SCHENGEN (TOURIST) VISA APPLICATION: FRANCE (as of APRIL 2016)

As you all know, I submitted all my requirements for the Schengen Visa for my first visit to Europe to the Italian Embassy. See here for reference. They took almost 3 months to process and, finally gave me one a week before I was to leave! It took my companion a month before to be able to submit her applications so mine looked a bit worrisome, I guess. Anyway, I'm done with that. Applying with the French embassy was a breeze for me this time around. In fact, I had to apply one last February 2016, and another 1 last April  2016, and both times, my application was processed for less than 5 days! And both times, I got approved. Disclaimer though. I am not sure whether this was because I accompanied someone for his business trip or because they weren't a lot of visitors. It was just easier for me this time around. 

So, this will be a similar post to the last one with a few minor changes. 

SCHENGEN VISA:
The Schengen visa is valid for 26 countries. You may see the complete list of countries here. Do note that UK and Ireland are not part of the list. So if you plan to go to these two (along with the others from list), then there may be separate visas for them. 

WHERE TO APPLY (MAIN DESTINATION):
If you're planning on spending your vacation in only one country, then you may submit your application to their embassy. If you're planning to visit several countries, then you have to compute for the number of nights you will stay in each country. Place your application on the country with the longest stay (in nights). If you have 2 or more countries with the same number of nights, then place your application on the first country you will enter. 

Since my companion was going to Paris for his business trip, this was where we lodged our application. By the way, for my application, I still completed those for tourist requirements, while my boyfriend completed those of business ones. However, we were able to submit our requirements/documents together. 

REQUIREMENTS:
The following will be the required documents (for tourist visa) that I have submitted as of February 5, 2016. However, please check this as the requirements may have changed since then. 

Word of advice: As a guide for me, I printed out 2 copies of the list of requirements: one for original and the other one for photocopies which I ticked off one by one as I completed each requirement. I also had two separate envelopes for them :)

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL VISA APPLICANTS:
1. Original old and valid Passports (with no less than 3 months validity over the visa expiration but please consider the 6 months validity of the passport as required by immigration). 

2. Photocopy of the Biographical page and last page of the valid passports, previous visas and immigration stamps in all countries. 
COMMENT: Do not forget the biographical pages and last pages of old passports.  (Fortunately, they have a photocopy machine in the reception area but it costs PHP2 for a short bond.) As for the previous visas and immigration stamps, I photocopied them together (a page had 4 passport pages). They accepted it. 

3. Completely accomplished Schengen Visa application with one (1) recent photo with white background.
COMMENT: 
a. DO NOT STAPLER the pages or glue the photo! 
b. Make sure that you follow the guidelines for the photo here. 
c. Do not leave anything blank. Put N/A if not applicable. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TOURIST VISA [ORIGINAL AND PHOTOCOPY]
4. Letter of Introduction

5. Certificate of employment & approved leave of absence
COMMENT: Our company indicated in the COE the approved days of my LOA. 

6. Declaration of annual income (ITR)
COMMENT: In my case, I gave the 2015 ITR. 

7. Bank certification accompanied by account history in the form of either passbook or statements of account, credit card statement
COMMENT: I gave the following:
a. Bank certification for my peso account with 3 months worth of account history. [Do note that for Italy Embassy, they would need 1 year if you are an infrequent traveller.] 
b. Bank certification of a joint dollar account (time deposit). I didn't provide any account history. 
c. Most recent credit card statement. This is because I checked the credit card option for my means of payment during the trip. 
d. You may also provide payslips, properties, land titles, etc. 

8. NSO issued birth certificate

9. Itinerary, confirmed round trip flight booking and hotel vouchers or booking under the name of the traveler. 
COMMENT: 
a. Please ensure that the Schengen application form, itinerary, flight and hotel bookings are CONSISTENT! 
b. Itinerary: You can see sample itinerary on the net. 
c. Flight reservation and hotel booking: My companion's company took care of it.

10. Travel insurance with a coverage of at least 30,000 euros (with 15 days allowance beyond travel period.) 
COMMENT: Same as before, we chose Malayan Insurance since this is the cheapest (haha!) and I've always used this in my other travels. Unfortunately though, this cannot be refunded if the visas get disapproved. (Other insurance companies offer refund though.) By the way, you will only need to buy the number of days you are travelling, as opposed to the Italy Embassy requirement that you need to buy with 15 days allowance. 

11. Visa Processing Fee and Service Fee in cash. 
COMMENT: I can't remember how much I paid for in PHP. But I believe it 60 euros You may call their free information center to ask how much the total fee is (as exchange rates might have changed). 

OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER: 
I placed everything in a long brown envelope. Do not seal it because they have to check your requirements. Also, you have to arrange your requirements based on the checklist. Keep the original and photocopy of each requirement together. The receptionist there will give you the list (also found in the website) but I opted to print out a copy.  

APPLICATION FORM:
Don't forget to refer to your passport for your personal details: 

#2 - If you're single, write your surname. I wrote N/A and via.ph guy erased it so that I will write my surname.

#11 - Write N/A

#17 - Don't forget to write your mobile number on the Telephone number (s) field. 

#19 - 20 - Be consistent with what is written in your COE. 

#22 - Schengen countries that you will be included in your itinerary. 

#23 - Schengen country that you will first step on based on your itinerary. 

# 24 - Single Entry if you will stay in Schengen the whole vacation. If you have plans to go to UK/Ireland/any country not part of the Schengen list in the middle of your vacation, then tick on two or multiple entries (based on your itinerary). 

# 28 - If you will be visiting a non-Schengen country and visa is needed for that country. Also note that you have to acquire visa from that country before the Schengen one. Write N/A if not applicable. 

#31 - If visiting several countries and staying in a hotel, write the hotel of your main destination. Write 'and various' after. 

SETTING AN APPOINTMENT:
You can only set an appointment 3 months prior to your planned travel and not longer than that. 

There is only 1 option that I know of and that is thru VFS. 
1.  The appointment is through online booking here where you will need to create an account. This was completely free (as again opposed to the Italy Embassy where you have to call their call center which was considered long distance). The caveat of this is that the processing fee was higher. There wasn't a lot of applicants so I was able to book for the next day. (Yes, that fast!)

2. Once you've successfully booked online, print out the appointment letter and bring it with you when you submit your requirements. Personal appearance (in the VFS) is needed. Not sure if representatives are allowed. 

APPOINTMENT DAY:
1. On the day, be sure to be at the Appointment Center at least 15 minutes earlier than your appointment. VFS caters to a lot of different embassies so there are a few security checks. By the way, since both times I went there, I only brought a small pouch. They didn't require me to get a locker (which comes with a fee!). The first time, I had my power bank with me, so I left it with the guard outside. The second time, I again left it with the guard. I can't remember why though. 

2. Upon entering the center, the receptionist will check whether you are on time for your appointment. My companion's appointment was in the morning while mine was in the afternoon. We tried to submit it together but the guard initially didn't let me in. My companion asked again when he was submitting his requirements inside. Good thing, the lady assisting him allowed us to submit together.  

3. A lady will assist and check whether you have complete requirements. If you missed some photocopies, there is a room there where you can have missing requirements photocopied. Also, if you did not follow the photograph guidelines, there is a room for that one as well. 

4. When paying, you will have to decide on these two: 
a. Whether you will pick up (free) your passport once the application result has been released or have a courier (for a fee) bring it to you. 
b. If you want to be informed/updated through SMS (for another fee).

5. After paying the fee, you will be asked for your biometrics. They got mine even though I had my last biometrics taken just a month earlier. 

6. No need for formal business attire.  

TRACKING YOUR APPLICATION:

There are several ways to track your application: 
1. Email: I think, this already comes with the standard process fee. This will inform you whether your application has been dispatched to the French embassy for processing. They will also email you when the application is already for collection. They will again email you once your passport has been collected from the center. 
2. SMS: Additionally, you may opt for this one. They will message you of all the updates. If I remember correctly though, I wasn't informed real time. So I don't really see the need for this. 

FREE INFORMATION CENTER:
Please do not hesitate to call their free information center at 7904903, available Mondays thru Fridays from 8AM until 5PM and Saturdays from 8AM until 12NN.