the interview and not telling the truth. 

 

[appleblossom 2,768]

13 minutes ago, allanr said:

Check out Shengen visa requirements.  I did for my start/end point.  The Netherlands.   

 

It gives you the option to tick 'no' and not provide any evidence of hotels, flight etc. But it also specifically says to only make reservations you can cancel if you do. 

 

13 minutes ago, allanr said:

As others have stated.  It's probably best to lie about everything, and get reservations my wife will not use and cancel.  She feels really uncomfortable about going into the interview and not telling the truth. 

 

 

As above, it tells you not to book anything that can't be cancelled in case the visa is refused - so you're not lying, you're following their advice!

 

Edited 18 hours ago by appleblossom

[OldUser 6,920]

37 minutes ago, allanr said:

Check out Shengen visa requirements.

Schengen

 

37 minutes ago, allanr said:

 As others have stated.  It's probably best to lie about everything, and get reservations my wife will not use and cancel.  She feels really uncomfortable about going into the interview and not telling the truth. 

 

Nobody advised lying to officials in any countries. Official resources for Schengen visa suggest booking refundable / amendable tickets and reservations. This is in case if your visa is denied. EU doesn't need people to suffer financially if they can't make the trip.

Edited 18 hours ago by OldUser

[allanr 5]

23 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

It gives you the option to tick 'no' and not provide any evidence of hotels, flight etc. But it also specifically says to only make reservations you can cancel if you do. 

 

 

As above, it tells you not to book anything that can't be cancelled in case the visa is refused - so you're not lying, you're following their advice!

 

Thank you for your reply.  I'll take as much of the advice as I can about cancellable flight and rooms.  I'm reluctant to check any "no" options on the checklist as that would increase the odds of the applications being denied. 

 

What the stated purpose of my post was, which nobody has really answered yet, is if anyone has experience with Shengen Visa interviews and what, with a properly filled out application form, the chances of it being rejected would be.  

[allanr 5]

29 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Schengen

 

Nobody advised lying to officials in any countries. Official resources for Schengen visa suggest booking refundable / amendable tickets and reservations. This is in case if your visa is denied. EU doesn't need people to suffer financially if they can't make the trip.

I see your point, and I want to sincerely thank you for trying to help.  I think the cancellable air ticket is a great idea that I will use.  As far as the tour, it starts and ends in Netherlands and incorporates 13 countries.  There is no way to make that cancellable for more than 10 days..I've tried.   The only way the tour company will give us the "proof of accommodations" that is a general Shengen requirement, is to pay in full.  I'm being advised not to do that given the potential cost, but to book fictious hotel reservations and have my wife present those at the interview.  Although you may not want to call that lying, it is not being truthful either.  The reservations will be in the packet of information presented to the interviewer, and my wife is very concerned about having the answer questions about hotel reservations she will not use.  She has told me she will not say anything untruthful.  

 

Once again, I posted the original message to find out if anyone who has a 10 year green card in the USA has experience with a Shengen visa interview and what is the likelihood of passing it is providing all of your information is in order.  

Edited 18 hours ago by allanr

[OldUser 6,920]

17 minutes ago, allanr said:

I see your point, and I want to sincerely thank you for trying to help.  I think the cancellable air ticket is a great idea that I will use.  As far as the tour, it starts and ends in Netherlands and incorporates 13 countries.  There is no way to make that cancellable for more than 10 days..I've tried.   The only way the tour company will give us the "proof of accommodations" that is a general Shengen requirement, is to pay in full.  I'm being advised not to do that given the potential cost, but to book fictious hotel reservations and have my wife present those at the interview.  Although you may not want to call that lying, it is not being truthful either.  The reservations will be in the packet of information presented to the interviewer, and my wife is very concerned about having the answer questions about hotel reservations she will not use.  She has told me she will not say anything untruthful.  

 

Once again, I posted the original message to find out if anyone who has a 10 year green card in the USA has experience with a Shengen visa interview and what is the likelihood of passing it is providing all of your information is in order.  

I see, so it's a tour company policy (e.g. taking advantage of tourists) VS Schengen visa policy that requires non-refundable reservations.

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

[allanr 5]

5 minutes ago, OldUser said:

I see, so it's a tour company policy (e.g. taking advantage of tourists) VS Schengen visa policy that requires non-refundable reservations.

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

I should have added that "a Schengen Visa application is usually processed within 15 days, but the processing time can be extended for up to 45 days."  The tour company (expat explore) will only give out the necessary receipts/itinerary needed for the interview once the tour is paid in full.  They give a 10 day refund window.  From everything I've read, Visa applications/interviews on the West Coast generally take longer than that to be approved.  

[appleblossom 2,768]

9 minutes ago, allanr said:

I see your point, and I want to sincerely thank you for trying to help.  I think the cancellable air ticket is a great idea that I will use.  As far as the tour, it starts and ends in Netherlands and incorporates 13 countries.  There is no way to make that cancellable for more than 10 days..I've tried.   The only way the tour company will give us the "proof of accommodations" that is a general Shengen requirement, is to pay in full.  I'm being advised not to do that given the potential cost, but to book fictious hotel reservations and have my wife present those at the interview.  

 

You're misunderstanding. Nobody has suggested you book 'fictitious' hotel reservations, people were suggesting you did that instead of the tour. Or just did a tour that is refundable. But if you really want to do that specific tour, then just book the flight and nothing else - tick no to the accommodation question and explain why. Your wife can even take proof of it not being refundable if she's worried about it.

 

Afraid I have no idea of the Schengen visa for GC holders likelihood, I'd think pretty good chances though - if you google you'll see the refusal rate was only 17% worldwide last year overall. Some countries have super low refusal rates in case you wanted to rethink your choice of tour starting point, for example Iceland was only a 2% refusal rate! And most people won't book anything for their trip until they have the visa in hand.

 

 

[allanr 5]

15 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

You're misunderstanding. Nobody has suggested you book 'fictitious' hotel reservations, people were suggesting you did that instead of the tour. Or just did a tour that is refundable. But if you really want to do that specific tour, then just book the flight and nothing else - tick no to the accommodation question and explain why. Your wife can even take proof of it not being refundable if she's worried about it.

 

Afraid I have no idea of the Schengen visa for GC holders likelihood, I'd think pretty good chances though - if you google you'll see the refusal rate was only 17% worldwide last year overall. Some countries have super low refusal rates in case you wanted to rethink your choice of tour starting point, for example Iceland was only a 2% refusal rate! And most people won't book anything for their trip until they have the visa in hand.

 

 

We're not interested in iceland.  

 

As I stated very clearly, this is my wife's 26 day dream tour of Europe, which starts and ends in the Netherlands (covers 13 countries).  You are supposed to get your Schengen Visa from the country you enter the Schengen area from, or the country you spend the most time in.  In both cases, that will be the Netherlands.  4 nights. 

 

When I google "Schengen visa requirements Netherlands" I get the following.  

• 6. Proof of confirmed (fully paid) flight reservation or other proof of intended transport and a full travel itinerary (if several Schengen countries will be visited or if the trip covers several Schengen countries and non-Schengen countries).
• 7. Proof of accommodation. Evidence of hotel bookings or travel plan for the entire stay in the Schengen area: confirmed hotel reservations, stating your full name, address and telephone number of the hotel, including confirmation number.  

I saw that checklist as well.  it asks for "proof of lodging".  Then it continues and states, "if traveling to several Schengen states, proof of lodging in them as well."

 

It doesn't make sense to travel 600 miles for an interview, and click "no" on one of the requirements, and hope the interviewer let's that pass.  

 

I think we've beaten this topic to death.  Thanks for your help. 

 

 

 

When I google Schengen Visa from the

[appleblossom 2,768]

6 minutes ago, allanr said:

When I google "Schengen visa requirements Netherlands" I get the following.  

 

That's not the official requirement though. The official info specifically says NOT to book anything that is non-refundable. 

 

Seems you can either ignore the official advice, pay for the tour and risk losing all that money, or just go to the interview without it and take proof of it being non-refundable. I know what I'd do, but you seem to have your mind made up. 

 

Best of luck. 

[Family 4,036]

I am in favor of booking the ghost reservations and presenting the tour company’s proposed accommodations along with the “alternate” bookings . 
‘As long as she can proactively talk it up and show the $$ budgeted for the dream tour, she should make a solid impression during interview. ..
 

[allanr 5]

12 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

That's not the official requirement though. The official info specifically says NOT to book anything that is non-refundable. 

 

Seems you can either ignore the official advice, pay for the tour and risk losing all that money, or just go to the interview without it and take proof of it being non-refundable. I know what I'd do, but you seem to have your mind made up. 

 

Best of luck. 

The official advice is not to say "no" to the questions of whether reservations are booked.

 

Please..no more replies!